Husband and wife lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman first met Barbra Streisand when the superstar was just eighteen years old.\u00a0 The trio became fast friends and has since worked together on many occasions across Streisand\u2019s incredible career.\u00a0 Some of her biggest ever hits (\u201cThe Way We Were\u201d and \u201cYou Don\u2019t Bring Me Flowers\u201d) sported lyrics penned by the couple.\u00a0 It seems Babs has been recalling all of these memories lately because to follow up her glorious 2009 album (Love Is The Answer<\/i>) she has chosen to dedicate an entire album to the Bergmans\u2019 lyrics.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
What Matters Most <\/i>is Streisand\u2019s 33rd<\/sup> studio album and consists of ten Bergman songs that she has never before recorded, and as she writes in the liner notes, this makes 63 Bergman songs she has now recorded.\u00a0 Barbra produced the album herself and it seems making her previous record with Diana Krall has inspired her to maintain a jazzy feel across this one, as the pair, when played consecutively, sound completely seamless.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Streisand is now 69 years old and yes, her voice is showing signs of aging (finally) as she gets a little scratchy when reaching for the highest of high notes at times, most notably on \u201cAlone In The World.\u201d\u00a0 This though doesn\u2019t bother me at all, as I think it adds character to these songs. If that\u2019s all that\u2019s going to happen to her golden voice then bless her, because other than that she still sounds freaking incredible.\u00a0 All of these songs sound wonderful and the arrangements are just beautiful; these come courtesy of Bill Ross, whom Babs credits as knowing exactly how to build a song around her voice.\u00a0 <\/p>\n This, for a singer like Streisand, is an invaluable quality for an arranger to have, even more so when the singer is producing herself.\u00a0 Barbra sings these songs like she\u2019s acting a role for film; each performance succeeds in conveying every emotion written into the lyrics, whether it\u2019s melancholy (\u201cThe Same Hello, The Same Goodbye\u201d) or sheer joy (\u201cThat Face\u201d).\u00a0 Some of the better known songs are taken from movie soundtracks that the Bergmans worked on, and those selected here are perfect for this project as they have been molded to compliment the rest of the material so well.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Opener \u201cThe Windmills Of Your Mind\u201d (from The Thomas Crown Affair<\/i>) and \u201cSomething New In My Life\u201d (from Miki & Maude<\/i>) are two definite highlights that Streisand breathes new life into with ease, both songs sticking faithfully to Michael Legrand\u2019s original compositions.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll Never Say Goodbye\u201d (from The Promise<\/i>) is given a more understated arrangement here, which fits very well with overall vibe of the album, Streisand\u2019s voice over the bridge is magnificent and opens the song up superbly.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Another clear standout is the lovely closer \u201cWhat Matters Most,\u201d on which a couple reflects on the things that matter most during a life spent together. These sentiments can often sound incredibly mushy when translated into song but not here. Babs just gives a wonderful reading that somehow makes you think about so much more than the simple words she is singing.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Backed by a symphonic orchestra (conducted by Ross) with help from some of the finest session players around, this icon of entertainment can add another triumph to her illustrious career that is already full of them.\u00a0 What Matters Most <\/i>is a pretty remarkable album and Barbra Streisand is one very remarkable woman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":30844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5895],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-42521","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-barbra-streisand","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42521"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}