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Simply Streisand

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Simply Streisand
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1967 (1967-10)
RecordedMarch 14, 15, 20, 1967
StudioColumbia 30th Street (New York City)
GenrePop
Length29:28
LabelColumbia
ProducerJack Gold, Howard A. Roberts
Barbra Streisand chronology
Je m'appelle Barbra
(1966)
Simply Streisand
(1967)
A Christmas Album
(1967)
Singles from Simply Streisand
  1. "Stout-hearted Men"
    Released: July 1967
  2. "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)"
    Released: November 1967

Simply Streisand (1967) is the ninth studio album released by American singer Barbra Streisand. The album was released simultaneously with A Christmas Album and was Streisand's first that failed to chart in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 when it peaked at #12. Simply Streisand was recorded March 14, 15 and 20th, 1967.[1] The album sold 250,000 in its first week in the market. It was certified Gold by RIAA on April 24, 2002.[2]

Production

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This was Streisand's first straight album — meaning songs in English, and without a TV special tie-in — since September 1964, when Columbia Records released People, even though "The Nearness of You" was played during the opening credits of Streisand's 1968 CBS-TV special, A Happening in Central Park, a year later. The liner notes for the LP were written by the composer Richard Rodgers: "No one is talented enough to sing with the depth of a fine cello or the lift of a climbing bird," he wrote. "Nobody, that is, except Barbra."

A song called "Look" (originally recorded for the previous album, Je m'appelle Barbra) was included as a b-side to the single: "Stout-Hearted Men".[3] Streisand also recorded "Willow Weep for Me" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" during these sessions. Both songs were not included in Simply Streisand. "Willow Weep For Me" was released in the fall of 2012.[4]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]

The album received mixed to unfavorable reviews from music critics. William Ruhlmann from AllMusic website gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "If this were the only Streisand album you ever heard, you'd still think she was good. It's only in comparison to what went before that it seems mediocre." Stephen Holden of The New York Times later wrote that Simply Streisand was similar to The Third Album (1964), "but it lacked the freshness of its prototype."[6]

According to Billboard magazine, Columbia Records reports a sale of nearly 250,000 in its first two weeks on the market.[7]

Track listing

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Side one

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  1. "My Funny Valentine" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 2:22
  2. "The Nearness of You" (Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington) – 3:27
  3. "When Sunny Gets Blue" (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:56
  4. "Make the Man Love Me" (Dorothy Fields, Arthur Schwartz) – 2:26
  5. "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez, James Sherman) - 2.50

Side two

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  1. "More Than You Know" (Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose, Vincent Youmans) – 3:29
  2. "I'll Know" (Frank Loesser) – 2:47
  3. "All the Things You Are" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) – 3:36
  4. "The Boy Next Door" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 2:50
  5. "Stout-Hearted Men" (Hammerstein, Sigmund Romberg) – 2:43

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 12

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ "Information about Simply Streisand". barbra-archives.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  2. ^ "RIAA-Barbra Streisand (Certification)". www.riaa.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "Barbra Streisand Archives - Je m'appelle Barbra (1966) - French Album, CD".
  4. ^ "Barbra Streisand (Official Site)". www.barbrastreisand.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  5. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Simply Streisand (Allmusic Review)". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  6. ^ Holden, Stephen. The Best of Streisand is in Her Records. The New York Times, 6 Nov. 1977, p. D24.
  7. ^ Col. Will Launch Double-Barreled Push on Barbra. Billboard Magazine. November 11, 1967. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  8. ^ "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  9. ^ "American album certifications – Barbra Streisand – Je m'appelle Barbra". Recording Industry Association of America.
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