Jane Fonda 'Blogs' About Barbra Streisand's New CD

By: Jul. 30, 2009
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Jane Fonda has taken to her blog to discuss her recent trip to Las Vegas, as well as catching up with Barbra Streisand.

During her visit to Sin City, the actress caught JERSEY BOYS and Cirque du Soleil's 'THE BEATLES' 'LOVE' ("Both shows were remarkable, feel-good experiences," gushes the star). According to Fonda, one special evening spent with Streisand concluded with a preview of the singer's new album, Love Is The Answer.

In a blog post on her website, Fonda writes:

"Last night we had dinner at Barbra Streisand's home. I'm tempted to say her "new home" cause she got it since I last went to a home of hers, but she's had it for more than a dozen years and, like all her previous places, it has her unique stamp of perfection, coziness, enormous architectural detail and originality-all her doing. She designs and decorates just about as brilliantly as she performs."

Fonda then describes an experience all Streisand fans will envy, "The end of the evening found us all sitting on the floor Barbra's bathroom listening to a few cuts from her soon-to-be-released album (Diana Krall produced) and some songs from albums she and Richard did years ago that James had never heard."

To read Fonda's entire blog post, click here.

The final song selections for Love Is The Answer, the eagerly awaited new studio collection of intimate jazz standards performed by Barbra Streisand, were recently revealed in anticipation of the album's release on Tuesday, September 29.

The first full-length collection of new studio recordings from eight-time Grammy award winner Barbra Streisand since 2005's Guilty Pleasures.

Love Is The Answer showcases the artist as a singer of emotional clarity, depth and maturity, offering the listener a selection of heartfelt late-night meditations on love's powers, heartbreaks and solaces.

Love Is The Answer provides an opportunity for Streisand to work for the first time with the Grammy-winning Canadian jazz artist Diana Krall and her quartet (piano, guitar, bass, drums) who bring a refined and sensual poignancy to the album's sophisticated and subtle accompaniments.

Rounding out the album's smoky after-hours ambience with his sublime orchestrations is the legendary songwriter ("The Shadow of Your Smile") and Grammy-winning arranger Johnny Mandel (who worked with Streisand on her 1993 Back to Broadway album and arranged/co-produced Krall's 1998 Grammy-winning When I Look In Your Eyes).

The deluxe version of Love Is The Answer is a two-disc package that features the Mandel arranged orchestra versions on disc one and quartet counterparts on disc two featuring Barbra accompanied only by quartet (piano, bass, guitar & drums).

Included among the highlights of Love Is The Answer are:

"Make Someone Happy," a song from the 1960s musical "Do Re Mi," with lyrics by Comden and Green and music by Jule Styne, who wrote the music for Streisand's breakout performance in "Funny Girl";

"In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" - the jazz standard closely associated with Frank Sinatra.

"If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" - A quintessential version of the Jacques Brel standard performed in English and French.

"Spring Can Really Hang You Up," a song Streisand first sang in a St. Louis club at the age of 18. This is her first studio produced version of this jazz standard.

"Gentle Rain" a gentle bossa nova from "Black Orpheus," the motion picture which introduced the world to the rhythms of Brazilian music.

"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," the quintessential dreamy standard, originally written as a show tune by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 operetta "Roberta," covered by Nat "King" Cole and the Platters, among others;

"Some Other Time," a rarely-covered gem composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Comden and Green from the 1944 musical "On The Town."

The complete track listing for Love Is The Answer will feature:

1. "Here's To Life" (Artie Butler/Phyllis Molinary)
2. "In The Wee Small Hours" (Bob Hilliard/David Mann)
3. "Gentle Rain" (Luiz Bonfa/Matt Dubey)
4. "If You Go Away" (Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen)
5. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" (Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman)
6. "Make Someone Happy" (Jule Styne/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)
7. "Where Do You Start?"(Johnny Mandel/Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman)
8. "A Time For Love" (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster)
9. "Here's That Rainy Day" (Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen)
10. "Love Dance" (Ivan Lins/Gilson Peranzzetta with English lyrics by Paul Williams)
11. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach)
12. "Some Other Time" (Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)
13. Bonus Track - "You Must Believe In Spring" (Michel Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
The deluxe package includes the following bonus disc:
(Vocal With Quartet)

1. "Here's To Life" (Artie Butler/Phyllis Molinary)
2. "In The Wee Small Hours" (Bob Hilliard/David Mann)
3. "Gentle Rain" (Luiz Bonfa/Matt Dubey)
4. "If You Go Away" (Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen)
5. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" (Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman)
6. "Make Someone Happy" (Jule Styne/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)
7. "Where Do You Start?"(Johnny Mandel/Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman)
8. "A Time For Love" (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster)
9. "Here's That Rainy Day" (Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen)
10. "Love Dance" (Ivan Lins/Gilson Peranzzetta with English lyrics by Paul Williams)
11. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach)
12. "Some Other Time" (Leonard Bernstein/Betty Comden/Adolph Green)

According to the RIAA, Barbra Streisand is the #1 best selling female recording artist in history and the only woman to make the Top 10 all time best-selling artists list, which includes Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Over the course of her career, Streisand has recorded 50 gold, 30 platinum and 13 multi-platinum albums. An artist of unparalleled accomplishments in multiple entertainment fields, Streisand has made her mark as an award winning actress of stage and screen, recording artist, concert performer, movie producer, film director, screenwriter and songwriter. Having earned two Oscars (Best Actress and Best Song), five Emmys, 11 Golden Globes, 10 Grammys including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Legend Awards, a special Tony Award (in 1970 as "Star of the Decade"), two Cable Ace and three Peabody awards, she is the only performer to hold honors from all of those institutions. In addition, Streisand is a recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, America's National Medal of Arts and France's Legion of Honor. In December 2008 she became the first female director to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.

For more information, visit www.barbrastreisand.com.



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