BARBRA STREISAND - Duets (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

In her lengthy career, Barbra Streisand has never shown much inclination to share the spotlight. In the movies, she must endure a leading man, but in her recordings, she has gone it alone for the most part. In 1978, however, a disc jockey edited together her and Neil Diamond's recordings of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and she and Diamond quickly cut a real duet, resulting in a number one hit. Thereafter, she cannily coaxed others into sharing the microphone, resulting in chart singles with Donna Summer, Barry Gibb, Kim Carnes, former boyfriend Don Johnson, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion, and album tracks with Johnny Mathis, Michael Crawford, and Vince Gill. The material mostly consisted of mediocre adult contemporary ballads that were outshone by the star power of the singers. This album collects all those duets, plus a couple of newly recorded mediocre adult contemporary ballads sung with Barry Manilow and Josh Groban, and a few stray tracks from the 1960s and early '70s when Streisand joined another singer. Her unsuitability to the duet format is repeatedly evidenced, as she seems virtually incapable of shutting up when her partner is trying to take a solo, invariably humming in the background to draw attention back to herself. The only real exception to this rule is the version of "I've Got a Crush on You" recorded for Frank Sinatra's own Duets album, a track Streisand did not control. Naturally, the best performances occur when she is paired with a singer who is more than just a cipher -- Sinatra, Ray Charles, or Judy Garland, the latter two in TV performances. Then, of course, there's the medley of "One Less Bell to Answer" and "A House Is Not a Home" on which she finally finds the perfect duet partner, her overdubbed self! by William Ruhlmann  
Tracklist :
1    I Won't Be The One To Let Go 4:41
Producer – Richard Marx, Walter Afanasieff
Vocals – Barry Manilow
Written-By – Barry Manilow, Richard Marx
2    Guilty 4:25
Producer – Albhy Galuten, Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson
Vocals – Barry Gibb
Written-By – Robin Gibb, Barry Gibb & Maurice Gibb
3    You Don't Bring Me Flowers 3:25
Producer – Bob Gaudio
Vocals – Neil Diamond
Written-By – Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Neil Diamond
4    I Finally Found Someone 3:43
Producer – David Foster
Vocals – Bryan Adams
Written-By – Barbra Streisand, Bryan Adams, Marvin Hamlisch, R.J. Lange
5    Cryin' Time 2:18
Producer – Martin Erlichman
Vocals – Ray Charles
Written-By – Buck Owens
6    I've Got A Crush On You 3:23
Producer – David Foster, Phil Ramone
Vocals – Frank Sinatra
Written-By – George & Ira Gershwin
7    Tell Him 4:53
Producer – David Foster, Walter Afanasieff
Vocals – Céline Dion
Written-By – David Foster, Linda Thompson, Walter Afanasieff
8    No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) 4:43
Producer – Gary Klein
Vocals – Donna Summer
Written-By – Bruce Roberts, Paul Jabara
9    What Kind Of Fool 4:07
Producer – Albhy Galuten, Barry Gibb, Karl Richardson
Vocals – Barry Gibb
Written-By – Albhy Galuten, Barry Gibb
10    I Have A Love / One Hand, One Heart 4:45
Producer – David Foster
Vocals – Johnny Mathis
Written-By – Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim
11    One Less Bell To Answer / A House Is Not A Home 6:32
Producer – Richard Perry
Written-By – Bacharach And David
12    Lost Inside Of You 2:55
Producer – Barbra Streisand, Phil Ramone
Vocals – Kris Kristofferson
Written-By – Barbra Streisand, Leon Russell
13    Till I Loved You 4:17
Producer – Phil Ramone
Vocals – Don Johnson
Written-By – Maury Yeston
14    Make No Mistake, He's Mine 4:11
Producer – Bill Cuomo, Kim Carnes
Vocals – Kim Carnes
Written-By – Kim Carnes
15    If You Ever Leave Me 4:38
Producer – David Foster, Richard Marx
Vocals – Vince Gill
Written-By – Richard Marx
16    The Music Of The Night 5:38
Co-producer – Barbra Streisand
Producer – David Foster
Vocals – Michael Crawford
Written-By – Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe
17    Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead 1:54
Producer – Thomas Z. Shepard
Vocals – Harold Arlen
Written-By – E.Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen
18    Get Happy / Happy Days Are Here Again 2:22
Vocals – Judy Garland
Written-By [Get Happy] – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
Written-By [Happy Days Are Here Again] – Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
19    All I Know Of Love 4:29
Producer – David Foster
Vocals – Josh Groban
Written-By – David Foster, Linda Thompson