S T R E I S A N D . . . R E M A S T E R E D
1980s Albums
Introduction | 60s Part 1| 60s Part 2 | 70s Part 1 | 70s Part 2 | 1980s | Summary
Columbia Records utilized stickers on the CD jewel case to denote which CDs had been remastered. Sometimes the CD artwork went unchanged and the only way to tell if you were purchasing a newly remastered CD was to look for a sticker.
If you see this symbol next to an album below, Barbra Archives has determined that Columbia Records has never remastered the CD since it was originally released, probably way back in the 1980s. This means that the sound quality of the CD is substandard according to today's audio expectations as most early 1980s CDs were taken from the LP master.
Notes: Albums are in order by their original release date. Only U.S. CDs are examined here.
Please read Barbra Archives' Introduction. More complete information on Streisand's discography can be found here.
1994 CD
2005 Dual Disc
Greg Stewart pointed out that this photo (above), which appeared on one whole side of the Guilty LP's sleeve, has never appeared on any of the CD releases! (Thanks, Greg!)
CD Release Date: 1989 + 1994 + 2005
Catalog Number(s):
CK 36750 (1989 + 1994)
CN 85155 (2005)
* The 25th Anniversary Edition of Guilty was a Dual Disc: One side of the disc contained an audio-only version of the album; the other side (the DVD) contained the album's songs in PCM Stereo†, plus video of Streisand and Gibb: "Guilty" and "What Kind of Fool" from the One Voice concert; as well as an excerpt of "Stranger in a Strange Land", a video from the Guilty CD sequel, Guilty Pleasures (2005).
† When listened to on a 5.1 channel surround system, the result is a rich, three-dimentional musical experience.
CD Packaging Notes:
The 1983 and 1994 CD artwork always had color problems, with Barbra and Barry Gibb looking too yellow or too orange. The CD insert unfolded four ways and included the same photograph of Barry and Barbra that the original gatefold LP used.
The 2005 Dual Disc was a Streisand fan's dream! If only Sony/BMG would continue along these lines with the rest of Streisand's catalogue! The CD insert contained outtakes from the cover photo session by Mario Casilli (whose name was spelled correctly!). The color was finally corrected and Barbra and Barry have great skin tone again.
Interestingly ... None of the CD releases have contained these photographs (right), which originally appeared on the LP's gatefold center.
It seems like an unfair quibble, considering what a great job Columbia did with Guilty in 2005.
One more quibble: Will fans ever get a digital copy of the 12" extended version of "Promises"?
1994 CD case sticker
CD Release Date: 1989 + 1994
Catalog Number(s):
CK 37678
1994 CD case sticker
CD Release Date: 1986 + 1994
Catalog Number(s):
CK 39152 (1986 + 1994)
1994 CD case sticker
It's a shame Yentl has not received more attention. The 1994 remaster is wonderful.
However, 2008 is Yentl's 25th anniversary. And it's been 14 years since the audio has been touched. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Sony/BMG produced a 25th Anniversary Edition, similar to what they did with Guilty? It'd be great to hear the Yentl demos, including "Several Sins A Day", the complete "Moon and I", as well as the studio versions of "Piece of Sky" and "Papa, Can You Hear Me". Including Michel Legrand's orchestrated end title music would be icing on the cake.
CD Release Date: 1986 + 2008
Catalog Number(s):
CK 39480 (1986)
CK 724690
(2008, SBME SPECIAL MKTS.)
Oy!
"Face in the mirror looks the same / Every morning I keep looking for a change..."
The lyrics to "Emotion" describe my feelings about this CD exactly! Emotion, first released on CD in 1984—that's 24 years ago, folks—has never been remastered. Sony/BMG is due to release it in 2008 on its "Special Markets" label, and all bets are that they are still using the 1984 master.
Some would say that Emotion does not deserve a second look because it was not one of Barbra's strongest albums. I would disagree. Emotion went Platinum, so it definitely sold well. Also, other artist's albums have been remastered that didn't sell half as well as Emotion did.
