Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. A Sleepin' Bee
2. Cry Me A River
3. I Stayed Too Long At The Fair
4. Lover, Come Back To Me
5. People
6. My Man
7. Second Hand Rose
8. He Touched Me
9. Don't Rain On My Parade
10. Happy Days Are Here Again (Live From Central Park)
11. On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)
12. Stoney End
13. Since I Fell For You
14. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
15. The Way We Were
16. All In Love Is Fair
17. Lazy Afternoon
18. Evergreen
19. My Heart Belongs To Me
20. You Don't Bring Me Flowers (w/ Neil Diamond)
21. The Main Event/Fight
22. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (w/ Donna Summer)

Disc 2:

1. Woman In Love
2. Guilty
3. Comin' In And Out Of Your Life
4. Memory
5. Papa, Can You Hear Me?
6. A Piece Of Sky
7. Putting It Together
8. Not While I'm Around
9. Send In The Clowns
10. Somewhere
11. All I Ask Of You
12. Children Will Listen
13. As If We Never Said Goodbye
14. I Finally Found Someone (w/ Bryan Adams)
15. Tell Him (w/ Celine Dion)
16. I've Dreamed Of You
17. Someday My Prince Will Come (2001 Version)
18. You'll Never Walk Alone (2001 Version)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1109 in Music
• Released on: 2002-01-29
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Limited Edition, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
Barbra Streisand's bravado made her one of the 1960s' overnight sensations. This 40-cut compendium traces her recording career from early tracks that frequently relay her subtlety to often impressive accommodations with soft rock and still later vibrato-fests that find her taxing the limits of performer's ego and listeners' ears. The narrative is one of direct, sometimes showy, emotion giving way to empty displays of technique. By 1983's icky anthem "A Piece of Sky," Streisand has plowed under the light touches of "Lover, Come Back to Me" and the triumphal Central Park version of "Happy Days Are Here Again." Where she produced schlock masterworks when teamed with Neil Diamond ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers") and Donna Summer ("Enough Is Enough") in the '70s, a diva summit with Celine Dion led to the car wreck of 1997's "Tell Him." Essential wraps up with previously unreleased takes of "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Barbra does it again...
Well, here it is. The life and times of Barbra Streisand. If you're a long time admirer like myself, you already have 38 of these 40 songs under other titles. Additionally, many have been released several times under "Greatest Hits Volume I, Volume II, Memory,...a Collection, and Just For The Record" titles. Literally, this is a compilation that spans 40 years of recordings from "A Sleepin' Bee, through movie soundtrack items such as "People", "On A Clear Day," "The Way We Were," through the disco era, namely "The Main Event," "No More Tears," and finally, Miss Streisand's return to her 'roots' with ballads like "Memory," "Somewhere," and "Send In The Clowns." While undoubtedly the talent of our lifetime, Miss Streisand is also a shrewd business woman. There are two previously unreleased songs on this 2 cd set ("Someday My Prince Will Come," and "You'll Never Walk Alone"), which make it a must-buy for the consummate Streisand fan (face it, she's had us hooked for years...). The digital re-mastering of many of the older recordings greatly enhances the over-all listening experience.

40 Years
THE ESSENTIAL BARBRA STREISAND spans a 40 year career of one of the most talented voices in the industry. Finally there is a complete collection that spans her entire career without skimping on the songs. This 40 song collection includes some of her biggest hits. While listening to this, as a listener you can hear the many dimensions of Barbra Streisand. She did rock, she did adult contemporary, she did disco, she did broadway, the question remains, is there anything she didnt do? Streisand is one of the only artists to have a #1 album in each decade. Her voice brings songs alive with an emotion that is uncomparable, and a power that is chilling. The CD also features superstar duets, such as "I Finally Found Someone" with Bryan Adams, from the Mirror Has Two Faces, and "Tell Him", with Celine Dion. There is also extra tracks, "Someday My Price Will Come", and "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Live from the 2001 Emmy's). I think its safe to say there wasn't a dry eye in that place, or of the viewers watching that stirring performance. Overall, this is an excellent representation of a great career, and a must have for fans and people alike.

Essentially Marvelous
ESSENTIAL BARBRA STREISAND is a great product for the new Streisand fan. For the fan (like me) who already has all of her albums, the bonus tracks are the main reason I got this 2-disk CD. The CD package is very nice, and includes some rare photos that I've never seen before.

I'm sure everyone has ideas about what should or should not have been included. I'm happy with the choices, although at this point in my Streisand fandom I would appreciate more "live" or unreleased versions of songs rather than the same studio versions that have appeared on all of Barbra's "Greatest Hits" albums (I and II, Memories, A Collection, and Just For The Record).

It is truly amazing that Barbra has recorded in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and into the 2000's. ESSENTIAL BARBRA STREISAND proves that she achieves greatness when her material is good. She started with pop and theater standards and seems to be ending her career by a return to these standards. One could argue that the new version of "Someday My Prince Will Come" succeeds artistically as compared to "I Finally Found Someone (Duet with Bryan Adams)".

Barbra Streisand is my favorite recording artist. My wish for this year-long celebration of her anniversary with Columbia Records is to have a new CD that features unreleased and live recordings. I'd love to hear "official", pristine recordings of the Daniel Ellsberg concert, the abandoned Back To Broadway sessions, the abandoned Broadway Album songs, the various songs she's recorded but never released (like "When The Lovin Goes Out of the Lovin"), and all of her original singles from the 60's that featured different arrangements from the album versions. There's some more officially released singles, not on any albums, that we should hear too! As well as the French EP songs like "Les Enfants Qui Pleurent" and "Et La Mer".

Thanks for the new album, Barbra!