What About Today

Barbra Streisand | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027GM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,594 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Barbra looks to today, but still plays it safe, October 29, 2004

By 

30-year old wallflower "Eric N Andrews" (West Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What About Today (Audio CD)

In 1969, Barbra Streisand had begun concentrating on her budding acting career more than her music. After winning an Oscar for her debut role in 1968's FUNNY GIRL, Barbra completed work on 1969's HELLO, DOLLY! (which she was obviously too young for) with ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER and THE OWL & THE PUSSYCAT (both 1970) in the works. She may have been making musical films, but Barbra seemed to have her music not exactly on the front burner of her plans. For these reasons, her 1969 album WHAT ABOUT TODAY? is considered one of the least-inspired of her extensive output. True, the actual material may be more modern than the musical approaches taken with them, but the album is definitely more worthy than is given credit for.

The main accusation against this album is that Barbra chose modern material that was safe enough for her normal fanbase to accept without considering her a sellout. Sure enough, even with a hip band like the Beatles, Barbra chooses some of their smoother songs. Finally, another big strike against this album is that the brassy & Vegas-like sound of her 1960s music is simply pasted on to the cutting-edge material. This is true, but it works more often than fails.

The title track appears on this album for the first time (it would be covered by Shirley Bassey the next year), and is one of two songs written by David Shire, who I think was more famous for his marriage to Talia Coppola, Francis Ford's sister, at the time. The song seems to echo Barbra's sentiments about her admiration of the youth in the album's liner notes, but one must wonder how much more effective the song would sound outside of Barbra's usual Vegas identity. "The Morning After" (not the theme to THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE) works a little better with one of Barbra's most soulful and in-to-it vocals ever recorded. The artistic rebirth of 1970's STONEY END is hinted at on this number that actually does evoke the mood of the late-1960s, brass & all.

As for the modern material, WHAT ABOUT TODAY? is another mixed bag. "Ask Yourself Why" was written by Barbra's frequent collaborators Michel Legrand & lyricists Alan & Marilyn Bergman, and comes from an obscure French film called THE SWIMMING POOL. Most likely, the song is better than its parent film, but Barbra demonstrates her ability to make lemonade out of potential artistic lemons with a truly soaring vocal performance on this bossa-nova-driven tune. "That's A Fine Kind O' Freedom" comes from legendary songwriter Harold Arlen, and is another brave attempt at playing to the peace & love ethic of the time while still residing in Barbra's present artistic box. Burt Bacharach's "Alfie" is at least one song on WHAT ABOUT TODAY? that sounds recorded just to fill it out because while she makes a game try, Barbra does not come close to Dionne Warwick's or even Cher's classic renditions of the song.

It is when Barbra officially goes towards the music of the kids that WHAT ABOUT TODAY? gets a little more interesting. Simon & Garfunkel's "Punky's Dilemma" was a surprising choice for Barbra to cover & indeed, the fit is not all that snug. But here, her enthusiasm seems to win the day with a performance that is rather infectious (that would bode well in some of the album's other odd song choices). At least, we can be thankful that Barbra did not attempt "Mrs. Robinson" in Frank Sinatra's "hipster" version of the time.

Jimmy Webb's "Little Tin Soldier" definitely fits in well with Barbra's always quite-liberal politics, and I can guess that she may have been anti-Vietnam at the time, though her music seemed more establishment than anything else. Why this song never became more of a standard like "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" or "Wichita Lineman" is a mystery because it has not been recorded since.

Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Until It's Time For You To Go" finds Barbra taking a song of today and making it sound timeless, which it truly was to begin with. However, it is surprising that Barbra chose one of the more personal songs of a very political singer to tackle. But Barbra has never been known for being predictable, and that's why we love her.

Finally, there's the three Beatles songs Barbra takes on. "Honey Pie" was certainly one of the lightest-weight entries on THE WHITE ALBUM, but nevertheless seemed perfect for Barbra's eventual approach to it. She plays up the early 20th century music hall style of it to a T, and those who may not care for the song have to admit that Barbra indeed sounds like she is having a ball singing this one (maybe she should have left out the scat-jazz adlib that Paul did on his version, though). The same method is employed on "With A Little Help From My Friends", which in the end, does not merit much of the trouble Barbra took in recording it, even if she did add some middlebrow humor to it. After it finishes, you are left wondering, "Is that all there is?"

However, Barbra closes out the album with a straighter version of a Fab Four tune on "Goodnight". She gives one of her tenderest vocals to a song that was definitely one of the best lullabies ever composed since "Rock-A-Bye Baby", and perhaps Barbra might have sung this song to her son Jason at the time to get him to fall asleep. Hopefully, more mothers will take that tack.

