I was hoping for a little change of pace after Barbra Streisand’s first four albums and I got it with her fifth, 1965’s My Name is Barbra.
Released in conjunction with a TV special of the same name, this album is split between a song cycle about childhood and a lineup of Broadway standards more in line with her earlier work. The TV special, which was a big hit, featured these songs as well as a third act of more mature material. Streisand would release My Name is Barbra, Two… later the same year to finish out the tie-in.
The first side allows Streisand to tap into her playful side, sometimes singing in the voice of a child as in the delightful ‘Sweet Zoo.’ At times it’s a bit too cute, and it probably worked better on television, but the material does give her a chance to show off her acting chops.
The more traditional Side Two makes for a pleasant listen, though her take on the Gershwins’ wonderful ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ fell a bit short of my expectations.
That’s more than made up for with the inclusion of ‘My Man,’ though. This song would come to be associated with Funny Girl, but it did not appear in the stage show. Streisand recorded it first for this album, and it was later added to the 1968 film adaptation, for which she would win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
He’ll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don’t care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright, alright
What’s the difference if I say “I’ll go away”
When I know I’ll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is, I am his
Forever more
It cost me a lot but that’s one thing that I’ve got
It’s my man
Cold and wet tired you bet
But all that I soon forget, with my man
He’s not much for looks
And no hero out of books, he’s my man
Two or three girls has he
That he likes as well as me but I love him
Oh my man I love him so, he’ll never know
All my life is just despair but I don’t care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is bright, alright
What’s the difference if I say “I’ll go away”
When I know I’ll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is, I am his
Forever more
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m curious whether any of your loyal readers and Barbra fans have ever seen the TV special. I suspect it would do well if it was put on a streaming service, although who knows whether the video exists or is of decent quality even if it does.
This one is on YouTube. I bet most of them are.
I’ve only seen clips from those early specials, though the one I’ve seen most often comes from her appearance on Judy Garland’s tv special, I believe.
While I appreciated the concept of this album, it wasn’t one I played often. That said, I do like when Barbra leans in to the silly.
I have watched a couple of her specials repeated on PBS. One is Barbra in Brooklyn where she entertains all her fans from her old neighborhood. Love the specials. She even does a duet with her son she had with Elliott Gould. I remember watching her on the Ed Sullivan show a million years ago. She always wowed me.
just finished listening to this masterpiece and I still have goosebumps ❤️