Grex Music2 Conference

Item 8: The Barbra Streisand Item

Entered by md on Sat Nov 16 19:15:44 1996:

She's been in the news recently because of her new movie.
Does anyone here listen to her music?  What do you think
of her as a singer?  

I remember being very enthusiastic about The Barbra Streisand
Album when it was first released, back during the Kennedy
administration, I believe.  Her singing seemed so intelligent
and witty, with excursions into schmaltz, when she made them
(her famous version of Happy Days Are Here Again, eg), completely
over the top.  The most amazing thing about the album, at the time,
is that it was made by someone who was still practically a kid.
I don't think she was even twenty yet.

But that was it.  Starting with The Second Barbra Streisand Album,
she went instantly into legend mode.  She no longer sang or
interpreted songs, she donned them like a Blackglama mink coat.
What becomes a legend most?  With the exception of My Name is
Barbra, where she briefly rose above the dreariness, she never
again did anything I found interesting.  She became the object
of fanatical adulation by her (now rapidly aging) cult, which
intersects with Bette Midler's somewhere in West Hollywood.

So anyway, what do you think of her?
17 responses total.

#1 of 17 by albaugh on Sun Nov 17 22:28:59 1996:

I believe that she has and has exhibited a great deal of musical talent.
Preference for her artistry is left as an exercise to the reader...  :-)


#2 of 17 by katie on Sun Nov 17 23:59:26 1996:

I don't like her her radio-play stuff, but I love her older albums. Stony
End is one of my favorites. I just bought it on CD; had it on vinyl. I
also like her acting. The Owl and the Pussycat was wonderful, and I liked
Yentl and The way We Were.


#3 of 17 by chelsea on Mon Nov 18 00:01:38 1996:

From what I've heard of her voice she is indeed a talented singer.  From
what I've seen of her directing, producing, and acting she is self-absorbed
and over-wound.  Anything calling for subtle is out of her range.  But
mostly, I'll never forgive her for what she did to the fine book, _Prince
of Tides_.



#4 of 17 by md on Mon Nov 18 11:11:10 1996:

And Isaac Bashevis Singer never forgave her for what she did to 
"Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy."  But she seems to know what she's doing
in her movies because they usually do well.  It's her music I'm
thinking about here.  She was a disappointment to me and many other
early fans.  It isn't that she isn't what we wanted her to be -- it's
that she isn't what she started out to be and could have been.  She
threw ot all away.


#5 of 17 by albaugh on Tue Nov 19 05:07:14 1996:

Hold on there partner:  Linda Ronstadt had many of us swooning for many years
with her pop-country act.  Then she went and expanded into some other areas
that interested her.  She may not have been as well liked for it as her
earlier work, but what the hay?  If Barbara had/has similar inclinations, who
are we to judge?


#6 of 17 by freedom on Wed Nov 20 20:50:48 1996:

Well, I'm too young to *remember* the "good ole days" of BArbara, but her
christmas album I've had memorized since I was about 5 :)
Its absolutley beautiful!
her voice is strong, confident..need I say more!


#7 of 17 by krj on Thu Nov 21 23:38:51 1996:

   ((( linked from the first music conference to the second. )))


#8 of 17 by jor on Fri Nov 22 15:31:04 1996:

(not meaning to drift from Streisand, but that mid '70's
pop-country act that made Rondstadt so rich was quite different
and quite later than her success nearly a decade earlier
with, e.g., The Stone Poneys)


#9 of 17 by tpryan on Sun Nov 24 17:45:15 1996:

        Like the radio come-back of SToney End.  Produced by Richard
Perry, who also produced (Harry) Nillson albums and probably others
in the 70's.


#10 of 17 by katie on Tue Dec 3 04:21:14 1996:

What radio comeback of Stoney End???


#11 of 17 by razor on Tue Dec 3 14:01:11 1996:

I'm sorry to distract this item, but THe last line of every last response (the
intire response in the last three items) is coming up blank for me.  IS there
anyone who could help?


#12 of 17 by bruin on Tue Dec 3 15:07:05 1996:

BTW, Streisand has a duet out with Bryan Adams, FWIW.


#13 of 17 by kewy on Tue Dec 3 23:54:51 1996:

razor, it might be yer program, mine does that to me sometimes...
just try to use a different program and it prolly won't happen..


#14 of 17 by slinkie on Wed Dec 4 02:37:30 1996:

The new Streisand/Adams song is "I Finally Found Someone"
It's being requested on the radio a lot these days...


#15 of 17 by jradio on Sun Feb 23 22:09:05 1997:

I haven't liked anything she's done, with the exception of The Main Event,
since A Star Is Born.


#16 of 17 by bookworm on Fri Mar 12 05:36:27 1999:

Barbra Streisand is a wonderful singer.  Do you know they're calling her 
a diva now?


#17 of 17 by lumen on Fri Mar 12 06:15:06 1999:

Many will recall she recently recorded a duet with Celine Dion, another 
current diva, too.


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