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The five-star raves for this album are touching, but hard to justify. I give it four stars only because Streisand is in extremely good voice and it contains three or four of her most wonderful performances - specifically, the perfect jazzy rendition of New York State Of Mind, the heartbreakingly beautiful Love Comes From Unexpected Places and the deceptively breezy reading of Rupert Holmes Lullaby For Myself. Otherwise, it's essentially an album of leftovers from A Star Is Born (including Lullaby and Answer Me), well-sung fluff and embarrassing rants (Barbra empathising with women who have Cabin Fever - oh puh-lease!). Some of the fluff (Superman and I Found You Love) is fun, but some of it is bland and tedious (My Heart Belongs To Me). Indeed, Superman is arguably Streisand's most uneven album ever, given that it contains the aforementioned perfect gems alongside quite possibly the worst track she's ever released - the excruciating Don't Believe What You Read. (Only A Step In The Right Direction on Emotion is a close contender.)
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After the phenomenal success of A Star Is Born, Barbra was teamed with producer Gary Klein for the purpose of recording an album that would keep her on the pop charts. Klein opted to push Barbra even further into mainstream pop and rock, while still retaining some of her classic sound. The strategy worked: STREISAND SUPERMAN shot to #3 on the Hot 200 and was certified Double Platinum, while the disc's sole single release (the wrenching ballad "My Heart Belongs To Me") hit #4 on the pop chart and spent a whole month at #1 on the adult contemporary chart.
Containing a combustible mix of genres, from soaring pop ballads to moderately hard rock, STREISAND SUPERMAN is easily Streisand's most eclectic album since 1974's underrated BUTTERFLY. While the song set of this album is not quite as varied as that previous album's collection of material, SUPERMAN is considerably more consistent than BUTTERFLY. Even more impressively, none of SUPERMAN's tracks feel like an ill-fit for the singer as some of BUTTERFLY's tracks did (particularly "Grandma's Hands" and "Life On Mars").
The seventies was a time when Streisand was repeatedly trying to keep one foot in her traditional style of MOR belting, while also trying to branch out to other demographics. STREISAND SUPERMAN is arguably the singer's most artistically successful attempt at straddling both markets, without shortchanging her longtime fans, or the curious rock fans that might also pick up the record. The album successfully places the gorgeous, pseudo-classical piece "Answer Me" and the soaring, feminist-power ballad "Lullaby For Myself" next to contemporary pop/rock songs without ever making the album feel disorganized or disorienting.
The main factor behind the album's success is that Streisand and Klein have chosen songs that are a perfect match for Streisand's distinctive delivery, and the disc's arrangements (largely by Nick DeCaro, Jack Nitzsche, and Charlie Calello) manage to showcase Streisand's phenomenal voice without overpowering the material. In this sense, the two most dynamic tracks are the rockers "Don't Believe What You Read" and "Cabin Fever," both of which perfectly suit Streisand's fiery delivery, without belying their effectiveness as relatively hard rock songs. The former, which was co-written by Streisand, is also notable as possibly the best attack on the media in song since Pete Townshend's "They Are All In Love."
In addition to the aforementioned songs, my favorite tracks on the disc include the rousing title song, the touching "Love Comes From Unexpected Places," the Billy Joel-penned "New York State Of Mind," and the unabashed disco of "I Found You Love." STREISAND SUPERMAN is easily Streisand's best contemporary pop release of the late-seventies. The album is the most successful Streisand had come to reaching a broader audience without sacrificing her own identity up to that date, and in manny ways this album can be seen as the forerunner to 1980's muti-platinum, Barry Gibb-produced smash GUILTY. A bright and involving listen from beginning to end, STREISAND SUPERMAN is a must for Streisand fans.
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Yeah, that album cover is Five stars, the long socks, the Superman logo- the Jewfro. Awesome, I say, Awesome. And the music? Perfect listening for when you want to gaze at that wacky, wacky album cover. I hope The Strokes take some inspiration from this album cover when they get around to covering their third album.
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This is the best of Barbara. She has touched more hearts with this album than any other.
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suprisingly this album has found favour with a younger audience. they dont like streisands more complex, theatrical vocals (yentl, the broadway album) but they love this!
Being 22 myself I have to say it probably sounds better now than it did at the time. 'cabin fever' is electric, 'dont believe what u read' a stomping critique on the mass media. The ballads are better than anything celine dion or mariah carey currently produce; 'new york state of mind' is awesome with its siren vocal, while 'love comes from unexpected places' is simply gorgeous.
the artwork is so retro (i've got it on a t-shirt now!) and the whole package sounds was way ahead of its time. anyone who likes THE VOICE, but not the showtunes, giv this a try, THE WOMAN CAN SING!
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