Order STREISAND LIVE 2006 CD (with B&N Bonus Track)
Use the link above to order LIVE IN CONCERT with the Barnes & Noble exclusive bonus track, "When the Sun Comes Out".
Streisand:
Live in Concert 2006 (2-Disc CD)
Here's the scoop on the different versions of the album that are available:
- Target stores have the 2-Disc CD with TWO BONUS TRACKS: "Stoney End" and "Don't Rain on My Parade" (1st Act Funny Girl Medley version). The tracks are on the 2nd CD, following "Smile".
Warning: Several fans have emailed me about Target's CDs. If you do not see this sticker on the CD, then assume you are buying one *without* the bonus tracks. Only CDs with this sticker have the bonus tracks ...
- Borders Books offers a free [if you purchase the album there] 4-song DVD which includes "Happy Days" (from ONE VOICE) , "Alfie" (from TIMELESS) , "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" (from THE CONCERT) , and "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?" (New! From the Forthcoming Fall 2007 DVD).
- Barnes & Noble has ONE BONUS SONG: "When the Sun Comes Out".
Below are free online videos from the forthcoming DVD special, filmed in Florida:
- Amazon is streaming video of SOMEWHERE with Il Divo from the new album >>
- Borders Streaming Video of WHAT ARE YOU DOING >>
- MSN Streams DOWN WITH LOVE Video (Plays after the commercial) >>
Release Date: May 8, 2007
Produced by: Barbra Streisand & Jay Landers
Arranged & Conducted by: William Ross
Recorded & Mixed by: David Reitzas
Produced by Barbra Streisand and Jay Landers, Live In Concert 2006 is a breathtaking audio celebration of the artist's historic 2006 concert tour, sequenced according to the concert set list with individual tracks culled from performances recorded at New York's Madison Square Garden (October 9 and 11); Washington DC's Verizon Center (October 13); and Fort Lauderdale, Florida's Bank Atlantic Center (October 28 and 30).
The tour, which broke the arena house record in every city on the itinerary, found Streisand branching out in new creative directions, reinterpreting some of her best-loved standards while revisiting some rarely performed musical treasures from her celebrated back-catalog. Live In Concert 2006 includes songs the artist had rarely, if ever, performed live including "Unusual Way" (from the Broadway musical, "Nine") and such evergreens as "(Have I Stayed) Too Long At The Fair?," "Starting Here, Starting Now," and "Funny Girl."
Fifteen of the album's songs have never appeared previously on one of the artist's live albums with four of those -- "Carefully Taught," "Unusual Way," "A Cockeyed Optimist," and "My Shining Hour" -- making their appearance on Live In Concert 2006 for the very first time on any Barbra Streisand recording.
Live In Concert 2006 also debuts recordings of Streisand performing duet versions of "Evergreen," "The Music of the Night" and "Somewhere" with the multi-platinum-selling pop-operatic quartet Il Divo, who shared the stage as her special musical guests.
ALBUM NEWS:
May 16, 2007
Barbra Streisand earns her 29th top 10 album with "Streisand: Live in Concert 2006" (Columbia), which bows at No. 7. The live set, her seventh to chart, moved 60,000 units.
The international release date for Barbra Streisand Live In Concert 2006 has been moved to May 28.
The U.S. release date remains May 8.
Mark Bliss of the Australian Barbra Streisand Association delivered the following news today about the Australian release: The first 5000 copies have special DigiPak Gatefold packaging. Thanks, Mark!
Track List:
Act I (Disc 1)
1. Funny Girl Broadway Overture
2. Starting Here, Starting Now
3. Opening Remarks
4. Down With Love
5. The Way We Were
6. Songwriting (dialogue)
7. Ma Premiere Chanson
8. Evergreen (with Il Divo)
9. Come Rain Or Come Shine
10. Funny Girl (dialogue)
11. Funny Girl
12. The Music That Makes Me Dance
13. My Man
14. People (dialogue)
15. People
Act II (Disc 2)
1. Entr'acte
2. The Music Of The Night (with Il Divo)
3. Jason's Theme
4. Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen
5. Unusual Way
6. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
7. Happy Days Are Here Again
8. (Have I Stayed) Too Long At The Fair?
9. William Saroyan (dialogue)
10. The Time Of Your Life
11. A Cockeyed Optimist
12. Somewhere (dialogue)
13. Somewhere (with Il Divo)
14. My Shining Hour
15. Don't Rain On My Parade (reprise)
16. Smile
17. When the Sun Comes Out [*BONUS TRACK only available on discs bought at Barnes & Noble. Order here >>]
Reviews
Barbra Streisand's voice is arguably the most recognizable sound of any American-born singer living today. It is a voice that has graced the Broadway stage, countless records and films as well as concert stages throughout the world. The award-winning actress is blessed with a rich, full, lush sound that ranges from smoky low notes through a gloriously pure middle register to a powerful high belt that reverberates with an emotion-filled vibrato.
