According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Barbra Streisand holds the record for the most top-ten albums of any female recording artist—32 since 1963. She’s also had amazing staying power, holding the record for widest span of time (48 years), between first and most recent top-ten albums of any female recording artist. With her 2009 album, Love Is the Answer, she became one of the rare artists to achieve number-one albums in five consecutive decades. Despite her tremendous success, Barbra has long been known for her philanthropy and work for charity.
In 2011, The MusiCares Foundation, an organization within the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) that provides financial assistance for musicians in need, recognized Streisand’s contributions by naming her their person of the year. Along with the award, the Foundation staged a tribute concert. Sixteen artists from various musical genres took the stage to pay tribute to Streisand and a career that has spanned nearly half a century.
The set opens with Diana Krall, who gives a syncopated performance of “Down With Love” and then Seal gives a soulful interpretation of “Guilty.” Other excellent performances include the Nikki Yanofsky/Herbie Hancock collaboration on “On A Clear Day (You Can Forever)/Lazy Afternoon, Stevie Wonder and Arturo Sandoval on Babs most famous song, “People,” Jeff Beck on guitar with LeAnn Rimes and BeBe Winans doing a sexy, bluesy version of “Come Rain Or Shine,” and Leona Lewis hitting it out of the park on “Somewhere.”
Not every artist quite hits the mark. I love Tony Bennett but he sounds a bit tired on “Smile.” Faith Hill is beautiful and sounds good on but looks stiff on “Send in the Clowns.” Barry Manilow delivers a rather standard version of “Memory.” Kristen Chenoweth is a wonderful singer, but her duet with Matthew Morrison just doesn’t quite work. Morrison’s Glee co-star Lea Michele sings “My Man” without leaving much of an impression.
The one thing that feels out of place in the context of the tribute concert is an appearance by Bill Maher. Appearing as a friend of Streisand, he says he wants to talk about her as a “citizen.” He starts by discussing her film career and quickly moves into partisan politics. Maher doesn’t look particularly comfortable and it just interrupts the pacing of the show. Thankfully, his segment doesn’t last long.
Last but not least, Streisand herself takes the stage. I’ve never heard Babs sound anything but pitch perfect; here is no exception as she soars on “Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Promise (I’ll Never Say Goodbye”). After that, Streisand says a brief thank you and it’s over. At just about 65 minutes, this is just about as good as tribute concerts get; music from top to bottom with little talking and fluff. Streisand fans will definitely want to give this disc a look.
Shout Factory presents A MusiCare’s Tribute to Barbra Streisand in an AVC-encoded, 1080i 1.78:1 transfer. Shot with HD cameras, the show looks stunning. Detail is great. You can see beads of sweat on the artist’s faces. Colors are strong but never over-the-top. With no digital anomalies to speak of, this transfer is just beautiful.
The Blu-ray features two audio mixes, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix and a PCM stereo mix. Without a doubt, the DTS track is the one to choose. Offering a broad soundscape and dulcet tones, the track delivers each song wonderfully. Directionality is spot on, with the performer and the main instruments coming through the front speakers and the orchestra through the rears. The LFE offers a nice balance and the mix has fine dynamic range. Thankfully, distortion is a no show.
Other than a booklet listing the concert selections and explaining MusiCares, the disc contains no special features.
