My Name Is Barbra 1965

My Name Is Barbra 1965
Like Barbra's TV special of the same name, My Name Is Barbra is a creatively ambitious endeavor. But rather than duplicate the show's score song by song, Barbra created a separate piece. Long before other stars did children's albums, Barbra explored her inner child fully with this album. The arc of the album is from child to adult, starting with the precocious "My Name Is Barbara," part of a song cycle Leonard Bernstein wrote for his daughter in the 1940's, not for Barbra Streisand. From there, Barbra brings subtle beauty to songs like "Jenny Rebecca," youthful zest to "Sweet Zoo," and poignant sentiment to "My Pa" (the first time Barbra sang to her missing father). The theme of childhood segues into growing up with the adventurous "I Can See It" (another find from The Fantasticks find), the romantic "Someone to Watch Over Me" and the bouncy "If You Were the Only Boy in the World." With "Why Did I Choose You?" and "My Man," an adult woman emerges -- the journey complete. This is a top-notch album in every way -- even the original cover which was a snap shot taken by Barbra's brother, Sheldon Jay Streisand, of his five-year-old little sister. Undiscovered gem: Barbra doing Disney again (after "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" with "I've Got No Strings" from Pinocchio.

My Name Is Barbara
A Kid Again/I'm Five
Jenny Rebecca
My Pa
Sweet Zoo
Where Is The Wonder?
I Can See It
Someone to Watch over Me
I've Got No Strings
If You Were the Only Boy in the World
Why Did I Choose You?
My Man

Click HERE to return to Barbra's Discography.