Barbra Streisand's recording career may have been going sideways while her film schedule was beginning to fill up, but with 1969's WHAT ABOUT TODAY?, Barbra could not be accused of sounding like she is stagnating because even on the slightly bum moments of the album, she comes as across as truly professional. Her bid to appeal to modernity may have been rather ill-advised, but considering the rejuvenation of her next album, maybe Barbra intended WHAT ABOUT TODAY? to be a litmus test prior to her official creative comeback. In that case, it was a good question to ask, even if it wouldn't be properly answered just yet.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Though-Provoking, December 17, 1999

By 

MWM - See all my reviews

This review is from: What About Today (Audio CD)

This was supposed to be a debut for Barbra Streisand into the world of contemporary music. Yet, it didn't come off as contemporary to most of her fans. Despite, that, this album really makes you think. The first track, amazingly well-sung, is all about how people always look for better things tomorrow, but never think that tomorrow will soon be today and they will be looking to tomorrow all over again. The next song almost mocks today's society, beggining with asking why there are always signs that say keep off the grass. "Honey Pie" shows how much of an actor Barbra Streisand is. Just listen to her comical voice in that song and then skip to "Until it's Time for You to Go" and note the amazing differences. Next is a wonderfully sung number with complicated and confusing lyrics. Barbra's performance, however, does nothing but help it. Then comes the previously mentioned "Until it's Time for You to Go," which, considering this is Barbra Streisand singing it, is remarkably restrained and delicate. It is truly a heartbreaking song. A powerful protest song against racial discrimination, "That's a Fine Kind of Freedom" is unbeleivable. Streisand's voice soars like a bird--fitting since the song has an avian theme. The next song has a bittersweet, ethereal melody, and is yet another prosest song, this time speaking out against war. Perhaps the least promising song is "With a Little Help From My Friends," in which Streisand goofs off just a little too much. However, her drawn out "HEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeellllp," at the end--which is intended to sound like she is falling off a cliff--is ingenious. "Alfie" sounds as if it was sung by an angel, and it was angelic of Streisand to choose this beautiful piece to sing. "The Morning After," yet another protest song, is perhaps the most powerful, angry cut on the album, and one of its standouts. The next song, "Goodnight," was a strange choice, but she pulls it off well and it is very relaxing.

I would definitely recommend this album, but, perhaps, only after the Barbra Streisand Album, People, Stoney End, and some of her other classics.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, What About It?, November 8, 2005

By 

Music Man (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What About Today (Audio CD)

This Streisand attempt to come to terms with modern composers met with very mixed results. The album is framed by a quartet of songs ("What About Today", "Ask Yourself Why", "That's a Fine Kind O' Freedom" and "The Morning After") that accomplish what they set out to do, which is to cast Streisand in a more contemporary setting. While not up to her usual standards, they provide her with the kind of pop-rock material typical of crooners wanting to be "with it" in the 60's (think Dusty Springfield) and Streisand sounds right at home.

The first indication that all is not well comes on track three. Streisand turns the Beatles' "Honey Pie" into the second coming of "Second Hand Rose" without realizing it was a send up of such songs. She's in essence sending up a send-up, complete with giggles, whoops and "rasberries." Awful. She takes the next song straight, but here the material defeats her. "Punky's Dilemma" is coy by any standards and it contains a typically whimsical and "clever" Paul Simon lyric that grates. No one could make much out of such tripe. Streisand sounds practically relieved when she gets to Buffy Saint-Marie's slight but pretty "Until It's Time For You to Go." The spare arrangement and her gentle rendition are perfectly matched. We want more of this, but instead we get "With a Little Help From My Friends," a song that on the surface should have been sure-fire for Streisand. Unfortunately, she seems cowed by the Beatles on all of their covers here, and she either camps them to the hilt or reinvents them to disasterous results. "With a Little Help..." gets no help from the inscrutable arrangement, and Streisand's stop-and-start rendition completely destroys the structure of the song. One of her worst recordings ever.

Then comes a masterpiece. Streisand's version of "Alfie" may be definitive and it shows her at the apex of her mighty powers. She sings this forgotten classic with great style without stylizing it (there is a difference), and her gracefully emotive vocal surges with controled power. This is the classic Streisand genius at work in all its glory. Unfortunately she botches the closer, another Beatles cover, "Goodnight." This gentle lullaby is given the souped-up, string-laden stuidio treatment and Streisand treats the song like an aria. Too much.

"What About Today?" is definitely a mixed bag, but there is one undeniable fact that permeates this recording: Streisand's is a talent that would not be denied. Over the course of the 70's she mastered the contemporary pop idiom with several classic recordings, only to return to her roots in the 80's. Her taste continually refined, as did her singing, to produce an incomprable body of work. And it's still a thrill to hear her at her vocal zenith on this flawed but entertaining album.