Streisand's recent 2006 fall tour, which was co-directed by the Academy Award winner and Richard Jay-Alexander, was thankfully recorded and recently released in a lavish-two disc set by Columbia Records. Entitled "Streisand: Live in Concert 2006," the recording brims with a palpable excitement; just listen to the roar of the audience the moment the overture — the original Broadway Funny Girl Overture — begins. Streisand's simple murmur of "wow" as she enters the stage is equally telling of the lovefest that occurred between performer and audience as she made her way to cities throughout the country.
For her recent tour Streisand chose to revisit many tunes from her early career, including a healthy dose from both the stage and film incarnations of Funny Girl. But the celebrated performer wasn't content to rest on her laurels — she also tackled songs she had never before performed onstage, including her stentorian opening number, Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire's "Starting Here, Starting Now." Should fans have been at all concerned, that opening number proved that Streisand's voice is still in fighting form. Some notes are now more dark chocolate than milk, but the sound is as rich as ever, the range remains astonishingly wide, and the actress still has the power to move an audience profoundly. This recording also offers Streisand as free as she has ever been, singing melodies with an artful playfulness, adding a riff here and a gentle lick there. It is Streisand in a joyous mode.
Streisand also has the chance to strut her stuff as songwriter (both the little-heard "Ma Premiere Chanson" and the Grammy-winning "Evergreen"), pianist (she accompanies herself on the aforementioned "Chanson"), proud mother (the 58-piece orchestra, led by conductor William Ross, plays the lovely "Jason's Theme," composed by son Jason Gould) and social and political activist (thoughtful commentary about the state of the world, both global and national, pepper her intelligent patter).
Other highlights of the first half of Streisand's generous concert include a spirited "Down With Love"; a touching, beautifully sung rendition of her signature tune, "The Way We Were"; and several tunes from Funny Girl that climax with a thrilling version of that show's anthem, "People."
The second half of the recording is equally bountiful and includes perhaps the finest rendition one will hear of Maury Yeston's haunting "Unusual Way"; a gorgeous, full-voiced "Music of the Night"; a wonderful pairing of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carefully Taught" with Sondheim's "Children Will Listen"; heartfelt readings of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair?"; and a roof-raising version of "Somewhere" that brings the audience to a near frenzy. (The latter is performed with Il Divo, the strong-voiced vocal quartet that were Streisand's special guests.) The singer also offers three equally terrific encores: "My Shining Hour," the reprise of "Don't Rain on My Parade" and the charming "Smile."
"Streisand: Live in Concert 2006" is a magical recording from a woman whose powers as a spellbinding artist remain undimmed. — By Andrew Gans [Playbill.com Review]
Designed along the lines of an audio-graphical Broadway show, Streisand's '06 trek showcased five decades of sublime singing. These two CDs from the tour -- featuring an overture, main act and amusing between-song chatter -- are so good that even those of us inoculated against the entertainer's charms will find much to enjoy. Delights among the 23 tracks here take in "Funny Girl," which Streisand hadn't sung since the film, and fine readings of "The Way We Were," "People" and "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair?" The only drag comes with an appearance by Il Divo -- four male models in search of a fashion runway -- who tread all over "Somewhere," "The Music of the Night" and "Evergreen."
—
By Fred Shuster [Los Angeles Daily News Review]
With a tighter focus on songs from her Funny Girl persona and well-chosen moments that enable her to reflect on social matters, Barbra Streisand's Live in Concert 2006 two-CD set, recorded in New York, D.C. and Florida on her smash tour, lacks the skits and scope of her acclaimed 1994 The Concert and the haphazard sequencing of 2000's by-the-numbers Timeless concert package.
Live in Concert 2006 is so much more -- it's not just the greatest live recording she's put out but, arguably, the pinnacle of Streisand's enviable musical career. On The Concert, Streisand was still doing battle with her psychological demons. Twelve years later, she arrives whole.
Never has pop's pre-eminent vocalist sounded warmer fronting a truly stellar orchestra or more engaged with an audience. In her opening remarks she even expresses surprise at how much she was enjoying touring, an endeavor she has avoided for most of her five-decade career. That joy is palpable on the 31 selections (32 on the Barnes & Noble-only version).
At 64 when she sang these versions, age removed some of the highest notes from Streisand's register but replaced them with something as valuable -- a richness and humanity elevating numbers like the soaring Starting Here, Starting Now, seductive Come Rain or Come Shine and jazzy Down With Love from their previous incarnations.
