Date: Mar 5, 1977
Weeks: 3
Before I started this blog, I really didn't care one way or the other about Barbra Streisand. But now I think she's awful. She puts all this emotion into her singing, and every bit of it sounds forced and fake and about as insincere as a singer can. Happily, this is the last time we'll be seeing her here as this is her last No. 1 song on the list.
The music in this song isn't bad. It's from the movie A Star is Born, and the intent is clearly to make a simple, timeless, elegant song for a movie. And on that level, it's a success. I don't usually stand for this much use of strings in pop music, but this really movie music, so it works here. The piano is nice, the light strummy guitar works, and the tropes of pop music are kept out, unlike what happened to "The Way We Were" (#317) . So kudos to whoever composed it, which was... Streisand herself, actually. Well, clearly she has a talent for something, anyway.
So it's up to her to ruin the song with her voice, and clearly she's up to that task. I just hate her voice so much. She takes huge breaths before she belts anything out, over-enunciates the "w" sound on "one," and can't handle any of the pitch-shifting that's required in the song on the word "Evergreen." And as usual, she's investing every syllable with way too much insincere emotion, making sure any genuine emotion remains unexpressed.
"Love soft as an easy chair." No. That's awful. Off to simile school with you. "One love that is shared by two." Yes, that's generally how love works. Two people, two loves doesn't usually work out that well. "Like a rose under the April snow, I was always certain love will grow." So you were like a rose under snow? Because that's what your misplaced modifier says. And when the lyrics aren't stupid, they're generic and meaningless, so I think I'll stop there, before my head explodes.
My verdict: Don't like it. This song won both an Oscar and a Grammy, providing further evidence for the irrelevance of both awards.
Showing posts with label Barbra Streisand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbra Streisand. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Song #477: "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer
Date: Nov 24, 1979
Weeks: 2
Oh no. Not another 1930s-style Barbra Streisand soft song. Oh no! Suddenly it turned into a repetitive Donna Summer disco song. It's the worst of both worlds. I've disliked both of their songs separately, and now I have to endure one where they mix their styles. How am I going to get through this?
Okay, okay. Start by saying something positive. Well, in the soft part of the song, Summer's part is quite good. The 70s disco music that I'm used to hearing from her doesn't do her voice justice. Of course, that's kind of ruined by Streisand doing the same fake-sounding oversinging thing I've complained about before.
No, stay positive! The disco part of the song actually seems more compatible with Streisand's singing style. The bold music seems to actually match it. She should make this kind of music more often. Then again, she even manages to find ways to overwhelm the frantic disco music.
Okay, okay, what else. Well, the lyrics seem to be feminist. "Enough is enough is enough." Great message for women in tough relationships: get out. Of course, the song kind of undermines that when it tries to explain what's so wrong about the guy and comes up with "My love life is boring me to tears." Okay, but maybe it's a song about having the self-awareness to understand when a relationship is over. No, the song says "Pack his raincoat, show him out."
It's really two songs that have failed to properly integrate. One is a soft song that laments the sadness of a relationship that has gotten stale and just isn't exciting any more. The other is about a woman who has been wronged. They don't quite go together correctly.
Musically, each song is pretty mediocre. The first half is piano and strings, and resists the temptation to add too much additional sound to it, but is kind of plain and unexciting. The second half sounds a lot like "Hot Stuff" (#465). It's okay, but has the usual 70s problems of adding too many strings and not enough guitars.
The best part of the song is probably the bridge, when the song gets quiet except for the bongos driving the song forward. There is an extended version of the song that extends this bridge, and I think I like the extended version better for focusing on the best part of the song. Or maybe I've just taken the whole idea of staying positive too far and found the part that annoys me least.
My verdict: Don't like it. It's like they took two songs I didn't like and stuck them together with tape and glue.
Weeks: 2
Oh no. Not another 1930s-style Barbra Streisand soft song. Oh no! Suddenly it turned into a repetitive Donna Summer disco song. It's the worst of both worlds. I've disliked both of their songs separately, and now I have to endure one where they mix their styles. How am I going to get through this?
Okay, okay. Start by saying something positive. Well, in the soft part of the song, Summer's part is quite good. The 70s disco music that I'm used to hearing from her doesn't do her voice justice. Of course, that's kind of ruined by Streisand doing the same fake-sounding oversinging thing I've complained about before.
No, stay positive! The disco part of the song actually seems more compatible with Streisand's singing style. The bold music seems to actually match it. She should make this kind of music more often. Then again, she even manages to find ways to overwhelm the frantic disco music.
Okay, okay, what else. Well, the lyrics seem to be feminist. "Enough is enough is enough." Great message for women in tough relationships: get out. Of course, the song kind of undermines that when it tries to explain what's so wrong about the guy and comes up with "My love life is boring me to tears." Okay, but maybe it's a song about having the self-awareness to understand when a relationship is over. No, the song says "Pack his raincoat, show him out."
