New Release - Barbra Streisand - Love Is The Answer

Yeah, like there was a shot in hell I wasn't going to be writing about this today. Barbra Streisand releases her latest album today, Love Is The Answer. It is her 63rd, and is produced by Diana Krall, a noted singer of jazz standards, and also the wife of the amazing Elvis Costello. It is a collection of love songs, standards really. Reportedly, it has been in the recording process for the past year, starting in 2008. To celebrate the release, Streisand played a date at Village Vanguard in New York City, the club she debuted at some 48 years previously, in 1961.



I saw two Tweets from Andy Cohen (@BravoAndy), in which he discussed the guests and the performance.



Well, I have been waiting for this album for some time now. Yes, I am damn near giddy. I guess that earns me back my card, right? So, I will be buying my copy today, but because I am an impatient person, I went online and found a copy, and have been listening. All I can say is that it is immaculate! The album is 12 songs, with a bonus track available. There is also a Deluxe set available, with is a second disc with the same songs, only performed with a quartet, not a phalanx of studio musicians. One of the songs is Make Someone Happy, and you can see a performance Streisand did recently.



For me, that proves she still has it. She might be 67 years old, but the voice is strong, and the interpretation flawless. Andy was right in heaping the praise. After listening to the recording, perhaps he didn't heap enough. There is such an intimacy, such softness to Love Is The Answer. It is part going to the corner bar to see your favorite singer in a smoke-filled room, just a piano and a microphone singing jazz tunes, and part tribute to an amazing talent. Chances are good you won't be catching any of the songs on Top 40 radio - maybe on adult contemporary stations at best - but it will be playing on my iPod, leaving me wistful and wanting a fireplace and a drink, as well as someone to cuddle up with.



Some early favorites so far are Where Do You Start?, a song I have loved since I heard it on a CD by Michael Feinstein. There is also If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas), a song by the amazing Jaques Brel. And Comden, Green and Jules Styne classic, Make Someone Happy. And the wonderful Jerome Kern song, Smoke Get's In Your Eyes.


Barbra with son Jason, at a recent concert, and in the early 60s.

Barbra is the mother of a gay son, Jason Gould [pictured above]. When asked about it by The Advocate, she replied, 'I would never wish for my son to be anything but what he is. He is bright, kind, sensitive, caring, and a very conscientious and good person. He is a very gifted actor and filmmaker. What more could a parent ask for in their child? I have been truly blessed. Most parents feel that their child is particularly special, and I am no different. I have a wonderful son. My only wish for my son, Jason, is that he continues to experience a rich life of love, happiness, joy, and fulfillment, both creatively and personally.' She supports marriage equality.

I have long believed that The Way We Were album was just perfect. There is not a single thing wrong with it. It also contains one of my favorites, What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?



Love Is The Answer is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and at retailers. You can find more information at the official website, found here.

moreless

Remembing 9-11

On September 11, 2001 I was working in Shelburne, Vermont, running a niche publication. I had gotten to work early that day, there was much work to do. By 9AM, I had received word from Erica, my friend who ran another department, about an accident at the World Trade Center. We had gotten close because she was from New York, and I had lived and worked in the City for almost 10 years, so we often spoke of our time there.



None of us in the office had TV access, but we were all on the internet. Erica was listening to internet radio news, and keeping us up on the facts. Then word of the second hit came, and it was an odd moment, filled with some fear, uncertainty, and memories.

In NYC, I started out working in the theater, and after four years left working Off Broadway and was working for a sound designer I had known, doing some work in the theater, but also doing some real estate slide shows and videos. Much of what we worked on was to sell and/or rent building space for the developers. One of the projects we did was for the opening of the opening for 2 World Financial Center, very near the site of 9-11.



It wasn't long before there were pictures and accounts found on the internet, pictures of the Twin Towers burning, the smoke billowing out and drifting over the city I spent a decade, working and living. The words terrorist attack were being used. Sure, being in the frozen tundra made me feel safe. After all, what terrorist attack would involve Vermont? But that feeling didn't last long. My family lived in Delaware, not all that far from Dover Air Force base, an important hub for the armed forces and certainly a potential target for terrorists. I needed to get in touch with family to make sure all was well.

I had a strange feeling, knowing I had worked so close to the site of the turmoil. My thoughts went to friends I still knew in NYC. They weren't people working in the financial district, but neither was I, yet I managed to spend time not far from the site.

Work had come to a virtual standstill, everyone in the offices digesting what was happening. Word of a plane crashing into the Pentagon certainly stoke our emotions. What was happening? What was coming next? the departments were huddling together, offering strength as we all focused on family and friends, even if none of us were directly affected. But there were people who thought of parents, others who had their children in their heart and mind, safe perhaps at school, but just wanting to hold them close.



Word came that air travel was shut down, and that a plane had gone down in Pennsylvania that was related to the attacks. The job of putting out a monthly magazine about horses seemed so small, so unimportant. We were preparing an issue to go to the world championship show in less than a month, running articles and advertisements for a show we didn't even know would take place at this time, and seemed so very superfluous.

The Executive Director called in to the office, and suggested we close the office and go home. It seemed like a good idea, and some left immediately. Others, including myself, felt a bit of paralysis set in, huddled with others listening to the reports, unable to make the move. But soon we did, going home to watch the coverage on television.

That only made it much more real. I sat on my sofa, with Timon at my side, bombarded by the sites and sounds of the reports. Buildings collapsed, papers flying, and smoke filling the air. I called home, making sure family was safe. No friends had been in the Financial district. All my loved ones were safe, but somehow, I didn't feel safe. Not that day.



Five months later, Barbra Streisand delivered a truly amazing tribute to commemorate those who lost their lives, loved ones, and a bit of the countries innocence and swagger. She went on the Grammy Awards and sang You'll Never Walk Alone. It was unannounced, and just beautiful.



God bless us, every one.

moreless

Great Women - Judy & Barbra

Both Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand deserve their own post, and they will both get it. But this particular duet is just far too outstanding to not get recognized. The event was The Judy Garland Show, taped in 1963. Barbra was at the beginning of her career, only 21 years old and hadn't hit Broadway yet with Funny Girl. Judy was at the end of her career, although she was only 41, she died less than six years later. Judy had done A Star Is Born nine years earlier, and Barbra would remake it 13 years later. But in 1963, they did a couple of songs together, the first being Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy, hits for Barbra & Judy, respectively.

They also did Hooray For Love, which compiles several songs into one.

In an oddness that can only be attributed to live television, they were joined by Ethel Merman on stage for There's No Business Like Show Business. Merman, of course, owns the song, and takes it home. Judy tried to keep up a bit, but figured it out, and Barbra just looks like she isn't sure what she got herself in to. You just figured there was a stage manager or director offstage yelling 'Sing out, Louise!'

All I can say is that VH1s Diva shows have nothing on these three ladies just daring the world to get in their way. And every gay man in the couttry had their TVs tuned into this, and lost their breathe for a few minutes. After the show, I would be willing to bet that notes were not the only belts that Judy & Ethel shared - unless the producers had the liquor cabinet locked tight.

moreless