One of Barbra's 85 classic and perfect albums. Although it's listed on Discogs as Rock/Soft rock it is not. It of course is Classic Pop or Show Tunes. 31 platinum 54 golds and 15 multi platinum this one falls among them. Streisands voice proves, as Billboard reviewed, on her newest album Walls, that " she is still the force of nature in pop music" (2018). No truer words were ever spoken.

My favourite Barbra Streisand album, this is a very imaginatively arranged collection of Broadway songs, some with an orchestral backing others with a synth dominated track. Also the first featuring the production and arranging skills of David Foster and engineered by Humberto Gatica. The first track Putting It All Together contains witty soundbites featuring the voices of Sydney Pollack and David Geffen providing commentary on the dichotomy between art and commerciality in the music industry. My favourite track is a brave arrangement of "Somewhere" by David Foster that recasts the setting to outer space with synth-based sound effects. Other standout tracks include a beautiful rendition of Send in the Clowns with extra lyrics at the end and some beautiful medleys that amazingly work seamlessly.

In 1985, after a 15-year foray into radio-friendly pop music, Ms Streisand returned to her musical roots and released what is universally acclaimed as her finest album to date. "The Broadway Album" is a leap of faith: at a time when theater music was considered non-commercial, Ms Streisand went against grain, chose 16 brilliant songs from the Broadway musical, and sang from the heart. The album went on to thrill millions of listeners with a superbly polished production and a voice at its peak, become the number one album in early 1986, earn a Grammy nomination for album of the year, and win for Ms Streisand the Grammy award for the year's best pop vocal performance by a female. "The Broadway Album" opens with what is arguably Ms Streisand's most definitive recording in her career, a patter song called "Putting It Together" from "Sunday in the Park with George, written by Stephen Sondheim, who revised the lyrics to fit Ms Streisand's desire to articulate in the song the endless conflict between art and commerce. Her performance —narrative, emotive, articulate, soaring, daring—is what vintage Streisand is all about.