The Movie Album
It's a given that Barbra Streisandlovesbeing a movie star. But this collection of pop songs culled from 60+ years of Hollywood history displays a love and understanding of movie songcraft whose depth is surprising, even coming from the legendary diva. Few are likely even familiar withAndre Previn's evocative main theme forThe Four Horseman of the Apocalypse; fewer still would cajole veteran songwritersAlan and Marilyn Bergmanto give it lyrics, then make it their wedding song, but that's the unlikely genesis of "More in Love With You" here. If its overwrought classicism represents Streisand at her most cryptically opaque, her playful recasting of the chestnut "I'm in the Mood For Love" as jazzy bossa-nova showcases the low-key sense of adventure she brings to many of the performances here. Her veteran dramatic sense effortlessly drivesChaplin's "Smile" beyond schmaltz and elevatesInside Daisy Clover's "You're Gonna Hear From Me" to nothing less than theatrical showstopper. But it's in the album's smaller, more unexpected surprises (an exotica-tinged "Wild is the Wind," the slinky, electro production ofBagdad Café's "Calling You," "Moon River"'s faithful evocation of Hepburn strumming her guitar in the film) that it reveals its true heart and soul--and that of Barbra Streisand, unabashed Hollywood movie lover.--Jerry McCulley