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Song of the Day #5,892: ‘Where Do You Start?’ – Barbra Streisand

I’ve noticed a pattern when digging into the catalogs of major artists. They all seem to have a burst of activity for the first decade or two before tapering off. Maybe it’s because they’re too comfortable to put in the hard work, or perhaps their muse has just run out.

Barbra Streisand is no exception. After averaging more than an album a year for the first 23 years of her career, she hit the brakes. After The Broadway Album in 1985, she released just four more albums before the turn of the millennium.

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Song of the Day #5,891: ‘Not While I’m Around’ – Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand’s output slowed down in the 80s. After averaging more than an album a year since the start of her recording career, she waited four years after 1980’s Guilty to release her next one.

That was Emotion (1984), a return to the middle of the road pop material she put out in the 70s. The album sold decently but earned a collective shrug from critics. Streisand decided it was time to go back to her roots.

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Song of the Day #5,890: ‘Woman in Love’ – Barbra Streisand

In order to keep this Barbra Streisand Shallow Dive moving, I have to do a lightning round on the rest of her 70s releases. She followed The Way We Were with a half dozen albums, one per year.

Butterfly (1794), which saw her dabble in R&B and reggae, has been dismissed by Streisand herself as her worst album. Lazy Afternoon (1975) offered a more laid-back collection of easy listening material. Classical Barbra (1976) featured songs by European composers performed in multiple foreign languages.

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Song of the Day #5,889: ‘Something So Right’ – Barbra Streisand

Barbra Joan Streisand came out the same year as Stoney End and found Streisand continuing her shift into pop music.

The album is an interesting one that helps define both her strengths and limitations. Covers of songs by John Lennon and Carole King fall rather flat. The beauty of King’s Tapestry tracks, for example, is how simply and earnestly she sings them. The same songs delivered with theatrical bombast are somehow lessened.

But Streisand’s delivery of work by Burt Bacharach and Lara Nyro on the same record is transcendent.

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Song of the Day #5,888: ‘Lean Back’ – Terror Squad

The week of August 14, 2004, saw Juvenile atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Slow Motion,’ covered here a few weeks ago.

In the #2 spot, on its way to a three-week stint atop the chart, was ‘Lean Back’ by the Bronx hip-hop collective Terror Squad. This track features founding member Fat Joe along with latecomer to the band Remy Martin.

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