If you go away . . .
I don't know what I expected from this . . . another well-timed but superficial performance to enhance sales vis a vis Oprah . . . the former president was there, and his wife and child . . . lots of old timers from the theater world. Phyllis Newman, Mrs. Jule Styne, Lorraine Gordon, etc. Her buddy, Cis Corman, and husband, the very cool Mr. Brolin. Could this possibly be a sincere artistic effort? I got it in the mail yesterday and sat down with my dogs and a glass of red wine and a little trepidation. I am not that fond of the "Love is the Answer" CD, though on repeated hearings, I think it is masterful, but requires some effort like an obscure artsy French or Japanese movie, maybe. Not a simple listen for me. I have purchased everything Streisand has released since I first saw the movie "Funny Girl" in 1968; I admittedly have not liked everything she has done. I walked out of her 2006 concert tour in Washington, DC at intermission because I thought it was awful (mostly Il Divo, in...
Streisand's Nostalgic Return to the Village Yields a Superb Vocal Performance
Given her inarguably legendary status and all the celebrities in attendance, Barbra Streisand can never really go home again, but that didn't stop me from being thoroughly entranced by this burnished record of her intimate performance at the Village Vanguard from last September. In the famous Greenwich Village jazz club that actually turned her down for a singing job nearly a half-century prior, she appears more relaxed than ever with her mellifluous voice intact. Directed quite unobtrusively by Scott Lochmus, the one-night event was timed with the release of her last album, her 63rd, Love is the Answer, a stunning studio-polished return to form filled with jazz standards and show ballads.
Backed only by a sharp yet accommodating four-piece band, the 67-year-old songstress still displays the melisma and dramatic conviction in a singular voice that remains barely diminished after all these years...
Simply Satisfying!
Simply Satisfying!
I've just finished watching this absolutely divine show. For some reason I didn't have hi hopes for this Barbra, mini, concert. But was I ever wrong! The show on DVD is so intimate one feels as if they're really there at The Vanguard. There is a lot of chatter from Barbra, of course, between songs, which I loved! I had the feeling it took her a couple of songs to really warm up but when she did I suddenly remembered why I have adored from afar this woman for 36 years. She blows this small audience away with "If You Go Away" . Yet, when Ms. Streisand dives into songs like Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Make Someone Happy, Nobody Heart Belongs to Me, and The Way We Were, one feels as if they have sailed on a great boat with a great love and have experienced the most satisfying afternoon of one's life. Barbra Streisand rises above the bar once again and I pray our Barbra never goes away!
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