Kat: "The first time, ever I saw your face . . ." -- her voice trembles, you hear her breathe and are reminded of Barbra Streisand asking where the breaths were as she listened to an acetate of "You are Woman, I am Man" sung by her and Omar Sharif for the FUNNY GIRL film soundtrack. "Why," she asked, "did you cut my breathing on the duet with Omar Sharif?"
Barbra is an artist and a song from her is a performance. That's actually the only reason we have had her as one of our greatest American singers. She didn't want to be a singer. But instead of making the rounds for auditions and getting rejected, she could take control, turn a song into a performance and show what she could do. That's why we got lucky and have had all these years to enjoy her singing. (And her plan worked, it did attract attention and she did go on to become a first-rate actress.)
No one messes with her breathing -- or anything else -- on THE SECRET OF LIFE: PARTNERS, VOLUME 2. Like PARTNERS and it's pure joy. It's a duet album but not like her 2002 album DUETS which was two newly recorded duets put together with 17 duet recordings from earlier in her career. This is like 2014's PARTNERS and 2016's ENCORE: MOVIE PARTNERS SING BROADWAY. All the tracks -- eleven on the new album -- were recorded for the album, no raiding the musical catalogue.
Ten excellent recordings and one passable one.
James Taylor. Barbra records his "Secret O' Life" for this album -- adds an "f" to "O" for "Of" and it's the title track. Sadly, James also sings on it. He doesn't have the voice that he had and his singing was never that great to begin with. Is there anyone who enunciates worse than James when singing? He was the 70s Pat Boone, repeatedly rescuing his failing career by doing white-washed and pathetic versions of actual R&B songs. He only had four top ten hits on the pop chart -- "Handy Man" and "How Sweet It Is" were the R&B classics he butchered. "Get Back, Honkey Cat," indeed. The other two? When a singer-songwriter's biggest hit -- and only number one -- is written by someone else, that's a reflection upon their own lack of talent. James' only number one is "You've Got A Friend" which Carole King wrote and recorded on her massive selling classic TAPESTRY. Now James did have one top ten hit that he actually wrote. And that's really why Barbra shouldn't have recorded this song.
"Fire & Rain." That's the only top ten hit he wrote and that's James as a songwriter, redundant, superficial, obvious and deeply shallow.
"I've seen fire . . . and I've seen rain . . ."
Wow. You've really seen it all. No one else in this world has ever seen fire . . . and rain.
What an artiste.
"The Secret O Life" is a bad song -- James' father was right, it's about failure a few feet ahead. It's a lyrical embarrassment from the start, opening with "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time" which might be the setting for something deep but instead goes for the obvious and trite, "Any fool can do it/ There ain't nothing to it." Is this supposed to be "The Locomotion"? And does no one notice the lack of rhymes -- end rhymes or internal -- throughout the rest of the song? It's a really poorly written song.
Barbra mixes her voice with James' in a way that provides some drama and interest into the banal lyrics but, honestly, Barbra, no one should have to work that hard. Next time, don't.
The other ten tracks are amazing. One right after the other. Hozier is the perfect voice to pair with her on "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Sting and she take "Fragile" to the heavens -- so much so, you may wish the entire album was nothing but duets between the two. ("Fragile" is Mike's favorite track on the album.) Paul McCartney shows up for "My Valentine" and who would have guessed how great the two sound together?
No one -- certainly not me -- would have guessed how great a singing duo Barbra and Bob Dylan would be. COLUMBIA's two best selling and longest selling artists who both started out in the early sixties finally team up on "The Very Thought Of You" and it's as though they've been singing with one another for years. Their voices fit so well together.
Two legends. And I think the song works. But I am a fan of both. They have lasted the test of time. I was a big fan of both in the sixties.
I became fans of both on their second studio albums. I had heard and loved "Blowin' In The Wind" and got it on 45. As much as I loved that song --and still do -- it was the flip side that really nailed it for me -- "Don't Think Twice It's Alright." The album THE FREE WHEELIN' BOB DYLAN came out in May of 1963. I did not get it then. I got it after I bought the 45 of "Blowin' In The Wind" which was fall of 1963 when I was starting college. That is also when I got THE SECOND BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM. That remains my favorite album by her. It is just beautiful. It also was her first album to go gold.
These were both very big campus albums in 1963 and 1964.
SECRET OF LIFE: PARTNERS VOLUME 2 is one joyful surprise after another. Tim McGraw can sing but with Barbra? That was one of my concerns but the two fit together perfectly on "I Love Us." Laufey and Barbra thrill on "Letter To My 13 Year Old Self." And Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande join her for a very moving trio performing "One Heart, One Voice."
So score card? Eight amazing songs and recordings, as I've noted, and "Secret O' Life" which Barbra rescues with heavy duty vocal CPR. That's nine tracks.
I've lived with the album for a little over a week now. And the two most magnificent songs are two that I haven't yet noted.
First up, her duet with Seal on "Love Will Survive."
Is that not perfection? Get ready now to again have your mind blown. This is Barbra performing "To Lose You Again" with Sam Smith.
That is just so beautiful -- especially on the bridge.
THE SECRET OF LIFE: PARTNERS, VOLUME 2 is a classic Barbra Streisand album. It's not my all time favorite -- that will always be THE SECOND BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM. But it's top five and that's really saying something.
