Partners (Barbra Streisand album)
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''Partners'' is the thirty-fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
, released on September 16, 2014, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. The album features Streisand singing
duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
s with an all-male lineup including
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
,
Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
,
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
,
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
,
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
,
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...
,
Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
, and, from an earlier recording,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. The collection also features Streisand's first studio-recorded duet with her now 47-year-old son,
Jason Gould Jason Emanuel Gould (; born December 29, 1966) is an American actor and singer. Early life Gould was born on December 29, 1966, in New York City, the only child of singer and actress Barbra Streisand and actor Elliott Gould. His parents sepa ...
. The album release was promoted on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'', where Streisand was the evening's sole guest and sang a medley with host
Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...
. While the recordings are new, most of the songs have a previous history as Streisand releases. Two classic Streisand duets are updated with new partners: "
What Kind of Fool "What Kind of Fool" is a vocal duet from 1981 (see 1981 in music) by singers Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb. The song was written by Gibb and Albhy Galuten. Background The songs on the ''Guilty'' album were a collaboration between Streisand a ...
", newly performed with John Legend (originally with
Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...
) and " Lost Inside of You", newly performed with Kenny Edmonds (originally with
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
). The deluxe edition features an additional duet with Edmonds along with previously released material featuring
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
(who died in 1998),
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
,
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...
, and Barry Gibb (from
The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
). ''Partners'' is one of 2014's best-selling albums in the US, having sold 856,000 copies. ''Partners'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 with sales of 196,000 copies in the first week, making Streisand the only recording artist to have a number-one album in six different decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.) It was also certified gold in November 2014 and platinum in January 2015, thus becoming Streisand's 52nd gold and 31st Platinum album (she also has 7 Gold-certified singles to her credit), more than any other female artist in history. The album was nominated for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented ...
at the
57th Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time. ...
.


Commercial performance

In its debut week, the album topped US ''Billboard'' 200 sales charts, selling over 196,000 copies. It fell to number three the following week, selling 127,000 copies, the lowest second-week decline for a number one-debuting non-compilation album in nearly four years. After just six weeks on sale, the album crossed half a million in US sales, having sold 526,000 copies total in the country. ''Partners'' was 2014's seventh best-selling album in the US, having sold 856,000 copies. As of September 2015, the album has sold 955,000 copies in the US. It tops 1 million in traditional album sales in the week of August 14, 2017. In Canada and Australia the album also reached number one, selling 13,000 copies in each country. In the Netherlands, New Zealand, and UK the album reached the number two spot on national sales charts, becoming Streisand's highest-charting album in the Netherlands since '' One Voice'' peaked at the same position in 1987. In Ireland the album reached the number six position, becoming Streisand's highest-charting album since '' Guilty Pleasures'' in 2005. The album debuted in the Top 10 in Austria, Germany, Spain and Poland, and reached Top 40 positions in Belgium (both regions), Denmark, Italy and Switzerland.


Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Matt Collar from ''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' website praised the album and wrote that ''Partners'' "works as guided tour down Streisand's memory lane, and with her resonant voice still in supple shape, any excuse to hear her sing is a welcome invitation." Jim Farber from ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "only four of the 12 cuts establish a real relationship between the singers, and most of those successes are crowded together at the start." Mikael Wood from ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that while Strisand claimed that her goal with the album was not simply to remake some of her biggest hits but to provide "a whole other way of looking at the song", most of the dozen tracks on ''Partners'' "offer no such vantage", he also elected Streisand's duet with Babyface "Evergreen" the best moment of the album thanks to the vocals in "which she modulates her gale-force singing to suit his sumptuous quiet-storm groove".
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
, Nate Chinen and
Ben Ratliff Ben Ratliff (born 1968 in New York City) is an American journalist, music critic and author. Ratliff is the son of an English mother and an American father, growing up in London and in Rockland County, New York. From 1996 to 2016, he wrote abo ...
from the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' criticized the album and wrote that the "instrumentation and the vocal tracks are so processed in pursuit of a high-gloss perfection that any sense of two people standing side by side and singing their hearts out is lost", they also claimed that while Streisand's "voice has noticeably diminished in size" it pulls "its signature quality, ingrained sob" the duets "lack conversational or narrative flow, and you have an uncomfortable sense that the parts were spliced together after the fact". Helen Brown from ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' gave the album two out of five stars and wrote that "while Streisand's voice still soars this lackluster collection falls into the icky celebrity duet traps".


Track listing

*All tracks produced by Kenny Edmonds and
Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...
; except "I Still Can See Your Face" produced by
Bernie Herms Bernhard "Bernie" Herms (born March 26, 1972) is a Canadian composer, songwriter, and music producer in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for Grammy Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and GMA Canada Covenant Awards, due to his songw ...
, and "How Deep Is the Ocean" produced by Barbra Streisand. ;Note *"I Still Can See Your Face" features Italian lyrics translated by
Marco Marinangeli Marco Marinangeli is a Grammy-nominated Italian composer, songwriter, arranger, orchestrator and producer. He is the president of Magelic Productions, Inc., in Hollywood. He is a writer and producer of Josh Groban, Donna Summer, Plácido Domingo, ...
.


Personnel

Information is based on the Album's Liner Notes *
Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...
- piano (2-7, 10–11), guitar, mandolin played by, concertina programmed by (12), bass played by (4-7, 10), synths played by, rhythm programmed by (2, 4–7, 10–11), orchestra arranged by (1-7, 9-12) * Kenny Edmonds - background vocals (4, 7, 10), lead vocals (4) *
Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937), professionally known as Chuck Berghofer, is an American jazz double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked as a studio musician and in the film industry for more than 60 years, including workin ...
- bass played by (1, 3) *
Teddy Campbell Glendon Theodore "Teddy" Campbell, Sr. (born February 24, 1975) is a gospel drummer & singer. He was the drummer on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. He is the lead singer for the Soul Seekers. Biography Christian Youth M.B. of Chicago, is ...
- drums (2) *
Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the drum ...
- drums (1, 3) *
Bernie Herms Bernhard "Bernie" Herms (born March 26, 1972) is a Canadian composer, songwriter, and music producer in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for Grammy Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and GMA Canada Covenant Awards, due to his songw ...
- piano, synth played by, rhythm programmed by, orchestra arranged by (8) *
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
- guitar solo, vocals (3) *
Rickey Minor Rickey Minor is an American bass player, music director, composer and music producer. He was the musical director and bandleader on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' from 2010 to 2014, taking over after Kevin Eubanks left. Minor worked as musi ...
- bass played by (2) *
Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...
- guitar (1, additional on 3), pedal steel guitar (6) *Michael Ripoll - guitars (2, 4–5, 7, 10, additional on 6, 12) * William Ross - orchestra arranged by (1-7, 9-12), orchestra conducted by (All tracks) *
Randy Waldman Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. In 2019, Waldman's arrangement of the " Spider-Man Theme" on his ''Superheroes'' album garnered the Grammy Award f ...
- piano (1) *
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
- harmonica, vocals (2)


Chart positions


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications and sales


References


External links


Barbra Archives: ''Partners'' (2014)
{{Authority control 2014 albums Barbra Streisand albums Columbia Records albums Vocal duet albums Albums produced by Babyface (musician) Albums produced by Walter Afanasieff