Evergreen: Music from the Films of Barbra
Streisand: (Compilation) The existence of this album in the Sonic
Images archives can't help but remind you of moderate Republican
presidential candidates making speeches to Evangelical conventions. It
would perhaps be easier for the moderate Republican to sell his
mainstream platform to the religious right than it would be for record
producer Ford A. Thaxton to market this Barbra Streisand compilation to
film score collectors. But those collectors obviously weren't the
intended audience for this product; it was an attempt by Sonic Images to
use a marketable name to make a quick buck, and you can't blame them for
trying. That doesn't mean that "Evergreen: Music from the Films of
Barbra Streisand" will appeal to anyone who reads any of the other
reviews at Filmtracks, though. Like previous compilations by the Sonic
Images label, this album features re-recordings that celebrate the
career of a popular mainstream artist, and this time, the tribute goes
to the highly polarizing Streisand. With representations of songs and
themes from films she directed, produced, starred in, and performed for,
the compilation doesn't provide what it needed to into order to truly
make the big money: Streisand's voice. Not meant to compete with her
countless dozens of albums through the years, though, this compilation
album, with a few notable exceptions, contains all the most famous of
these works. Offered are non-vocal, instrumental performances by veteran
musicians from the City of Prague Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the
Americas, John Beal and the Symphonic Assembly, and le Grand Orchestre
Symphonique. On the whole, the performances range from those that are
"true to the original" to those that have a bit of artistic liberty
applied to them, and your enjoyment of each of the nine selections will
likely hinge on your appreciation of the individual original
scores.
Starting the album, the
Funny Girl suite has the
feel of a concert band performance. Although performed correctly by
note, the medley takes on the characteristics of a carnival ride; this
is possibly the result of the lack of vocals during the snazzy rendition
of the themes.
The Way We Were is perhaps the most recognizable
theme on the album, and is adequately presented with a new arrangement.
As one of the weaker tracks on the album,
The Mirror Has Two
Faces suffers from a few awkward performance flubs during its second
half. The performances of
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and
"Evergreen" from
A Star is Born are very good, with freshly
minted interpretations of the themes. The selection from
The Eyes of
Laura Mars has maybe the most remote relationship to Streisand, and
without her performance, there isn't much to tie it in with the rest of
the album (though the sax is a decent replacement). James Newton
Howard's theme from
Prince of Tides is the most attractive track
for score fans, with much of the emotion from the original.
Nuts
excels with John Beal's flawless piano performance. Finishing the album,
the lengthy suite from
Yentl has a generous amount of
interpretations for the harp, an interesting take on the well known
music for the film. Overall, this album comes down to the simple
question of whether or not you enjoy the positive spirit often behind
Streisand's work, and whether you're nostalgic for a musical tour of her
cinematic career. By the end of this compilation, you should be very
well aware of the optimistic and fluffy atmosphere that accompanies her
works, and that overly upbeat romanticism could wear on some listeners.
It can be argued that many of the themes suffer without Streisand's own
performances and some listeners won't be interested in the absence of
her vocal talents. The performances vary in quality from track to track,
with the majority of them enjoyable enough to sustain the album. The
sound quality is adequate, though better mixing has been done for the
City of Prague Philharmonic on the Silva Screen label. Streisand fans
should certainly delight in an elegant and relaxing mix of her career.
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