I can think of no other show to match this "Perfect Storm" of a performance, other than maybe "Liza Minnelli At Radio City", shown on PBS. Ms. Streisand can be exasperating for her over the top, nervous breakdown renditions, but I must say as a musician, this cocnert is beyond reviewing. I mean, do you review Heifitz, or Horowitz, or a Jan van Eyck alterpiece? The patter, which can be very over done Brooklyn Jewish, was held to a minimun and quite enjoyable. You know, for people we idolize, many stars find it difficut to talk about what they do, or express themselves verbally. Fred Astaire on the "Tonight" show simply could not discuss what he does on the screen. I've seen Sinatra, who did have a sense of humor, try to ad lib remarks to the audience, with less than successful results. Even Brando, who went on the Joey Bishop show to talk about the assassination of Martin Luther King, had trouble getting his point across. Incidentally I just peeked, and "Liza at Radio City" got 3.8. Not too bad, FOR THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE I HAVE EVER SEEN BY A LIVE HUMAN BEING, up till this show. And I've seen, in person, Sinatra, Anthony Newley, Sammy Davis Jr., Lenny Bruce, and Dame May Whitty. Ms. Streisand's cohorts included conductor, composer Marvin Hamlish, who by some lucky fluke composed the score to "Chorus Line", and repeated the lucky fluke by composing "The Way We Were". The lead trumpet was Lew Soloff who to trumpet players is a Mount Everest of contemporary horn players. Add a dash of Hank Waldman's delicious piano on "For All We Know", plus what looked like a thousand strings with oboes and French horns and you wouldn't even miss the ten thousandth rerun of "Celebrity Bowling".
Review of Barbra: The Concert
