Customer Reviews

Songbird

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album remains one of the most under-rated Streisand albums to date. It is filled with Streisand gems- despite some of the silly lyrics. However, many times previous Streisand has taken our minds off the lyrics to a point where we only concentrate on her voice. An example of this is on "Superman". The lyrics are ridiculous, yet her charisma is what keeps it going.

I can easily compare this to it's 1999 counterpart, A LOVE LIKE OURS. If SONGBIRD could have been re-named, it would have been A BREAK-UP LIKE OURS, being that the album mainly focuses on a break-up, and surviving a heartbreak. Some of the highlights include:

"A Man I Loved"-which showcases Streisand at her best, belting on a blusy, torch song...the ending will remind you of "He Touched Me"- gorgeous! The powerful, "I Don't Break Easily", the hearbreaking "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", and the fast, fun disco track, "Love Breakdown".

However, the title track towers above all of them. "Songbird" is one of the most deeply personal songs Streisand has ever recorded, for she lets us see into her world. The song is a reflection of Streisand- not this huge, powerful legend, but a vunerable girl searching for inspiration.

All in all, it remains one of Streisand's best albums to date! Highly reccomended!

This album came out in May 1978, and... all these years later it is still a beautiful, very close-to-the-heart album of love songs by our greatest-ever singer of songs. I'll always treasure this album. Maybe it's due in part because I was in the midst of my "first love" with someone wonderful and beautiful and I remember sitting and listening to "Tomorrow" and "Honey Can I Put On Your Clothes" and "Stay Away" and feeling so happy, relating the songs to my special love; and then later when the relationship took a different turn I found myself more listening to "A Man I Loved" and "One More Night" and "Songbird," and relating to the sadness Barbra sings of so heartbreakingly in those songs... But in any case, this a great collection of songs that stands on its own. Barbra has always been a singer of memories in all our lives, happy and sad memories, but I don't think she's ever done so so completely as she did here-- and so satisfyingly. This is a wonderful album. Thank you, Barbra, for the memories, of all kinds.

There are plenty of great moments on Barbra's follow-up to the smash STREISAND SUPERMAN album. Once again produced by Garry Klein, it's somewhat surprising that SONGBIRD barely missed the Top Ten (stalling at a still very respectable #12), but it quickly went Platinum anyway. Most critics (and even some fans) were pretty harsh on this album, and the general opinion seems to be that it is one of Streisand's weakest efforts. Time has been good to SONGBIRD, however, and in some ways the album plays better now than it did when first released. It may lack the dazzling eclecticism of STREISAND SUPERMAN, but it does offer a slate of solidly constructed pop songs that amazingly remain undated.

The disc opens with a surprisingly effective rendition of the ANNIE theme "Tomorrow," which substitutes the attempted-showstopper bombast of the original with an irresistibly jazzy arrangement and restrained vocals. The thrilling pop/torch song "A Man I Loved" and the lovely MOR ballad "I Don't Break Easily" feature two of Streisand's most spine-tingling vocals. Both sound like hits that could have been, and either one would have been an ideal follow-up single to Streisand's previous smash "My Heart Belongs to Me." The disco-ish "Love Breakdown" is undeniable highlight that combines seventies' soul with a bit of Motown, and Streisand's charismatic performance makes one wish she would record up-tempo material more often. Also making an impression are the sensual cuts "Deep In the Night" and "Honey Can I Put On Your Clothes," the latter of which is so sexy that you won't realize how silly the whole song is until it's long over.

Impressively, there's even more to like on the record. The mid-tempo number "Stay Away" and the emotive ballad "One More Night" are both anchored by solid hooks, while Barbra received her eighth Grammy nomination as "Best Pop Female Vocal Performance" for her solo rendition of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." Interestingly, not long after the album was released, a DJ from Louisville, Kentucky created a mock-duet by splicing Barbra's rendition of the song with Neil Diamond's solo recording, which caused a sensation when it was played on the radio. Columbia caught wind of the situation, and sent Streisand and Diamond into the studio to quickly record the definitive duet version of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers, which hit #1 on the Hot 100 later in the year.

Best of all, however, is the closing title song, a restrained ballad that is given an incredibly moving sub-text from Barbra's vulnerable and understated performance. Probably the best track on the album, it was the only single released and it cracked the Top 25 on the pop chart and hit #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Overall, SONGBIRD is a very solid pop album, and it remains a mystery why it has been panned so often over the years. True, it is often on the slight side and does not offer any thing truly new or even remotely revolutionary, but it's almost a complete certainty that this was not Streisand or Klein's intention. The album succeeds where a pop album should - it is always pleasant and tuneful, and it completely puts most pop albums of today to absolute shame. One of Streisand's most underrated efforts.

NOTE: Also in 1978, Barbra scored another hit with the awkwardly-titled "Love Theme from `The Eyes Of Laura Mars' (Prisoner)," which peaked at #21 on the Hot 200. The song was written and recorded for the somewhat ill-fated Jon Peters' thriller THE EYES OF LAURA MARS, starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones, and it is the only time Barbra recorded a theme song for a movie that she did not appear in. "Prisoner" is booming rock-ballad that features an commanding performance from Streisand, however the over-the-top single sounds much more dated now than her other late-seventies hits.

