Having recently become the only artist to score a U.K. number one album in each of the last five decades, the subject of
Duck Sauce
's
Boney M
-sampling club anthem, and a much talked about inspiration for one of the main characters in Glee, this 2010
Sony
compilation of the legendary
Barbra Streisand
couldn't have been timed any better.
Barbra: The Ultimate Collection
may be less comprehensive than 2002's two-disc
The Essential
, but its track list still reads like a dictionary of definitions of easy listening pop standards, with a representative selection covering 45 years, from 1964's debut hit
"People"
to her cover of
Frank Sinatra
"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning"
from 2009's
Diana Krall
-produced
Love Is the Answer
. All of her five Billboard chart-toppers are here, from her very first number one,
"The Way We Were,"
to Academy Award-winning Best Original Song,
"Love Theme from 'A Star Is Born' (Evergreen),"
to her duets with
Donna Summer
(a rare venture into disco territory on
"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
) and
Neil Diamond
(
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers"
), to her signature tune,
"Woman in Love."
But there are equally classic tracks elsewhere, with numbers from her most famous films such as
Yentl
"Papa, Can You Hear Me?"
and
Funny Girl
"Don't Rain on My Parade,"
collaborations with
Celine Dion
"Tell Him"
Barry Gibb
"Guilty"
), and her powerful renditions of musical standards from
Sunset Boulevard
"As If We Never Said Goodbye"
),
A Little Night Music
"Send in the Clowns"
), and
West Side Story
"Somewhere"
). There are a few notable omissions, such as her last U.S. Top Ten single (the
Bryan Adams
duet
"I Finally Found Someone"
), and a couple of heavy hitters from her prolific '70s heyday (
"My Heart Belongs to Me,"
"Stoney End"
), but on the whole,
is a valiant attempt to paint as big a picture of her illustrious career as is possible on just a single disc. ~ Jon O'Brien