You can hear the sonic difference when you put the Emotion CD on your CD system. It's simply not up to today's CD standards. To prove my point, conduct an experiment on your stereo system:
- Put your Emotion CD in and play track 2, "Make No Mistake He's Mine".
- Now take out Emotion and put in Duets, remastered and released in 2002. Play track 14, "Make No Mistake He's Mine" — mastered by Stephen Marcussen and digitally edited by Stewart Whitmore for Marcussen Mastering.
- Weep for 1984 Emotion ... wish for a "Time Machine" to bring it into the new world of digital remastering.
So, all kidding aside, Emotion is on my list of Streisand CDs that requires Columbia's attention.
While we're talking about it, here's some suggestions on how to do Emotion right:
- Include some of the Greg Gorman photo outtakes.
- Put Jellybean Benitez's 12" remix of "Emotion" on the CD as a bonus track.
- Let's have "When the Lovin' Goes Out of the Lovin'", an outtake from the Emotion sessions. It's a great song!
Long live Emotion! Seriously, it deserves a second look from Columbia.
Original CD cover with "Compact Disc" logo in right-hand corner
2002 Remaster with stickers on jewel cover
CD Release Date: 1985 + 2002
Catalog Number(s):
CK 40092 (1985)
CK 85159 (2002)
CK 5063612 (2002 U.K. version with Bonus Track)
The 2002 CD was released in the U.K. with a bonus track: "I Know Him So Well".
2002 CD Notes:
Remastered from the original master tapes by Stephen Marcussen
Digitally edited by Stewart Whitmore for Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA.
Marcussen's remaster is wonderful, an improvement over the original CD.
CD Packaging Notes:
The CD insert is the same in both the 1985 and 2002 versions, with the exception of a printed credit for Marcussen's remastering duties.
Missing from both versions of the CD are Mark Sennett's photos of Streisand with Sondheim, Baskin, Matz, and Foster. The photos originally appeared in the LP on the Bergman's liner notes insert (photo below).
CD Release Date: 1987
Catalog Number(s):
CK 40788
Another 20-year-old CD that has not been touched by Columbia since it was originally released in 1987.
Oy.
You can hear it, too. Compared to other Streisand CDs, One Voice is simply not up to today's standards.
Please note that Rhino Entertainment released the DVD of the concert in 2006 and replicated the CD artwork for the DVD. John Arrias is credited on the DVD with "Remix Engineer and Mastering Supervision". So, it's possible to see and hear One Voice with fantastic sound.
However, it's a shame that the CD is still on the market sounding like it's 20 years old. How are uninformed buyers supposed to know that the DVD sounds twenty times better?
CD Release Date: 1987
Catalog Number(s):
CXK 40876
Columbia only pressed 12,000 CDs of Barbra's Nuts soundtrack and it has been out of print ever since.
Columbia, since 1987, has released millions of "CD Singles" to publicize Barbra's albums and projects (see photos below). These singles remain unsold and sit in discounted bins in CD stores waiting for someone to buy them up.
And yet, Nuts, Barbra's first film score, remains out of print for 20 years.
CD Release Date: 1988 + 2008
Catalog Number(s):
CK 40880
(1988)
CK 724695 (2008)
To my ears, all of Streisand's CDs which were released in the decade of the 1980s do not sound as good as the ones which were mixed (or remixed) and sold in the 1990s through today.
That applies to Till I Loved You.
The sound is not dynamic or full. The album is 20 years old as of 2008. It could use a "sonic facelift" or remastering. You can listen to "All I Ask of You" as it appears on the 2002 Essential Barbra Streisand collection and hear the difference. "Till I Loved You", the duet with Don Johnson, sounds equally better on 2002's Duets CD.
CD Release Date: 1989
Catalog Number(s):
CK 45369
Normally, I wouldn't really concern myself with this repackaging of hits, except that it contains two really great tracks that are not on any other Streisand album: "We're Not Making Love Anymore" and "Someone That I Used to Love".
For that reason, it would be nice to hear this CD remastered.
copyright © 2003-2008 Matt Howe