It's really two songs that have failed to properly integrate. One is a soft song that laments the sadness of a relationship that has gotten stale and just isn't exciting any more. The other is about a woman who has been wronged. They don't quite go together correctly.
Musically, each song is pretty mediocre. The first half is piano and strings, and resists the temptation to add too much additional sound to it, but is kind of plain and unexciting. The second half sounds a lot like "Hot Stuff" (#465). It's okay, but has the usual 70s problems of adding too many strings and not enough guitars.
The best part of the song is probably the bridge, when the song gets quiet except for the bongos driving the song forward. There is an extended version of the song that extends this bridge, and I think I like the extended version better for focusing on the best part of the song. Or maybe I've just taken the whole idea of staying positive too far and found the part that annoys me least.
My verdict: Don't like it. It's like they took two songs I didn't like and stuck them together with tape and glue.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Song #317: "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand
Date: Feb 2, 1974
Weeks: 3
I suppose it's to this song's credit that I thought it was older than this. Apparently it was originally written for a 1973 movie, The Way We Were, starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. The movie is set in the 1930s, so it's appropriate that this feels like it should have been a song from the 1930s.
Well, that was my impression of it before I heard this recording, anyway, which I believe to be the recording that reached No. 1. While the lyrics and general string and piano music sound like they fit with the 1930s, this recording has carefully had several layers of unpleasant 70s excess piled on top of it. There's a bass guitar providing a 70s funk rhythm and cymbal percussion that just isn't needed. The string section is too big. The song just needs a pleasant little violin, but instead there are layers and layers of powerful strings that just makes the song feel way bigger than it needs to be.
Of course, the strings need to be that powerful to successfully compete with Barbra Streisand. As I complained before, Streisand oversings, and she's certainly doing that here. Again, it's too much power, and robs the song of its genuine emotion.
I like the lyrics. They feel appropriately timeless. "Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line?" I like the overall awareness that we tend to look back fondly on the past and remember the good things. And I suppose now that I know that it's deliberately trying to be the type of song from the 1930s that people in the 1970s are remembering, the lyrics seem even more appropriate. Good on you, song.
My verdict: Don't like it. The way this song was performed in the movie is a little better, with a more genuine 1930s-style musical arrangement. That doesn't solve the problem of Streisand oversinging it, but it feels more timeless and classic with an arrangement that isn't so stuck in the 1970s.
Weeks: 3
I suppose it's to this song's credit that I thought it was older than this. Apparently it was originally written for a 1973 movie, The Way We Were, starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. The movie is set in the 1930s, so it's appropriate that this feels like it should have been a song from the 1930s.
Well, that was my impression of it before I heard this recording, anyway, which I believe to be the recording that reached No. 1. While the lyrics and general string and piano music sound like they fit with the 1930s, this recording has carefully had several layers of unpleasant 70s excess piled on top of it. There's a bass guitar providing a 70s funk rhythm and cymbal percussion that just isn't needed. The string section is too big. The song just needs a pleasant little violin, but instead there are layers and layers of powerful strings that just makes the song feel way bigger than it needs to be.
Of course, the strings need to be that powerful to successfully compete with Barbra Streisand. As I complained before, Streisand oversings, and she's certainly doing that here. Again, it's too much power, and robs the song of its genuine emotion.
I like the lyrics. They feel appropriately timeless. "Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line?" I like the overall awareness that we tend to look back fondly on the past and remember the good things. And I suppose now that I know that it's deliberately trying to be the type of song from the 1930s that people in the 1970s are remembering, the lyrics seem even more appropriate. Good on you, song.
My verdict: Don't like it. The way this song was performed in the movie is a little better, with a more genuine 1930s-style musical arrangement. That doesn't solve the problem of Streisand oversinging it, but it feels more timeless and classic with an arrangement that isn't so stuck in the 1970s.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Song #455: "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
Date: Dec 2, 1978
Weeks: 2
Barbara Streisand again, two days in a row? Curse you, Randomizer!
Her voice still bugs me by sounding fakely over-emotional. At least in this song Neil Diamond is around to help offset that. His voice is often-mocked, but I've always liked his unique sound and he acquits himself well here. He sounds genuine. And I like Streisand's voice more than usual. Maybe by trying not to overshadow Diamond, she's reigning herself in just the right amount. They're a good pair for a duet.
The music in this is actually pretty good. Rather than a quickly-dated pop sound, they've gone with something completely orchestral. It sounds like it could come from a musical. When I first listened to it, I thought it must have come from a Broadway musical and tried to figure out which one. That turns out not to have been the case, although Wikipedia says it was originally conceived as a TV theme song. So, partial credit to me then?
Anyway, the music is a piano and string arrangement. Very classic and classy. It would fit in a musical. Maybe not as the big bombastic song that moves the plot forward and sticks in your memory after the show is over, but certainly as an enjoyable early piece that sets up a relationship between two characters. The song is just as big as it would need to be to fill that role in a musical.
