One Voice

After battling severe stage fright for the majority of the seventies and eighties, Barbra Streisand finally returned to the concert stage on September 6, 1986 for the "one night only" ONE VOICE concert. The show was heavily publicized in the media, tickets were sold at the astronomically high price of $5000 per couple, and columnists and critics everywhere were anxiously waiting to see if Streisand could overcome her immense performance-phobia and still deliver the goods. Fortunately, all of the hype was more than justified. When Streisand finally took the stage that night and opened the show with a tour de force performance of "Somewhere," every member of the audience was left in awe of the stunning power of this woman's ageless voice.

Though Streisand was visibly and audibly nervous during her first few numbers, nothing could keep her undiminished vocal prowess from shining brightly through. If anything, her occasional jitteriness only made her seem more human. She was supported not by the typical orchestra, but by a small handful of musicians on electronic instruments. This actually provides the majority of the show with a warmer and more intimate feel. With the small band and the limited orchestration, it is Streisand's golden voice that is left at the forefront of the concert - and I wouldn't have it any other way. In addition to a slate of her own signature numbers, Streisand also performs some new material, such as the lovely "A New World" (from the 1954 version of A Star Is Born) and the traditional "America the Beautiful," which was the perfect close to the moving evening.

A few more of the evening's many highlights include Barbra's haunting rendition "Send In The Clowns," a relaxed duet with guest Barry Gibb on "What Kind Of Fool," and a surprisingly lively performance of "The Way We Were," with a newer, more contemporary arrangement. Most impressive of all Barbra's impassioned rendition of "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" that night is one of her most moving performances ever. Barbra also slips into a rare cover of "Over The Rainbow," and does the song more justice than anyone since Judy Garland (whom Barbra dedicates the performance to). Instead of screaming the song out at the top of her lungs like Patti Labelle and Sam Harris, Barbra gives "Over The Rainbow" a beautifully understated performance and makes the number her own.

The profits from ONE VOICE benefited the Democratic Party, who were at the time trying to make sure a disaster like Chernobyl never happened again. Barbra's often-criticized stage dialogue on the issue may be a little heavy-handed at times, but you can tell she strongly believes every word of it. In particular, her speech proceeding "People," though unoriginal, is very moving nonetheless. It is also a bit disappointing that the special's runtime is less than an hour, although the parody number "Send Home the Clowns" and Robin Williams' opening monologue seem to be the only major omissions from the evening's set list (and I can certainly live without both).

Other than the short runtime and the sometimes overbearing spoken statements, ONE VOICE is a great presentation of a special concert that will delight fans and even many cynics. In the end, ONE VOICE was a massive success. The concert was filmed and received record-breaking ratings when televised on HBO, while the audio recording of the show peaked at #9 on the Hot 200 and was quickly certified Platinum. Most importantly, ONE VOICE raised over $1.5 million which led Barbra to establish the "Streisand Foundation," which supports numerous charitable organizations.

This is a great concert given by Barbra in her own back yard. This guest list is just wonderful. Barbra and Barry Gibb sang beautifully together. I love watching it over and over again.

Back in 1986, Barbra Streisand was already starting to wean off her movie career in favor of her pet political causes. As an avid Democrat, she decided to perform an exclusive concert to raise funds for seven Democratic U.S. Senatorial candidates preparing for the November elections. In her true perfectionist fashion, she decided to hold the concert at her Malibu ranch, only invite 500 couples at a whopping $5,000 per couple and sign with HBO to have it all air as a TV special. Such was her clout at the time. Now that she has performed live several times since then (the latest to be a tour to start next month), this DVD seems marginally less indispensable, but it's still a more-than-worthy addition to any Streisand collection nonetheless.

With a few additions like a vintage recording of her exclusive invitation, Robin Williams' full comic monologue (not terribly funny) and a new introduction Streisand filmed just for this release, the special arrives in this 20th anniversary DVD. Dressed in all-white, she is accompanied by a small eight-piece band, probably her smallest back-up ensemble onstage. Her program begins with an elegant "Somewhere" as she emerges from a cloud of smoke. Most of her signature hits are here and performed impeccably, though she has a tendency to interject altruistic comments periodically like sharing her world view of fragile ecosystems and the Chernobyl nuclear fallout disaster in the middle of "People".

On the upside, there is a nice tribute to Judy Garland with touching renditions of "Over the Rainbow" and from the 1954 "A Star Is Born", "A New World". There is a reunion of sorts with Barry Gibb on the two biggest duet hits from 1980's "Guilty", the title tune and "What Kind of Fool". Her best performance is probably her cover of "Send in the Clowns", fresh off "The Broadway Album", though we don't get a chance to hear the parody version she performed afterward when she ridicules the Republicans in office at the time. It all ends with a rousing "America the Beautiful", which she would later sing at the 1992 Clinton inaugural ball. It's nice to have this lovely albeit brief concert for posterity with Streisand in fulsome voice and at the cusp of her political consciousness.

This concert was held in the artist own backyard. It was her way to raise money for the Democrats. It was also her first public performance in years and to her fans they will not be disappointed. She sings most her hits here. Barry Gibb even shows up to sing 2 duets with her.

This concert originally aired on HBO. It was released on Home Video shortly there after. I think this is however not her best concert to be released on Home video. However she only comes in 2nd Best to only to herself.