Customer Reviews

My Name Is Barbra 2

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My Name Is Barbra, Two... showcases the fantastic early singing voice of the great Barbra Streisand. Barbra's voice is, as you would expect, in perfect form all throughout this album; and the quality of the sound is excellent. The artwork is very nice and I always like it when they use the record album artwork when they release the CD.

"He Touched Me" starts the album off with a fantastic number about a woman's delight when her one true love wants romantic time with her alone. Barbra sings this to perfection and her passion works to make this a beautiful, unforgettable number. "He Touched Me" has great work by the strings; and the piano arrangement is very well done. Barbra handles complicated tempo and key changes like the pro she was and still remains; and this impresses me greatly. "The Shadow Of Your Smile" gets a `60s style Latin beat that enhances the natural beauty of this love ballad; and when Barbra sings this she truly takes this to new heights! I believe that Streisand's rendition of "The Shadow Of Your Smile" is THE definitive rendition of this song.

"I Got Plenty Of Nothin'" features Barbra front and center--and she doesn't waste a minute of her time there! Barbra sings this forcefully with lots of feeling and passion to make this sparkle like all the stars in the sky! I love it! The percussion is also very good on "I Got Plenty Of Nothin'."

"Second Hand Rose" is a playful tune about people who actually did, in real life, have to wear second hand clothing and "hand-me-downs." Barbra handles this wonderfully and I really like that line about the plumber she adores and wants to marry--only to be disappointed to hear from him that he's "been married before!" "Second Hand Rose" is a great number that is underrated because people think it's silly; but I think it's got lots of character and punch. In addition, "The Kind Of Man A Woman Needs" gets a most romantic treatment from Barbra who sings this with great sensitivity--and it all works very well.

"Where's That Rainbow?" features Barbra singing about the happiness she wants so badly in her life--will she ever find it! Barbra sings this so very well that you can't forget it after you've heard it only once. "No More Songs For Me" gets another fine arrangement; and the CD ends with Barbra doing a strong, solid medley of several numbers; she goes through parts and variations of "Second Hand Rose / Give Me The Simple Life / I Got Plenty Of Nothin' / Brother Can You Spare A Dime? / Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out / Second Hand Rose / The Best Things In Life Are Free" with panache and I know you'll like this medley very much.

Barbra Streisand certainly proves her talents with this album; and I heartily recommend it for her fans. Newcomers to Streisand will like this album very much as well.

In the mid 60's Barbra used her voice in unsubtle ways. Her interpretations, even in softer songs seemed to resonate with incredible power and force. My Name is Barbra 2, is an example of this kind of technique. This album has some of the most thrilling work of Barbra's career. He Touched Me, Quiet Night, Shadow of your Smile, I got Plenty of Nothing, Where's That Rainbow and The Kind of Man a Woman Needs, are all instant classics. On these cuts she produces the kind of vocal thrills that send a listeners hair on ends. This album isnt perfect and on a few of the cuts Barbra replaces interpretative insight with bombast and power, but there are only a few such numbers on this disc. By and large its pure brilliance

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is this brilliant collection and great singing doesn't get better than this!! Barbra hit a new peak with the release of this masterpiece and I became a fan for life who to this day still gets a rush whenever I listen to these incredible and diverse performances!!! "He Touched Me" is so gorgeous and passionate as "The Shadow Of Your Smile" is soothing and haunting. Magically beautiful is Barbra's soft vocal on "Quite Night" while she raises the rafters in the stunning "I Got Plenty Of Nothin'" giving a dazzling tour-de-force performance that is unmatched and breathtaking! Every song is done to the max here with thrilling performances such as "The Kind Of Man A Woman Needs" and "Where's The Rainbow" presenting classic torch singing at its finest hitting dizzing heights!!! Another haunting ballad "No More Sad Songs" is a complete winner and the grand finale is an incredible medley of Barbra's classic "Second Hand Rose" from Funny Girl mixed with "Give Me The Simple Life/I Got Plenty Of Nothin'" which are all like a wild ride on a roller coaster that you don't want to end!!! Streisand at her absolute finest ever!!! Thank you Barbra for this wonderful classic!!!! Do not miss this one...

Released as a sequel of sorts to her successful My Name is Barbra album, you do not have to hear or even like that one to enjoy this one. In fact, truth be told, this is a far superior collection of songs more essential to add to your collection than the previous.

