The Way We Were [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Barbra Streisand | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005V3WZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,077 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces of a masterpiece., June 9, 2003

By 

Robert Johnson (Richmond, KY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Way We Were (Audio CD)

Easily one of the top five Streisand recordings of all time, THE WAY WE WERE is an album that shouldn't work at all, no less work brilliantly. After the title song took off as a single (it hit #1 on the Hot 100 and eventually became the top selling single of the year), THE WAY WE WERE was hastily assembled by having Barbra quickly record three more new songs (recorded in a one-night session) and using previously unissued songs that were left over from canceled earlier projects to fill up the rest of the record. The end product should have been spotty and uneven, but THE WAY WE WERE stands as an amazingly cohesive and consistent release.

While recorded anywhere from four to seven years apart, the songs interweave with one another to produce a remarkably solid piece. I have no idea why such strongly written, marvelously performed songs remained in the vaults as long as they did. This is an album that really makes you aware of the power of Barbra's subtlety. Her restrained vocals on "Summer Me, Winter Me" and "Pieces of Dreams" are gorgeous, while her haunting renditions of "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life?" and "My Buddy/How About Me?" will give even the most cynical listeners chills. However, she also gets to show off her phenomenal vocal prowess, and gives "The Best Thing You've Ever Done" and "Never Been A Woman Before" incomparable performances.

The new material is just as fantastic, and lays down perfectly beside the older tracks. Her renditions of Paul Simon's "Something So Right" and Stevie Wonder's "All In Love Is Fair" are particularly lovely, and of course the title track is one of Streisand's best-loved signature songs. THE WAY WE WERE album hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 200 and has reached Double Platinum status in sales, probably due to the success of the hit title track. However, the whole disc is amazing in it's entirety and is one of Streisand's finest.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Way We Were is utterly unforgettable!, June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Way We Were (Audio CD)

From the beginning to the final tracks, this album is Barbra Streisand at her finest! The ballads on this album are still as beautiful today as they were 25 years ago. The album starts off on a powerful note with the ballads "Being at War With Each Other", and "Something So Right". Amazingly enough, the greatest song on this album is NOT the immortal classic, "The Way We Were", yet it is the extremely powerful ballad, "The Best Thing You've Ever Done". The ending still sends chills down my spine. "All in Love Is Fair", "What Are you Doing the Rest of Your Love" and "Summer Me, Winter Me" contain Streisand at her best in a restrained vocal, yet she lets it all out on the beautiful, intoxicating, goosebump giving "I've Never Been a Woman Before". This album is a must-have not just for Streisand fans, but for all music fans in general. An excellent piece of art!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite possibly her finest album, July 2, 2004

By 

Superbu (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way We Were (Audio CD)

I was amazed when I read sometime back that "The Way We Were" album was actually just a bunch of previously released non-LP singles and B-sides thrown together with some unreleased tracks and her then current #1 hit "The Way We Were."

But what material! In my opinion, her only albums that even come close to this are Guilty, People, and maybe The Broadway Album. Every song is outstanding.

But she has never been in better voice than on this set. Her delicate opening notes on "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life" send chills up your spine. I once played just the first few lines of that song for a friend of mine, and she simply closed her eyes and said, "Mmm!" as if she were tasting the most delectable dessert. It is arguably the single finest vocal performance of Streisand's career.

But sadly, the US version of this CD lacks any bonus tracks whatsoever. The UK edition does feature the film version of the title track, but this has been issued many times before. What should have been included is the hit single recording of "The Way We Were," which, though utilizing the same instrumental backing track as the LP version, used a completely different vocal take from start to finish.

Perhaps she decided she didn't like her vocal on the single, and re-recorded it for the later-released LP. Whatever the case, the hit 45 rpm recording has never been issued on any LP or CD. I remember the first time I bought her "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" album, back in 1981, on vinyl. I thought, "This isn't how I remember 'Way We Were' sounding on the radio." But I chalked it up to poor memory.

Do you know that, once ABKCO's boxed set of Cameo-Parkway artists is released late in 2004, "The Way We Were" will be the only #1 single since 1939 to never have been issued on CD in its hit version? Sad but true.

5 stars for the album, 4 1/2 for the remastering, and zero for not including at least two bonus tracks! Barbra, if you're reading this, quit sitting on your old recordings!