The lyrics are sad. It's about a couple that has started taking each other for granted. They don't bring flowers or sing love songs like they used to. It's sad and kind of depressing, but it does end with just a bit of hope, when they both say "You think I could learn how to tell you goodbye." But they can't say goodbye, because they still have affection for each other and neither of them is ready to give up on the relationship yet. I'm glad for that bit a hope. It turns an otherwise depressing song into something kind of sweet.
My verdict: Like it. It doesn't have a traditional pop sound, but I would enjoy this song if it were in the middle of a musical.
Weeks: 2
Barbara Streisand again, two days in a row? Curse you, Randomizer!
Her voice still bugs me by sounding fakely over-emotional. At least in this song Neil Diamond is around to help offset that. His voice is often-mocked, but I've always liked his unique sound and he acquits himself well here. He sounds genuine. And I like Streisand's voice more than usual. Maybe by trying not to overshadow Diamond, she's reigning herself in just the right amount. They're a good pair for a duet.
The music in this is actually pretty good. Rather than a quickly-dated pop sound, they've gone with something completely orchestral. It sounds like it could come from a musical. When I first listened to it, I thought it must have come from a Broadway musical and tried to figure out which one. That turns out not to have been the case, although Wikipedia says it was originally conceived as a TV theme song. So, partial credit to me then?
Anyway, the music is a piano and string arrangement. Very classic and classy. It would fit in a musical. Maybe not as the big bombastic song that moves the plot forward and sticks in your memory after the show is over, but certainly as an enjoyable early piece that sets up a relationship between two characters. The song is just as big as it would need to be to fill that role in a musical.
The lyrics are sad. It's about a couple that has started taking each other for granted. They don't bring flowers or sing love songs like they used to. It's sad and kind of depressing, but it does end with just a bit of hope, when they both say "You think I could learn how to tell you goodbye." But they can't say goodbye, because they still have affection for each other and neither of them is ready to give up on the relationship yet. I'm glad for that bit a hope. It turns an otherwise depressing song into something kind of sweet.
My verdict: Like it. It doesn't have a traditional pop sound, but I would enjoy this song if it were in the middle of a musical.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Song #493: "Woman In Love" by Barbra Streisand
Date: Oct 25, 1980
Weeks: 3
This song is so soft and so slow that it's an instant candidate for my insomnia playlist. Can't sleep? Pop on some of the softest, slowest, least interesting music you've ever heard and you'll be off to dreamland in no time.
The music is barely there. A slow guitar strums and a minimal drum beat is present, and there are occasional swells from strings. But even though the music is slight, it's not stark. A stark sound, such as a lone piano or an acoustic guitar, can make a song feel intimate and meaningful. But this sound is just full enough to rob it of that intimacy without replacing it with anything engaging. This music drones.
I suppose the music is so low-key to make sure it doesn't interfere with Barbra Streisand's vocals. I feel like Streisand's singing gets mocked a lot for sounding overemotional in a really fake way. Having listened to this song, I'm not going to argue with that perception. The emotion feels forced, like she's trying to show off her voice rather than convey a feeling.
The lyrics are meaningless. I don't understand what is being conveyed here. "I kiss the morning goodbye, but down inside you know, we never know why." What? We never know why you kiss the morning goodbye? At noon the morning ends and we don't intuitively understand how the rotation of the earth makes that happen? You know we don't know something? Did I know that? What does any of this even mean? And that's just a representative sample. Most of the rest of the lyrics have the same problem.
Not that you'll even notice the lyrics after the music puts you to sleep.
My verdict: Don't like it. This one fails on just about every level.
Weeks: 3
This song is so soft and so slow that it's an instant candidate for my insomnia playlist. Can't sleep? Pop on some of the softest, slowest, least interesting music you've ever heard and you'll be off to dreamland in no time.
The music is barely there. A slow guitar strums and a minimal drum beat is present, and there are occasional swells from strings. But even though the music is slight, it's not stark. A stark sound, such as a lone piano or an acoustic guitar, can make a song feel intimate and meaningful. But this sound is just full enough to rob it of that intimacy without replacing it with anything engaging. This music drones.
I suppose the music is so low-key to make sure it doesn't interfere with Barbra Streisand's vocals. I feel like Streisand's singing gets mocked a lot for sounding overemotional in a really fake way. Having listened to this song, I'm not going to argue with that perception. The emotion feels forced, like she's trying to show off her voice rather than convey a feeling.
The lyrics are meaningless. I don't understand what is being conveyed here. "I kiss the morning goodbye, but down inside you know, we never know why." What? We never know why you kiss the morning goodbye? At noon the morning ends and we don't intuitively understand how the rotation of the earth makes that happen? You know we don't know something? Did I know that? What does any of this even mean? And that's just a representative sample. Most of the rest of the lyrics have the same problem.
Not that you'll even notice the lyrics after the music puts you to sleep.
My verdict: Don't like it. This one fails on just about every level.
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