The Movie Album (2003)

It was as early as 1986 that Barbra Streisand said she wanted to make an album of songs from movies. It was during her One Voice concert right before she sang “Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz.

Recording sessions for The Movie Album, Streisand's 60th album, commenced in spring 2003 with Sony Pictures Studios again hosting on its Culver City, California scoring stage with custom facilities for Barbra, who sang live with a 75-piece orchestra. Basic recording continued into July, which was followed by additional recording and mixing primarily at Barbra's Grandma's House home studio in August.

Streisand told the press that she's collected songs for 2003's The Movie Album for years. “As I heard a song from a movie, I'd say to Jay [Landers], ‘Where's the list I've been giving you?’ I call him up and say, ‘Just get me the sheet music and just put it away for when I say I'm going to make this album.’”

At one point, before the final recording sessions, Streisand toyed with the idea of doing a medley of Shirley Temple songs, which had been on her list for a while.

Streisand explained that this album of songs from movies, “It came from my past, from my experience. A lot of them, as you see, from my youth. Jay did give me a lot of songs to hear. But, I have no attachment to a song like "The Very Thought of You." Someday I'll sing it probably because my manager loves it, it's his favorite song, so I said, 'If I do a second album, then I'll sing it for you.' But at least even that gives me a purpose. Singing it out of my love and respect for someone who loves it. And there's a motivation in that.”

Ms. Streisand co-produced three tracks—“Moon River,” “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?,” “Calling You”—with Robbie Buchanan and one track—“Emily” with the legendary composer/arranger Johnny Mandel. All the songs on The Movie Album were recorded with full-band accompanied by 75-piece orchestra(s). Arrangers on the album included Johnny Mandel, Jeremy Lubbock, Jorge Calandrelli, and Robbie Buchanan.

Streisand engaged Marilyn and Alan Bergman to craft “More in Love With You,” an instrumental piece, into a song by adding lyrics. Streisand, as a producer of the album, was conscientious about her budget, too. “But let's take the intricacy of the arrangement of ‘More in Love With You’: Since it was never a song before,” she explained, “it took the whole [recording] session to do the orchestra, so I was left with three takes on my vocal. That's it. Because I'm the producer and don't want to spend an enormous amount of money.”

Streisand dedicated the song “Smile” to her precious Bichon Frise dog, Sammy, who passed away when she was recording the album. “Smile” was adopted as an anthem by the Humane Society of the United States. “I was very flattered that The Humane Society of the United States wished to use this song for this purpose,” Streisand said. “I’m a great admirer of The HSUS’s efforts to improve life for animals, and to assist those who love—and eventually lose—pets who become so much a part of their families. The song brought me solace and if it does the same for others, that will be a very great reward.”

Stephen Sondheim wrote the melody for “Goodbye For Now” as a theme for Reds, Warren Beatty’s movie about the Russian Revolution – Sondheim admits he based it on the Communist anthem “The Internationale.”

Beatty wanted costar Diane Keaton to release the song as a single, so Sondheim added words, too.  Never released, Sondheim confessed the song was “an instrumental, not a vocal, and its tessitura (the preeminent areas of its range) was very wide; Diane couldn’t handle it comfortably – nor could many singers, without noticeably awkward shifts from head voice to chest voice.”

When Streisand recorded “Goodbye For Now” for The Movie Album, she wrote in her liner notes, “I love singing Stephen’s songs, because they tell a story. They give the actor a chance to play a character. In this case, one that is in the middle of a conversation.  Very original.”

Patti Austin and James Ingram introduced the Michel Legrand/Bergman song “How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” in the 1982 film Best Friends. Barbra actually recorded it in 1983 for her Emotion album, but didn’t use it. In 2003, Robbie Buchanan produced it with Barbra. “Sometimes she asks for a key change down, which is a cool thing, too. Like in ‘How Do You Keep the Music Playing’ – on that I put a modulation down into the last verse. So when it modulates up through the end of the song, it's actually back up to the original key. So it sounds like it's going up.”

Streisand told Buchanan “‘don't use anything from that [1983] arrangement.’ We did that arrangement probably four or five times. That was a really hard song to do.”

For the song “Emily,” Barbra explained, “Well, you know what's so fabulous is that because I do have this repertoire with people in the music business, or who write songs anyway, I'm not afraid to ask for something that I might not get. At first, [composer] Johnny Mandel looked at me kind of nutty when I said, "I love the melody of 'Emily,' but it's really a man's song, so I would just need a little verse to set it up so that it could be sung by a woman." And he looked at me funny, and said, "Well, I don't think you can do that." So I called Marilyn and Alan, and they happened to be on the Johnny Mercer estate board [the song's lyricst]. So I said, "Well, you can only ask. They can say no, but will you write the melody for it if they say yes to the lyric?" And they did say yes to the lyric, so I'd say to the Bergmans, I think it should be something like, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if somebody could whisper in my ear 'Emily.'" And they would write that line, better than I just said it, but that was the concept, and I'm able to sing "Emily," and probably a lot more women will be able to sing it.”

The Movie Album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard charts, which was Barbra's highest-ranking album since 1997's Higher Ground. It probably helped that she made a rare appearance on the Oprah Winfrey daytime talk show to promote the album, and she sang “Smile” on that show.

SMILE—from the motion picture Modern Times (1936)

Charlie Chaplin’s silent comedy classic speaks volumes about the dehumanization of mankind in the machine age. Eighteen years after he wrote the score, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons set Chaplin’s poignant melody to an equally heartfelt lyric. It’s funny how great songs somehow relate to everyday life. Two nights before I recorded this, Sammy, my sweet little nine-year old Bijon-Frise, had to be put to sleep. When I stepped into the vocal booth, his brave and loyal face was very much on my mind. “Smile, though your heart is aching…” Dog lovers will understand.

