Love is the Answer (Deluxe Edition)

Barbra Streisand | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 2009)
• Original Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony Music Distribution
• ASIN: B002DYJAIO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (277 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,112 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Love is the Answer - Deluxe Edition with two CDs and deluxe packaging.
Disc 1: 13 songs (with orchestra)
Disc 2: 12 songs (quartet versions)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 120 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars DISC 2! DISC 2! DISC2! September 29, 2009

By A* VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Taken as a whole, this album is stunning. But the revelation is DISC 2! I have been loving Barbra Streisand for ages. I remember when my mother first introduced me to the sound of her voice as a little girl. I was enthralled with the sheer beauty of it. There is such an unnerving assuredness to her vocals that you just can't be denied. She will always be one of the most superlative stylists when it comes to lyrical interpretation. She is just so marvelous at it that you just forget about how gifted she is with phrasing and just fall and wrap yourself in the lushness of her voice.

Disc 2 allows that pure lushness in her tone to shine. It doesn't have the swell of the orchestra, it is more paired down and her voice as we all know has aged marvelously. As she has aged, and we have as well, you're not only startled by its clarity but also by its richness of tone. When she sings the opening lines of "Here's to Life: No complaints and no regrets/I Still Believe in Chasing dreams and placing bets," you just know its experience she's drawing from.

The album works so well because as a loyal fan, or a newcomer, there is a pacing that builds up a relationship with the listener. A natural intimacy is achieved with DISC 2. Songs such as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," and "Make Someone Happy," have an immediacy that can't go unacknowledged. Especially with "Make Someone Happy," the woman can still belt that is well known, but here she reigns it in, giving just enough to draw you in closer and closer but not fudging you on the context of the lyric; a lovely rendition.

A beautiful album from a beautiful, gifted legend.

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Barbra: Still A Contendah! October 3, 2009

By Steven Haarala

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

What has Barbra delivered this time around? Since 1993, we've been "Back To Broadway", to the church and synagogue ("Higher Ground"), to her wedding ("A Love Like Ours"), to the movies ("The Movie Album"), and to a reunion from the disco era ("Guilty Pleasures"). All of these were successful to a good degree, my least favorite being "A Love Like Ours". With "Love Is The Answer", Barbra returns to her performing roots to do mellow jazz, with Diana Krall as collaborator - not so different from the standards Barbra has always excelled at.

This is no earth-shaking release, but rather a collection of restrained, relaxed, very musical songs, like her "Third Album". The Voice has deepened, and weakened a bit, but it still has that round, smooth quality. The person behind The Voice still sounds warm and wise, but a shade darker, intriguing simply because she is revealing yet another facet of herself. The arrangements are pretty basic, appropriate for this music. The sound is well-engineered, with the piano in particular coming alive. I don't find that there is one standout track, but rather that the tracks are pretty evenly realized. But I do have my favorites. On "Gentle Rain" and "Love Dance", the soft Latin rhythm and tinkling piano complement Barbra's artistry very well. "A Time For Love" is filled with bright images, and in places the song reminds me of "All The Things You Are" from "Simply Streisand". In "Here's That Rainy Day" I like the expression of strength while recognizing and accepting the end of a romance. And then there's "If You Go Away", about which I will speak again.

I must say that some of the negative comments about this album puzzle me. First, there are those who expected it to sound like one of her 60's albums. Hello?... Then, many expected the album to be more "jazzy". I wonder, are they confusing "jazz" with "swing"? I've always thought of the "jazz" genre as being very understated, subtle. You know, like Peggy Lee. In a similar vein, one commenter said there is "...not even one song with a beat." Buying Barbra for "beats"? I recommend Madonna's wonderful "Celebration" collection. Further, about Barbra's French in "If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas)", one said that it sounds absurd, while another said, "...her transition into French is so sudden it's unintentionally funny." Well, French was my college major, and it sounds OK to me, so, I don't know, you be the judge. Frankly, I think her French adds to the poignancy of the sad song. Even her album cover was criticized, for being air-brushed! I think these expectations are a little demanding, even nit-picking, especially for a singer in her mid-60's. Judging the album for what it is, just the next in a long string of beautiful presentations, not comparing it to past glories - on that basis, I think it works out fine.

Just one more thing. I listened to the entire CD for the first time tonight. "Funny Girl" happened to be on TCM. So, I was watching Barbra Past while listening to Barbra Present. Talk about a surrealistic experience! Read more ›

59 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ask Barbra, she knows! September 29, 2009

By C. Kingsley

Format:Audio CD

The Deluxe Edition is simply superb. No question, this is unequivocally, one of Streisand's best albums in years!

Barbra Streisand, the entertainment grande dame, returns with one of her most beautiful albums in a long time! With an exquisite cover and marvelous artists at the controls.. Love is the Answer is a truly a marvelous recording. The shimmering strings and harp glissando outro on "Gentle Rain", makes those rainy nights seem irresistible. "Make Someone Happy" can make even the hardest music critic misty eyed. It is any wonder that this album was co-produced by Tommy LiPuma? (he worked with Natalie Cole on her Grammy sweeping tour-de-force "Unforgettable" in 1991.) Not at all, the album is a perfect collaboration between Diana Krall, LiPuma, Streisand and Johnny Mandel. At 67, Streisand's voice is at once both mature and still stunningly beautiful.

What makes this album so fantastic is the conviction in Barbra's voice. She knows better any other vocalist the art of delivery. The emotional clarity, lyric phrasing, depth and how to get across her message through the orchestration and her own innate musical abilities. Not only with the deluxe album is a listen given a chance to hear Streisand with the beautiful orchestral touches of Mandel, but on Disc 2, Diana Krall's genius skills are a beautiful compliment to the "One Voice." The emotion is palpable in and throughout "Love is the Answer".

Streisand doesn't need to gyrate, or hide behind flashy production. She is the master at giving many a listener what they don't know they really want: clarity, emotional, lyrical depth and a vocal ability unmatched.

Why should we rush? Light some candles, put a few logs on the fire for that nippy evening.... "Love is the Answer" is an album tailored made for an evening of solitude or that special moment with a lover.

Favourite Tracks: In the Wee Small Hours, Gentle Rain, Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most, Make Someone Happy, A Time For Love, Here's That Rainy Day, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and Some Other Time are just MARVELOUS with both orchestra and the quartet!

Save yourself the aggravation of reading the Billboard or Entertainment Weekly reviews of the album. Find out how much of a gem our Streisand still is and ALWAYS will be for yourself!!!

Ask Barbra, she knows not only a thing or two about Love and how to "Make Someone Happy" but that indeed, Love is the Answer! Read more ›