Barbraphiles rejoice!
On October 9th Barbra Streisand will RELEASE ME...
From the press release:
"Barbra Streisand's private music vault holds all the master tapes she's
recorded for five decades. Now, she's sharing 11 previously unreleased
songs, spanning a cross-section of her career from 1963 to the present.
In an unparalleled career, Streisand has released more than 60 albums. Many of the sessions for these albums yielded extra recordings, which weren't included on the albums they were intended for. They've all been stored in her vault until now. Over the past year, Barbra has painstakingly gone through the recordings to come up with this collection, Release Me.
Highlights include: "Didn't We" written by Jimmy Webb - recorded in 1970 for an unreleased album project titled The Singer; the standard "Willow Weep For Me" - an unreleased track recorded in 1967 for Simply Streisand, arranged by Ray Ellis noted for his legendary work with Billie Holiday; A striking version of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going Rain Today," with Barbra on vocals and Newman on piano - from the 1971 Stoney End sessions; an unreleased studio version of "With One More Look At You" from A Star Is Born; Two tracks from the unreleased sequel to the acclaimed The Broadway Album, titled Back To Broadway - "Home" (from The Wiz) and "How Are Things In Glocca Morra? / Heather On The Hill" (from Finian s Rainbow / Brigadoon).
Reflecting on the album, Streisand noted, "The thing I'm happiest about is that I still have great affection for all these songs. They appealed to me at the time...and still do. Listening now, I actually think to myself, 'The girl wasn't half bad. "
With the exception of two songs where the original masters couldn't be located, all the tracks on Release Me were transferred from first generation master tapes. Every attention was paid to preserving the sonic perspective of the sessions as they were originally recorded and mixed."
In an unparalleled career, Streisand has released more than 60 albums. Many of the sessions for these albums yielded extra recordings, which weren't included on the albums they were intended for. They've all been stored in her vault until now. Over the past year, Barbra has painstakingly gone through the recordings to come up with this collection, Release Me.
Highlights include: "Didn't We" written by Jimmy Webb - recorded in 1970 for an unreleased album project titled The Singer; the standard "Willow Weep For Me" - an unreleased track recorded in 1967 for Simply Streisand, arranged by Ray Ellis noted for his legendary work with Billie Holiday; A striking version of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going Rain Today," with Barbra on vocals and Newman on piano - from the 1971 Stoney End sessions; an unreleased studio version of "With One More Look At You" from A Star Is Born; Two tracks from the unreleased sequel to the acclaimed The Broadway Album, titled Back To Broadway - "Home" (from The Wiz) and "How Are Things In Glocca Morra? / Heather On The Hill" (from Finian s Rainbow / Brigadoon).
Reflecting on the album, Streisand noted, "The thing I'm happiest about is that I still have great affection for all these songs. They appealed to me at the time...and still do. Listening now, I actually think to myself, 'The girl wasn't half bad. "
With the exception of two songs where the original masters couldn't be located, all the tracks on Release Me were transferred from first generation master tapes. Every attention was paid to preserving the sonic perspective of the sessions as they were originally recorded and mixed."
The hardcore fans (including myself, of course) had been hoping for a larger collection, for we know what the archives hold! In fact there's a whole lot of kvetching going on about the brevity of an 11 track disc when we heard through 'sources' it was going to be a 3 disc set. I instead will bite my tongue and delight when it arrives. Besides you never know, we may see other volumes appear over time....
Here's a delicious glimpse for your ears...an unreleased recording from the Stoney End sessions (with Randy Newman on piano), which marked the beginning of my favorite "era of Barbra's voice". Enjoy!
Barbra Streisand "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" from Columbia Records on Vimeo.
Barbra Streisand's Release Me: I Think It's Going To Rain Today from Columbia Records on Vimeo.
By the way, don't you absolutely love the paintings below and above? They're by the British artist Maxwell. Be sure to check out the rest of his stunning work which can be ordered directly through his hip and sassy website- just click on Barbra to visit!
1 comment:
ah.
the DIVINE Babs.
we have the Avedon shot on vinyl of her chez-gloria.
she's the best.
thank you for the mascara comment on our site.
made us giggle massively.
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