From the effort forth, there is a large-scale production: Barbra is live accompanied by a seventy piece orchestra, plus partially a large choir. Many recording engineers and sound engineers conjured the best sound that until now has ever had a Streisand recording.
Barbra Streisand and everyone involved in this production, created with "Higher Ground" a brilliant and unusual in all respects album. Barbra Streisand has this CD the mother of President Clinton, Virginia Kelley devoted, with which they shared a great friendship. As Virginia Kelley died in 1994, was carried forward to the funeral of the gospel song "On Holy Ground" by singer Janice Sojstrand. Barbra was so strong impressed by the words and the melody of this song, that at this moment the idea was born to make an album like "Higher Ground".
"I Believe / You'll Never Walk Alone", the first medley of "Higher Ground" begins with an unusually long, instrumental introduction, very quiet and worn. The combination of these two songs is absolutely first class; beautifully when Barbra's use in the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" is accompanied only by percussion sounds.
"Higher Ground", the title track, starts with acoustic guitar sound of an immediate mood of "The Big Country" or generally mediated nature and harmony. Barbra's voice is soft and deep to but yet to be easy with the next sets very high, precisely: "... so take my hand and lift me higher, .... to a Higher Ground". This song wins for me more and more with each new listening. It is striking how wonderful Barbra's voice sounds in combination with the acoustic guitar. For now though, I am enjoying this album, and except "Higher Ground" there are still many titles, where the guitar is clearly highlighted.
"At The Same Time" remains one immediately in memory because of the fascinating, somehow magical melody that continues, aiming high and achieving strong builds up. From the in the second stanza briefly turned dazzling ducks Children's Choir is acoustically a huge choir, singing louder increases in line with Barbra's.
"Tell Him", the duet with Celine Dion and the single CD is, has become a hit. Unquestionably the song is done very well and effectively, but with the high quality of all the other titles of this CD, "Tell Him" can hardly keep up. You can hear this duet, why it was written; namely to land a hit. Perhaps the contrast between the two votes for a duet is not big enough. Better the duet with Kim Carnes was on Barbra's "Emotion" - CD!
Under no circumstances I would like to question the vocal abilities of Celine Dion. She has a great vocal material, but such distinctiveness and depth of expression, as it includes Barbra's voice, I can not hear her.
With "On Holy Ground" Barbra entering completely new territory for himself, though it indeed music is not much what she has not done. The six-minute piece is a clear highlight of the CD, fantastically arranged and the eighteen-voice choir is just terrific. The song builds slowly. Only in the second verse is the chorus at first very cautiously, only to become more intense with each passing word, until a true storm of voices rises. Here Barbra can not turn away, but skillfully embarks with her voice in partly dizzying heights.
"If I Could" is a simple, beautiful ballad with soulful lyrics, singing Barbra for her son Jason. One could also imagine the song but on another Barbra CD. He is, at least musically, not as specially suitable for this album and made such as "I Believe" or "Higher Ground"
The two traditionals "The Water Is Wide / Deep River", again combined as a medley, are with Barbra Streisand's clear interpretation of another tour de force of the album. As with "On Holy Ground", these two items are stylistically completely new to her, because she has never sung anything like that at all previous albums. More surprising is that you realize very quickly convinced how good fit these songs to her is. This also has something to do with the change in her voice, which sounds softer, fuller and warmer today. Your voice has become deeper over the years has acquired a very different, great, nuanced quality. This newfound opportunities they benefit fully from in "Deep River". Here it reaches the lowest notes of her career.
"Leading With Your Heart", dynamic span is perfectly tailored for Barbra Streisand's. The song is not known as the title of a biography of Virginia Kelley, who is dedicated to this album. The song, with its sweeping melody is a 100% Streisandsong and precipitated immediately.
A real "Heartbreaker" provides us with Barbra "Lessons to be Learned '. It is a song full of passion, in which Barbra not only the "bel canto" cultivates, but it provides from total! A song with a dramatic melody, dynamic text that impressed by his sad pathos.
Not as dramatic, but just as impressive is the sensible "Everything Must Change". A quiet ballad with a wonderful, very poetic and wise text. I know the track already in recordings of George Benson and Sarah Vaughan. The latter designed this ballad during a jazz concert so ravishing that their definitive version seemed unsurpassable. That now the artful Streisand'sche version is just as good, has a lot to do with the job created at the highest level Arrangement. According to the pastoral quality of the song, the orchestra sounds with soft strings, flutes and the piano in the foreground, alternately by Debussy or a piano concerto by Brahms. After these somewhat melancholic timbre Barbra finished the last verses of this ballad with bright, almost child-like expression in voice. "Everything Must Change" seems to me the most subtle, to be serious and nachdenkenswerteste piece of this CD.
With the Jewish prayer "Avinu Malkeinu" ("Our Father, our King") is the CD "Higher Ground" once again a brilliant Höhepunktund solemn conclusion. The song is sung by Barbra Streisand in Hebrew. On the interpretation of the song you can see how far-reaching are Barbra Streisand's musical talents and possibilities. The first few lines of prayer, she sings alone, then it is accompanied by a beautiful 24-person choir. This time, however, her voice rises radiant beyond the large choir.
In the US magazine "Wall of Sound" Gary Graff wrote among other things about this CD Streisand:
"Streisand's voice is a wonder, of course - Wonderfully expressive and even soulful, with a range That belies her fifty-five years!"
