"Classical Barbra" is a studio album by Barbra Streisand, released in February 1976 but recorded in 1973. The album consists of songs by classical European composers and includes tracks sung in English, French, Occitan, German, Italian and Latin. The music is performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claus Ogerman. Leonard Bernstein wrote of the album, "Barbra Streisand's natural ability to make music takes her over to the classical field with extraordinary ease. It's clear that she loves these songs. In her sensitive, straightforward, and enormously appealing performance, she has given us a very special musical experience." The album has been certified Gold in the United States for sales of 500,000 on May 5, 1999.
24 Tracks - First time on CD! The first two volumes in Stag-O-Lee's Exotic Blues & Rhythm series were released on limited edition 10 inch vinyl (500 copies per volume) and sold out in next to no time! Enjoy amazing and danceable tunes from the late 50s and early 60s - a handful of Popcorn dancefloor smashes, a few grinding Tittyshakers, awesome Rhythm & Blues - most of them with an exotic twist!!
Though this is one of the more obscure Jobim albums, it did introduce what some believe is Jobim's masterpiece, the hypnotically revolving song "Aguas de Marco" (heard here in Portuguese and English versions). Mostly, however, the record lets listeners in on another side of Jobim, the Debussy/Villa-Lobos-inspired creator of moody instrumental tone poems for films and whatnot, with the instrumental colors filled in by Jobim's old cohort, Claus Ogerman. This was supposed to be a breakthrough for Jobim, bursting out of the bossa nova idiom into uncharted territory, yet a lot of this often undeniably beautiful music merely treads over ground that Villa-Lobos explored long before ("Train to Cordisburgo" especially). In any case, Jobim would explore his serious muse with greater success later on.