Even the presence of Simon Cowell's contrived Il Divo on three cuts isn't enough to rain on this parade of classics.
In a career that has garnered its share of must-haves, Live in Concert 2006 becomes Streisand's desert-island disc.
— Howard Cohen [Miami Herald Review]
Including soundtracks, "Live in Concert 2006" is Barbra Streisand's 60th album during the past 45 years. Showcasing 31 tracks, sequenced according to the set list for her box-office-busting '06 tour and recorded in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the double disc includes only a few hits that have appeared time and time again on previous onstage sets. Instead, it showcases 15 titles that have never appeared live on disc, including "My Shining Hour," "Carefully Taught" and "Unusual Way." Duet versions of "Evergreen" and "Somewhere" with Il Divo breathe new life into well-tread tracks, while Streisand's narration, often a distraction in concert recordings, showcases the notoriously hesitant live artist in a commanding comfort zone. Recording quality was obviously a priority, as it is utterly superb. Fans will revel. —Chuck Taylor [Billboard Review]
This two-disc, 31-track set is a full capitulation of the set Barbra Streisand performed over the course of her 2006 tour. Billed as her final run of extensive live performances, the tour had the sense of A Big Event about it from the moment it was first announced. STREISAND: LIVE IN CONCERT does not stint on that feeling of importance, from the extensive, photo-heavy packaging to the pair of jam-packed discs. Covering the entirety of Barbra Streisand's musical career, from 1960s breakthroughs like "Funny Girl," "Down With Love" and "People" to later career highlights like "The Way We Were" and "Evergreen" to a trawl through the catalogue of standards. As always on her live albums, Streisand's extended stage raps are included: two riffs on the author William Saroyan and the art of songwriting are particularly enjoyable. Though perhaps not as spellbinding as Barbra Streisand was at the peak of her musical powers three or four decades before, STREISAND: LIVE IN CONCERT shows how remarkably little her vocal gifts and her skill as a live performer have diminished. Indeed, there's a magical, regal effortlessness to much of this set. [Muze Inc. Review]
There's a reason Barbra Streisand's 2006 tour broke the arena house record in every city it visited, and it's because she's not only a legend but (still) a performer who effortlessly twists intimacy and friendliness and fierceness into a perfect, sturdy braid. This two-disc set, which pulls performances from dates in New York, Washington, D.C., and Fort Lauderdale, will raise its share of goosebumps. For longtime fans, they'll be a reaction to songs Streisand hasn't touched since the '70s and earlier, including "(Have I Stayed) Too Long At the Fair?" and "Unusual Way," from the Broadway musical Nine. For relative newbies, they'll be a response to her between-song patter, which touches with grace, wit, and sincerity on everything from her love for her son to her political leanings to her limitations as songwriter. The voice, of course, enthralls--there it is glowing on "Carefully Taught," one of four songs that have never before appeared on a Streisand recording, and there it is again wrapping luxurious tones all around "Evergreen," one of three songs she shares with Il Divo. Streisand--diva, political dynamo, superstar--still knows how to orchestrate a showstopper. --Tammy La Gorce [Amazon.com Review]
Streisand sounds terrific on this keepsake of last fall's U.S. tour, but perhaps the most beautiful noise preserved here is the crowd's delirious roar.
Certainly it's beautiful to Streisand, who warms to it and plays around with it — going so far as to make a couple of in-on-the-joke references to Mike Myers' ultimate-fan creation, Linda Richman.
The double-CD concert recording samples broadly from Streisand's five decades in show business. Her singing, throughout, is almost tactile, suggesting the luxurious smoothness of satin or the sweet kiss of a breeze on a summer day. An orchestra of 58 lushly accompanies her.
Signature songs — "The Way We Were," "Evergreen," "People" — are featured, but the true delights are the unexpected ones: the slinky, jazzy version of "Down With Love," the free and easy stroll through "Come Rain or Come Shine" and the languorously calm, then giddily exuberant rendition of "A Cockeyed Optimist."
Some song pairings are also intriguing: a "Funny Girl" section that includes such lesser-sung treats as the title song and "The Music That Makes Me Dance"; a message-moment mash-up of "Carefully Taught" and "Children Will Listen"; and the two-sides-of-love juxtaposition of the prickly, complicated "Unusual Way" and the quiet assurance of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"
The tracks have been culled from concerts in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The tour's notorious use of a Bush imitator is, mercifully, nowhere in evidence. Too bad the same can't be said of the thick, gummy backup provided, now and again, by that boy band of classical singing known as Il Divo.
— Daryl H. Miller [Los Angeles Times Review]
copyright © 2003-2007 Matt Howe
