Customer Reviews

People

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Barbra Streisand's first number one album is still one of the most exciting and intensely satisfying vocal performances ever recorded. Like most of her glorious early recordings, this album contains some incredibly varied material yet the lush arrangements and the elegantly restrained vocals of Streisand give it an amazing consistency. Every song reresents a cornucopia of emotions, all of which Streisand handles with immense poise. From the beautiful "Absent Minded Me," in which she tries to conceal her obvious hurt as she sings of a lost love, to the immortal title song, which has lost none of its powerful sentiment, Streisand is in top form throughout this entire landmark album. Definitely one of Streisand's best efforts.

I am reviewing the album, not the remastered CD panned above. (Try to find a used one) To state it simply, I am a fan of female vocalists, and not a big Streisand fan, but this album is one of TEN I would save if I had to flee town. The songs are brilliant and Streisand's voice is youthful and spirited and not tired- out as she has seemed of late. The arrangements are classic. The songs are mostly Broadway musical songs. This is simply a great album and one I have listened to consistently since I was 14 when I bought the first edition. If one only owns one Streisand album this should be it.

This is a great album...the reason for the 1-star rating is the quality of the newly remastered 2002 disc. It is actually hard to listen to...Barbra's voice in most cuts is scratchy and not clear. If you already own the previous remaster with the white sticker, it sounds so much better than this one. I have to wonder how Sony (or Barbra) would allow this to be on the shelves...there should be a replacement (or credit) recall on this ... what a rip off of a classic early Streisand album.

Alright, I admit it. Like Rosie O'Donnell, I'm a big Barbara fan, but not a fan of just any Barbara. I'm addicted to classic Barbara--*Funny Girl* Barbara, *Hello Dolly* Barbara, and, of course, *People* Barbara. Who, in fact, can argue that *People* is a classic album--not just for Streisand, but for all time?

*People* is probably the best collection of wide-ranging songs by the one and only SuperDiva. She shows off her impressive pipes in powerful songs like the "My Lord and Master," the fun "When in Rome," and moody "Supper Time" in addition to her quieter talents in such songs as wistful "Autumn," light-hearted "Absent Minded Me," and, of course, universally appreciated "People."

My favorites cover over half the album, but the remaining three songs are probably just as wonderful. Barbara ranges from the loungy "Don't Like Goodbyes" to the almost operatic "Supper Time" to classic Broadway "My Lord and Master" to the fun-filled '60s playtime songs of "When in Rome" and "Love is a Bore."

Like these last two tracks, the album does more than just entertain. It takes you back to those days that you only just remember (or just wish you rememered) and makes you want to dust off your pillbox hat to step into the not-so-glamorous life of Fanny Brice or put on your Sunday clothes for an adventurous day in the life of Dolly Levi.

Don't pass *People* up as just some of that *American Beauty*-style "Lawrence Welk crap." Put it in your spinner and give it a chance--with or without Annette Benning. Revel in the airy musical treasures of Streisand (possibly at her all-time best).

This CD ranks as one of Barbra's very best, not just from the '60s but from her overall body of work---and we're talking almost 40 years here. Barbra recorded this at the same time she was appearing in "Funny Girl" on Broadway. You can tell the theatrics of Broadway also show up in most of the interpretations here---bold, campy, and definitely dramatic---all indelibly Babs at her best. Tracks that stand out are "How Does the Wine Taste" and "When in Rome", in which Babs tosses in some phrases in Italian, vintage Streisand style. One chuckles one minute and suddenly she takes you into a totally different realm of wistfulness in "Autumn". This CD is what contributes to the legacy Barbra now basks in, all the ingredients what makes her an unforgettable performer of our time are on display---power, control, timing, originality, and that Streisand dramatic flair.

This is not a review to dispute the merits of the music, which is some of Streisand's best, but the new remastering -- the third issue of this album on CD -- is radically dissapointing. The new mastering, while it pumps up the volume, sounds shrill and too bright, and even worse - the vocals have slight distortion giving them a "dirty" sound. Frankly, the previous remastering with the white sticker sounded much warmer and cleaner. The other newly remastered CDs sound pretty good, especially "The Broadway Album" which is a vast improvement on the original, but someone was really careless with this one.