MOON RIVER—from the motion picture Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)

This much loved, Academy Award-winning song by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, perfectly reflects the wistful, romantic quality of the movie. One of my favorite actresses Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly) captivated hearts as she sat on the window-ledge, playing this enchanting tune on her guitar. I was a teenager when I first sang “Moon River,” with just a piano. It was in 1961, the “P.M. East, P.M. West” a syndicated TV talk show, hosted in New York by Mike Wallace.

I’M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE—from the motion picture Every Night At Eight (1935)

This is one of those golden-era songs, better known today than the movie it was written for. In the picture, leading man George Raft deceptively induces his leading lady to sing it to him in the traditional ballad style of the era. I’ve always imagined this as a gentle, rhythmic bossa nova. In fact, in my 1994 New Years Eve concert, I performed it as part of a medley with “Speak Low.” Since it hasn’t come out on record or DVD yet, I thought it would be nice to do a full-length version for this album.

WILD IS THE WIND— from the motion picture Wild Is The Wind (1957)

This song left a deep impression on me when I was about 15 years old. I loved Anna Magnani…and when I saw the movie, I developed a little crush on Tony Franciosa! I was also a big fan of Johnny Mathis, who recorded it for the end-title. Besides his voice, I loved his beautiful sad eyes. I associate movie songs with a kind of orchestral lushness…and was delighted with arranger Jorge Calandrelli’s wonderful chart for this one…emotional and romantic.

EMILY—from the motion picture The Americanization of Emily (1964)

Composer and arranger Johnny Mandel’s memorable theme music for this satirical, anti-war movie, is like a gentle waltz. However, Johnny Mercer’s superb lyric was obviously written for a man to sing. I thought if the song had a verse--with the idea of Emily longing to hear her lover speak her name—it would be possible for me to perform it. Fortunately, when I suggested this to Johnny, he was willing to revisit his own standard…and Alan & Marilyn Bergman, received permission from the Mercer foundation to write a new (and perfect!) two-line introduction.

MORE IN LOVE WITH YOU—from the motion picture The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (1962)

Andre Previn wrote the most magnificent movie theme I think I’ve ever heard! I loved it so much, that on our wedding day, my husband and I walked down the aisle to it (with a chamber orchestra arrangement by my friend Marvin Hamlisch). It’s such a beautiful melody, that I desperately wanted to sing it. I discussed the idea with Andre and my good friends, Alan & Marilyn Bergman. With the composer’s blessing, arranger Jeremy Lubbock (who has a great classical background) and I worked together for several weeks…finding just the right structure. With the Bergman’s heartfelt words…I’m really pleased with the results. My special thanks to all of them, for helping me realize the sounds I’d imagined in my head for this gorgeous composition.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?—from the motion picture Best Friends (1982)

Alan & Marilyn Bergman’s lyrics eloquently address the challenges couples can face, keeping the flames of romance alive. I’ve worked with composer Michel Legrand since the 1960’s. His melodies are always so passionate and such a joy to sing. (I’d actually recorded this song once before in the 1980’s, but wasn’t quite satisfied with the arrangement, so I never released it.)

BUT BEAUTIFUL—from the motion picture Road To Rio (1947)

As a kid, I remember buying Billie Holiday’s “Lady In Satin” off the rack in a supermarket for $1.98. It was extraordinary. I don’t recall if I even knew who she was at the time…maybe it was something about the album cover…the lavender color…the gardenia behind her ear. Billie had such a unique interpretive vocal sound… I especially liked her version of “But Beautiful.” (Ray Ellis’ arrangements made such an impression on me…years later, I asked him to write the charts for my first Christmas album). Unlikely as it may seem, “But Beautiful” was first sung by Bing Crosby in his fifth “Road” picture comedy with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.

CALLING YOU—from the motion picture Bagdad Café (1988)

This haunting song is from a movie I love by director Percy Adlon. The words and music perfectly capture the essence of the film…mysterious and magical. Composer Bob Telson was kind enough to write a new third verse for me. Robbie Buchanan’s distant, hypnotic arrangement evokes the wide-open, lonely landscapes I was imagining as I was singing.

THE SECOND TIME AROUND—from the motion picture High Time (1960)

Bing Crosby sang this in the movie, a comedy about a middle-aged student going back to college—hence the title, “The Second Time Around”…but I think most people know it today as a Frank Sinatra standard. I also heard a really good version by Shirley Horn, who is such a wonderful singer. Anyone who’s been through a failed relationship, and then is lucky enough to find love again in their life, can appreciate these lyrics.

GOODBYE FOR NOW—from the motion picture Reds (1981)

I first heard this as an instrumental theme in Warren Beatty’s movie. It was composed by Stephen Sondheim, whose work I’ve always admired. Later I discovered he’d written lyrics for it, which weren’t used in the picture’s final cut. I love singing Stephen’s songs because they tell a story. They give the actor a chance to play a character. In this case, one that is in the middle of a conversation. Very original

YOU’RE GONNA HEAR FROM ME—from the motion picture Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

I remember liking this Hollywood rags-to-riches-to-nervous breakdown movie with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford…one of his first films. It was directed by Sydney Pollack, who later directed Bob and me in “The Way We Were.” Every actor who’s ever gone into an isolated looping booth…repeating their lines over and over again in order to lip-sync with their screen image can relate to the scene where Daisy goes nuts! Andre Previn’s score and especially this song, has a real show-biz quality…The lyrics come from the point of view of a hungry young talent, who wants to make their presence known in the world. It reminded me of some of the songs from the early days of my career. I thought it would be a good way to close the album.