A vastly underrated album ever since first released in 1978. Coming off the heels of the phenomenally selling "Streisand Superman" with its strong single "My Heart Belongs to Me", and consummate late 70's pop sound, "Songbird DID indeed seem a bit too laid-back and MOR-ish. (Some even accused Streisand of recording this as just a contractual stipulation of a Let's-Get-Another-Babs-Album-In-Stores kinda thing to fulfill her CBS recording arrangement. Maybe?!). "Songbird" did not sell nearly as well as her previous album but actually is a more consistent and cohesive work than the "Superman" album, great as that work is. First of all, the ballads are sung so majestically and emotionally brilliant, with special kudos going to "A Man I Loved", "I Don't Break Easily", and "Deep In the Night". The title cut is such a lovely piece of ear candy, with just a touch of a C&W tinge and sung so meltingly by Streisand. However, after living with this album for almost 30 years, I find what I initially thought to be the weakest track as being the strongest and one of Streisand's most original, unusual, and SEXY performances ~ "Honey, Can I Put On Your Clothes?"~ This just has to be heard to be believed and proves, with it's seductive and sexually charged but subtle performance, that the saying "less is more" is so true. So many of our overtly and blatantly in-your-face pop singing "whores" could take a few lessons from this track.
"Songbird" continues to hold up very nicely as a beautifully produced pop album by one of the greatest singers of all time caught at the peak of her powers.
Luigi ~ NYC ~

I too remember when this one just sort of appeared on the record shelves without much hoopla or fanfare. But wow! Barbra's voice is so clear and powerful. There's are several standouts on Songbird including "Deep in the Night", "A man I loved"; too many to mention....As another reviewer noted, she even makes an otherwise awful tune like "Tomorrow" and "you DOnt Bring me FLowers" sound GReat!

Released in 1978, "Songbird" continued Barbra's dominance as one of the world's most famous singers and one of the most relevant. The sound is very much late '70's, but it is pure Barbra filled with emotion, caring, perfection, and delicacy as Miss Streisand's vocals are at their finest.

Selling over a million copies in the United States alone and being certified platinum while peaking at #12 on the Billboard Charts, "Songbird" is mostly known for Barbra's stirring solo rendition of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", a song she would later record with Neil Diamond. The title song reached #25 on the singles charts.

Other highlights here include "A Man I Loved", ""Stay Away", "One More Night", and "I Don't Break Easily".

The cover art features one of Barbra's many beloved poodles she would own over the years.

I originally bought this cd as an L.P. back when it came out, probably the first day it was released...I was 16..and a Streisand fanatic...and while I remember loving it a LOT (!!!!)...it probably blows my mind more as an adult listener than as a teenage listener. Songs I did NOT care for back then: Deep In The Night...and Honey Can I Put On Your Clothes...mean a whole lot more now and I enjoy listening to them immensely...SONGBIRD is still a KNOCKOUT, underestimated song that Streisand sings so earnestly and longingly...her instrument never sounding better...Love Breakdown, was so "disco" back then, and it brings back lots of memories of the era...and lets Streisand "let her hair down"...I Don't Break Easily and A Man That I Loved...are hearbreakers...and once again, Streisand's interpretation raises them to levels no other singer could bring them too...haunting...Tomorrow from Annnie is breezy and enjoyable, with a new arrangement not the one that was used in the show...and quite a different take on it...Stay Away and One More Night are incredible portraits painted by Streisand here, all ending up in the same place: She's the best...Solo version of You Don't Bring Me Flowers garnered a Grammy Nod for Best Female Vocalist Pop...quite stirring...She sounds incredible throughout...This cd is a "golden Treasure"...run don't walk....

Once again Barbra has given us something real to listen to, relax to and relate to......every song she sings is pure magic!!!! This lady is the only true genius in the industry!!!!!! She is to be idolized, and learned from - she not only takes chances in her career, she opens up new paths for other women. Barbra is pure love!

A lot of reviewers are unfairly comparing Songbird to it's predecessor, Streisand Superman. They are both great! They are just extremely different. Compared with the space-age futuristic upbeats of Superman, Songbird is much more simple, with accoustic guitars and mellow tempos.

The title song is absolutely gorgeous, if somewhat short. Her cover of "Tomorrow" is unforgettable. And of course there's the Streisand megahit "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". Every song on this album is beautiful and worth a listen, even the eclectic "Honey Can I Put On Your Clothes".

Stop comparing this particular album to Superman. Instead, appreciate it for what it is and was meant to be. Just because they were released back to back, that does not mean that this album had an obligation to be Superman Part II. They are both excellent and Songbird is one of my favorites. And with 60 Streisand studio recordings released, that's saying something.

When you put on this CD,and you hear Barbra sing"Tomorrow." You got your money's worth.Streisand is the greatest singer of our generation.I'm not even a fan.My favorite singer is Carly Simon,but Barbra is the best.