This won't be a review of this wonderful 60's Streisand album (all of her 60's albums are simply her most passionnate, over the top and best work) but mostly a review regarding the mastering of this 2002 edition. I am not sure which edition I had already, the first one (on cd without the white sticker) most probably but even though some details are missing indeed (in comparasion with this one) It is MUCH softer on the ears. This newly remastered version is, to my ears at least, incredibly bright and irritable, espacially regarding her voice. Absent Minded Me, the first track, which is such an brilliant song and sung by Miss Streisand with such passion, drama and abandon, is simply scratching my ears! Waaayyyyy to bright espacially in the high/treble area.

I do own the 3 versions of the Funny Girl soundtrack and the improvments from one another are obvious. From the Bernie Grundman remaster to the Stephen Marcussen one's (same as this one) though, It is subtle but there nevertheless. I must say that I am quite happy with the Funny Girl 2002 edition. I never thought that People would be as bad since It must have been done around the same time from the same people (no pun intented!) ie, Stephen Marcussen and Stewart Whitmore.

It is perhaps a question of taste and preferences, but really, I am somewhat glad to read that I am not the only one who thought that this mastering wasn't state of the art. I will probably buy The Way We We're, A Star Is Born and The Brodway Album nonetheless to see what happenned with those. Already had those in previous edition.

Those of us who heard such differences are probably into hi-fi and good sounds and by no means It means that M.Marcussen is bad at what he does, again, I think It's a matter of preferences. That said, most Streisand cd's we're remastered in the early 90's by Bernie Grundman and he did a wonderful job at It. They all sound somewhat warm and VERY musical. The first 3 Streisand Albums are espacially great in this regard.

Truth or urban legends, It is somewhat irrelevant, but It is said that Miss Streisand is quite controlling over her art. I wonder If she did hear It, If she had her word to say before It was put on the shelves? Because this 2002 remastered People edition isn't really worth the price of admission. Again, the 2002 remastered Funny Girl soundtrack does sound great and was done by the same guys so maybe one step was missing when they send the final cut to the pressing facility... Or maybe they just missed this one completely altogheter!

Anyway, all this to say, People is a GREAT album, try to find a second-hand copy, It's cheaper and It does sound much better than this newly remastered one. 5 stars for the music, 2 stars for the not-so-good sound.

I can't believe nobody has reviewed this record! It is a classic. Of course there is "People", but buy it for "When in Rome I do as the Romans do". What a fun and fabulous song.

People is her fourth album and 22 year old Barbra is sounding as great as she did on her first album.
1.Absent-minded Me-Barbra shows off that voice with some great lyrics. 9/10
2. When in Rome-Bab is so fun on this song!! 9/10
3. Fine and Dandy-I enjoy this song so much-great words and Barbra barely restrains herself and just lets her voice go with it. 9/10
4. Supper Time-Great track. 9/10
5. Will He Like Me? I can totally relate to this song! 9/10
6. How Does the Wine taste? I likey!A bit more upbeat than the previous tracks, with some great orchestration! 9/10
7. I'm all smiles-Another upbeat track great song! 9/10
8. Autumn-a melancholy gem of a song that feels just as good as it sounds in regards to autumn.9/10
9.My Lord and Master-The only song thats a bit dull but only compared to what comes after it.
10. Love is a bore-but luckily this is not-its one of her best. 10/10
11.Don't like goodbyes-i completely agree with this song-i hate goodbyes. 10/10
12. People-Timeless song sung by a timeless voice. 10/10
Barbra's first number one album and one of her best!

"People" is heavily regarded as one of Barbra Streisand's greatest albums in her career. Released in 1964, the record was Barbra's first to hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Album Charts where it stayed for an amazing five weeks, and it earned her another Grammy for the single "People" in the Best Pop Vocal Performance category as well as Best Album Cover.

Streisand was heavily regarded as being "The Beatles" main competition in popular music during the mid-sixties, and after listening to "People" one realizes why Barbra continues to release hugely successful albums well into 2010!. One of the wonderful things I love about Barbra's older albums is that they never age; they simply get better like a fine wine.

This Gold record contains 12 tracks, and among the highlights here are the title track, "When In Rome (I Do What The Romans Do)", "I'm All Smiles", "Autumn", and my personal favorite in this collection "How Does The Wine Taste?".