Customer Reviews

Third Album

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Third Album by Barbra Streisand has me believing even more than I did before that this lady has TALENT! Barbra's voice is in excellent form on this CD and it's only too bad that we don't get twenty more songs from her on this CD! I mean that in a positive way. In addition, the quality of the sound is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done.

"My Melancholy Baby" shines brighter than silver and gold when Barbra sings this ever so sweetly; and when the full musical arrangement starts this number truly takes flight! Barbra sings this with great sensitivity and that's terrific. Her voice is clear as a bell; and her uncanny sense of timing enhances her performance even further. "Just In Time" features Barbra Streisand's vocals squarely front and center--and that's quite all right with me! The lush musical arrangement never drowns out Barbra as she sings this to perfection--and beyond! Wonderful!

"Taking A Chance On Love" gets the royal treatment from Barbra; she sings this with a slower tempo than I'm used to but it all works very well. "Taking A Chance On Love" really sparkles when Streisand picks this up and makes her own mark on this ballad with some tactful key changes and that slower tempo that sounds great. No wonder this record album sold well when it was originally released all those years ago! In addition, there's also "Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered;" Barbra throws herself into this ballad to make it even brighter and upbeat than ever before. This love song benefits so much from Streisand's natural vocal talent and "Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered" has a very pretty musical arrangement.

"As Time Goes By," is, of course, one of the very greatest love songs ever written; and Barbra does great justice to this timeless ballad as she delivers it without a superfluous note. "As Time Goes By" was originally performed by Dooley Wilson in the movie Casablanca; and Dooley would have been proud of Barbra's rendition!

"It Had To Be You" gets a very sensitive treatment from Streisand who never misses a beat; and the strings are used to great advantage. The soft piano arrangement rounds out the melody quite nicely as the strings carry the bulk of the melody. Listen also for "Make Believe;" this ballad is quite sweet and Barbra performs this with panache.

The CD also ends well with Barbra Streisand performing "I Had Myself A True Love." This final number again showcases Barbra's vocal talents and her delivery of "I Had Myself A True Love" impresses me greatly.

Barbra Streisand fans will naturally want this album in their collections.

Thank you, Barbra Streisand!

Even though her first album received a Grammy as Album of the Year and her second album was regarded as even better than the first, Streisand was still considered a fluke -- and someone who didn't sing "standards."

So with this album, she sang the standards -- "Melancholy Baby," "Just in Time," "As Time Goes By," "Make Believe," "Taking a Chance on Love," "It Had to Be You" -- but of course, she sang them as only she could.

A pristine masterpiece of what singing is all about and should be all about.

A classic album.

First I owned the tape, which I wore out. Then I bought the cd-remastered edition. This has been my favorite Streisand album for a loong time! The excellent choice of classic songs (As Time Goes By, Make Believe, It Had to Be You, My Melancholy Baby, etc.), the ultra-slow tempo, a very subtle piano, her unique phrasing which contributes to definitive versions of her own, make this cd a must for Streisand fans and for music lovers in general. Barbra's first albums are among her best. If lou liked this one you should buy "Simply Streisand" and "Color Me".

On this album Streisand looked away from the slightly kooky choice of songs on her first two albums to record an album of (mainly) cool standards. Her interpretations of all these standard songs are intelligent and artistic (especially "JustIn Time"-a Streisand 'must have' classic).

Only the last songs on each side (sorry, diverting back to original album- I mean track 5 & 10)-detract from the cool atmosphere of this album(which doesn't mean they're bad, just maybe out of place).

If you love a great singer interpreting the great standard songs or if you are a Streisand fan you MUST have this album.

I purchased the LP of this recording while I was in college in the mid-sixties. The songs are still as great now as they were back then. This is a CD for a quiet evening in, for when your true love is not with you, or even when he is beside you. Yes, it's mellow, but it shows the true power of Ms. Streisand's beautiful voice.

Simple orchestrations and Barbra's voice combine to form the best music on earth! Except for "Draw Me a Circle", I can listen to every song on this album every day and not get bored. My favorites are "Just in Time" (this song was not a "ballad" on Broadway, but the slow tempo and Leonard Bernstein intro are wonderful), "Never Will I Marry" (this WAS a ballad on Broadway, but Barbra's energy and raw irony make this version GREAT), and, of course "Bewitched". This Rodgers & Hart classic has never sounded better! Barbra takes all these classic songs and sings them in such a way that the listener "experiences" the emotion of the lyrics.

A softer, quieter outing that may not match the dramatic intensity of Barbra's first two recordings, but it is an masterful, soothing release that proves the "great belter" could deliver numbers with subtlety and restraint with equally stunning results. The album continued Streisand's hot streak, hitting the Top Five and quickly going Gold. The songs form a beautiful unity as the album plays out and Barbra gives us highlight after highlight. My favorite cuts include the haunting "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," the wistful "Make Believe," and the delightfully abstract "Draw Me A Circle." However, Barbra really pulls off the near impossible by taking the well over performed warhorse "It Had To Be You," and actually making it seem fresh and exciting again. A lovely meditation of beautiful sentiments, THE THIRD ALBUM also proved there was a softer side to the seemingly unstoppable young talent.

The only complaint I have about this album is that its tone is "overall mellow". It's definitely a "background music" album for a romantic evening. Which is not a bad thing. Barbra's renditions of these standards are good! My favorite is I FOUND MYSELF A TRUE LOVE. DRAW ME A CIRCLE is fine as well. The album finds Barbra in an introspective, idiosynchratic mood. Again, it doesn't play like a classic album (see THE BROADWAY ALBUM or PEOPLE) because there isn't enough diversity in song styles. But who's complaining! Barbra Streisand sounds so good in the 1960's. Her voice is young and her attack of a song is much more visceral than the Streisand we know today. Streisand has always been a studied vocalist, but oh, how sweet she is!

Barbra Streisand is at her earliest best in this first rate recording of some great standards < Definately and album to have in your collection .

Devotees will argue from now till Yentl reaches America which Streisand album is the best; for this listener, this is it. True, it does not have her "classics" ("Don't Rain On My Parade" "My Man" "People"); cope. You will instead experience the tremulous joy of "Just In Time," the defiant "Never Will I Marry," and the ultra-romantic "My Melancholy Baby," "It Had To Be You," "Bewitched," and others. If you're looking to break open the wine and seduce someone over a home-cooked candlelight dinner, this album will have them melting in your hands "like buttah"; the only drawback is it its brevity, so make sure your CD player repeats.