"He Touched Me" is a very moving song, and not only gives you chills from her flawless vocal performance, but also from the easily relatable lyrics. I give it an A

"The Shadow of Your Smile" is an example of light jazz, similar to "In the Mood for Love" on her Movie Album. Stunning. A

"Quiet Night" is brilliantly arranged with understated music, and sung with Barbra's powerful voice. Very beautiful. A-

"I Got Plenty of Nothin," taken from her poor medley on My Name is Barbra, is the first song where she seems to "have fun." Nice song. A

"How Much of the Dream Comes True" is very pretty, but it's the first song on the album that doesn't capture your attention. Not very catchy. C+

"Second Hand Rose," a sort-of Barbra Streisand standard, is, like track 4, more campy and tongue-in-cheek than other tracks, but is very enjoyable. A-

"A Kind of Man a Woman Needs" is similar to the songs on her Simply Streisand release, where it's above average, sounds pleasing, but just doesn't compare to her at her best. But it's still a worthy track. B-

"All That I Want" is unsure what it is trying to be, a silly song or a show-stopping ballad. Because of that, it gets a C+

"Where's that Rainbow" is another smooth jazz song, which while a bit off-putting at first, but really takes you into those classic bar scenes in movies as it goes on. Not the best track, but not the worst either. B

"No More Songs For Me" is another lifeless song, which doesn't capture your attention much. C

The "Poor Medley" that concludes the album is pretty good. Admittedly, without the visuals from the My Name is Barbra special, it misses something, but for a souvenir of the special, you can't get better. It would have been more appropriate on the first album, though. B+

This is one of Barbra Streisand's best albums from the 60s after classics like People and Color Me Barbra. A must own.

Though not really a follow up to the pervious album (the "Act II" medley is the only track that's actually from the show), the second MY NAME IS BARBRA record is yet another outstanding effort from Streisand, recorded during the peak of her early years. The disc is mostly devoted to newly written ballads, several of which ("He Touched Me," "The Shadow Of Your Smile," "How Much Of The Dream Comes True," "The Kind Of Man A Woman Needs," "Where's The Rainbow") rank among her best. There are also full-length recordings of two songs from the "Act II" medley: "I've Got Plenty Of Nothing" and the Top 40 hit "Second Hand Rose." A rich and rewarding release, the album also hit #2 on the Billboard's Hot 200 (just as the first MY NAME IS BARBRA album did) and was certified Gold during it's initial release - the disc later went Platinum in the late eighties when it was re-released on CD.

Or listen to it for the first time. I hadn't heard this album for a long time, and decided to revisit it recently. Wow! It's truly one of her all-time best recordings. Her voice is so powerful and beautiful. It's no wonder she created such a world-wide sensation back then. The caliber of music on this album is so much greater than anything, ANYTHING, you hear vocalists do now. Each one of the selections is a standout, but my favorites are He Touched Me, Quiet Night, I Got Plenty of Nothin', and Where's That Rainbow?

This one is not to be missed.

If I had to select just one of Barbra's albums as being the best, this would be it. I've been a fan since the mid 1960's, and I have all of Barbra's recordings. This one resonates still. The magnificent voice is at its peak on every single cut. The selections and orchestrations are wonderful.

Like many of Bab's early and mid-60s albums, this one is well-sung, arranged and produced. It's fortunate that Babs recorded aplenty during the '60s because these are such well crafted albums that stand the test of time. I'm sure there are others out there who agree with me that her '60s work is sometimes buried and overshadowed by the overly-sentimental, personal work that later surfaced in the '70s and '80s. She brought such freshness and originality in her approach to these songs in the 60s. "The Shadow of Your Smile" was a standard that was covered by just about everyone who had a recording contract back then, everyone from Sinatra to Doris Day, but Streisand's version here is the one I go back to because of her extraordinary phrasing and dramatic flair, she emphasizes certain words or phrases at just the right point that makes that particular song stand out. It's a gift that can't be taught. Even Sinatra couldn't give "Shadow..." the freshness that Streisand brings. With "Where's That Rainbow", she treats it like a kettle on boil that she slowly brings it to a rise as the song wears on. The "Poverty Medley" is, again very original, and hilarious that only Streisand can pull off with her unique sense of drama and humor. Any of these early to mid-60s albums easily surpasses her work from the '80s and '90s.

It was my pleasure to listen to this album.For one thing, the songs are very beautiful and fantastic.As you listen to the song "I got plenty of nothin'" , it was the incredible singer who can sing this song so perfectly.You must listen! Barbra Streisand did that on the others like "He touched me" or "Medley: Second hand rose, Give me the simple life,...".Babs did the perfect thing again!

Just listen to "He Touched Me" and "The Shadow of Your Smile" and you'll know why Barbra Streisand is one of the great all-time performers. A fantastic album.