So, I found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole the other day, thinking about music from the 60s. For some reason, Barbra Streisand popped into my head. I mean, everyone knows the name, right? But I realized I mostly knew her later stuff, the big movie hits maybe, but not really her early work from the 1960s. I got curious.
First thing I did was just kinda poke around online. Didn’t want anything too complicated, just wanted to get a feel for it. I typed in “Barbra Streisand 60s albums” or something simple like that. A whole bunch of titles came up, stuff like ‘The Barbra Streisand Album’, ‘People’, ‘My Name is Barbra’. The covers looked very… well, 60s! That classic style.
Then I decided, okay, let’s actually listen. I pulled up my music streaming app – makes things easy these days, no need to dig through crates of old records, though sometimes that’s fun too. I started with what seemed like the beginning, her first album from ’63.
First Impressions Listening
Okay, wow. The voice, right off the bat. It was different from what I expected, maybe? Younger, obviously, but incredibly powerful. Not like the pop singers today. It was big, bold, very theatrical even on the studio recordings. You could tell she came from the stage.
I just let the albums play, one after the other, while I was pottering around the house, doing some chores. It was interesting hearing the progression.
- Early stuff felt very Broadway, very cabaret. Songs like “Cry Me A River” or “Happy Days Are Here Again” – she really made them her own.
- Then came the ‘People’ album, and that title song is just massive, isn’t it? Hard to escape that one, but hearing it in context with the rest of the album was neat.
- I also dipped into the ‘Funny Girl’ soundtrack. That really captured the whole Broadway star thing.
What struck me most? The control she had. Even back then, just starting out really, the way she could hold a note, the emotion she put into it. It wasn’t just singing; it felt like she was acting out each song. Very dramatic. And the music itself, lots of big orchestras, classic arrangements. It really transported me back to that era for a bit.
Wrapping Up the Session
Spent a good afternoon just listening. Didn’t analyze every note or anything, just soaked it in. It wasn’t all my cup of tea, some of it felt a bit too theatrical for casual listening, maybe. But I get why she became such a huge star. That voice is undeniable, and she had this unique style right from the start.
So yeah, that was my little dive into 60s Streisand. Glad I did it. It’s good to actually listen to the foundations sometimes, you know? See where it all started. Definitely got a better appreciation for her early work now.
