Barbra Streisand is an absolute legend isnāt she? She could sing the phonebook and people would rush out to buy it; thatās how incredible a vocalist she is. Itās been three years since Streisand last released a studio album. 2011ās What Matters Most was followed up by rarities release Release Me and live album Back To Brooklyn. For her latest album Partners, Streisand has teamed up with some of the leading male vocalists in the music industry.
Partners is available in two editions; a standard edition with 12 tracks and a deluxe edition with 17 tracks. The album opens with the classic It Had To Be You which features Michael Buble. The two singers seem to be an obvious match so the song eases you gently into the record.
Some of the most interesting collaborations on the record come when Streisand sings with someone you wouldnāt necessarily put her together with. John Mayer features on Come Rain or Come Shine and provides plenty of his trademark guitar licks as well as his husky vocals. Babyface pops up on two tracks ā Evergreen and Lost Inside of You ā and his voice works surprisingly well with Streisandās. Iād Want It To Be You with Blake Shelton is the song that really took us by surprise as on paper we couldnāt imagine it working at all but it does!
Elsewhere on the record Streisand records her vocals with those of the late Elvis on Love Me Tender and the late Frank Sinatra on Iāve Got a Crush on You. She sings with her son Jason Gould on album highlight How Deep is the Ocean and the chart-topping John Legend on standout track What Kind of Fool.
Streisand has created an interesting and musically diverse record with Partners. Sheās reminded us of her versatility and itās really interesting hearing her voice working so well with such an array of male vocalists. Partners is likely going to be a huge success for Streisand and we suspect lots of mums will be getting a copy this Christmas.