Streisand & her partners

Barbra Streisand is no stranger to duets. She has done and certainly sold a lot of them. Some years ago, she had this compilation album titled Duets that included the record-breaking You Don’t Bring Me Flowers with Neil Diamond. If I remember right, this is the biggest-selling duet recording of all time or at least one of the biggest sellers.

There were also the disco blockbuster No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) with Donna Summer, Tell Him with Celine Dion, I Finally Found Someone with Bryan Adams, I’ve Got A Crush On You with Frank Sinatra and even one with herself, an awesome medley of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s A House Is Not A Home and One Less Bell To Answer.

So why is Partners, Streisand’s new duets album so special even if it comes after such a knockout collection? Well, for one, the album is made up of all new recordings with an all-male star line-up. And they are really big! For another, thanks to Tony Bennett, duets albums are the rage right now. Would you believe that Barry Manilow has released a duet album with departed artists? Everybody wants to do duets or at least be part of a duets album. Boo hoo hoo for those who are never asked.

For another again, and I think the best reason that Partners is truly special is that it is by Streisand. No one sings like Streisand. Even now with a career that has already spanned over 50 years, her phrasing remains impeccable and her attack on every song uniquely hers. Besides, there is a sort of Streisand renaissance nowadays. The lady has been making No. 1 selling albums and selling out concerts ever since she came out of retirement a few years ago.

Now, maybe because of the choice of song or arrangement, there are one or two pairings in the album that do not work as well as the rest. But then, I think this is only because Streisand and her co-producer Babyface raised the bar so high for the project. What is usually outstanding pales in a line-up such as this. And admit it, we the listeners expected only perfection. The album is not perfect but who cares. It is such a joy to listen to.

It Had To Be You with a jazzy, jaunty Michael Bublé at his best; People with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica and singing those incredible notes; a bluesy Come Rain Or Come Shine with John Mayer; Evergreen with the sweet, soul vocals of Babyface; a sparkling New York State Of Mind with Billy Joel; a smooth and easy I’d Want It To Be You with Blake Shelton of The Voice; a romantic The Way We Were with Lionel Richie; the show-stopping Still Can See Your Face with Andrea Bocelli;

How Deep Is The Ocean with Streisand’s son Jason from her first marriage to actor Elliot Gould, who in turns is an excellent vocalist; piano and strings for an affecting What Kind Of Fool with John Legend; Somewhere as a simple beautiful ballad with Josh Groban; and Love Me Tender where Streisand sings with a recording made by a very young Elvis Presley early in his career. Why this? I say why not? I do not know if there is any truth to it but it was rumored that Streisand originally wanted Presley to star in A Star Is Born. This is what their duet would have been like. Pure magic.

Speaking of Bublé, who just seems to get better each time I listen to him, he is part of the Classic Crooners compilation album. I wonder how he feels about this. It must be flattering being ranked among the greats. And I do mean among some of the greatest singers of all time. He deserves the honor. On the other hand though, it might give some people the impression that he indeed belongs to the Frank Sinatra era. Now, that might not sit well with some of his fans who erroneously value being young and pop in their music idols.

Take a look at some of the cuts in the album. Bublé has That’s How It Goes, Love At First Sight and Tell Him He’s Yours. Then there are Sinatra with All Or Nothing At All; Tony Bennett with I Left My Heart In San Francisco; Dean Martin who sings Everybody Loves Somebody; Andy Williams with Can’t Take My Eyes Off You; Johnny Mathis and Chances Are; Billy Paul with Me And Mrs. Jones; Paul Anka with Put Your Head On My Shoulder; Mel Torme with I’ve Got You Under My Skin; Bing Crosby with Dream A Little Dream Of Me; Bobby Vinton with Blue Velvet; and Perry Como with Magic Moments. 

Come to think of it though, I sort of like the idea that Bublé fans who will buy the album will get the opportunity to also listen to the all-time great crooners. I believe that anything that leads to improvement in taste should be welcome. And one more thing, while I love listening to the album, I would have loved it more with other crooners like Nat King Cole, Vic Damone and Sammy Davis Jr. instead of the guys from the rock ’n roll era like Anka, Billy Paul and Vinton. More from Crosby, Como, Mathis and Torme would have also been nice.