Barbra Streisand…and Other Musical Instruments
| Barbra Streisand…and Other Musical Instruments | ||||
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| Studio album by Barbra Streisand | ||||
| Released | November 1973 | |||
| Length | 34:37 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Gary Smith | |||
| Barbra Streisand chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Barbra Streisand…and Other Musical Instruments is a studio album by Barbra Streisand, released in 1973. The material on the album was drawn from Streisand's fifth television special, which had aired earlier in the same year, on which Streisand had sung a selection of her best-known tracks and other popular songs with unusual and eclectic musical accompaniments. The album was a commercial failure, and is globally the lowest-selling album of Streisand's career, peaking at #64 on the US charts. It is also one of only three studio albums by Streisand (the others being 1969's What About Today? and 2011's What Matters Most) not to have received an RIAA sales certification in the United States.
AllMusic explains the genesis for the album and television special: "The idea of the special was to have Streisand sing many of her best-known songs and other pop standards over musical accompaniment from a variety of national origins, most of them tied into the Gershwin song 'I Got Rhythm.' 'People,' for example, was sung over a Turkish-Armenian backing as a medley with 'I Got Rhythm,' 'Don't Rain on My Parade' was played on American Indian instruments, etc."
Entertainment Weekly gave the album a D, writing "Years before the term world beat came into vogue, Barbra globe-trotted through African, Japanese, and other indigenous styles on Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments. Nice idea, but do we really need a Spanish version of 'Don't Rain on My Parade'?" AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars, writing "While the result was eclectic by definition, it was more gimmicky than inventive, especially when 'The World Is a Concerto' was set against the sounds of household appliances! Barbra Streisand...and Other Musical Instruments was a forgettable misstep that thankfully was erased by the appearance, the same month, of Streisand's biggest hit single yet, 'The Way We Were,' which reestablished her as a contemporary pop singer".
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Wikipedia