Date Move for The Guilt Trip.

Paramount Pictures has moved the release date for the Barbra Streisand-Seth Rogen comedy The Guilt Trip to December 19, 2012.

"Release Me" Charts at #7

BARBRA STREISAND'S "RELEASE ME" HITS THE CHARTS AT #7, HER 32ND TOP TEN ALBUM BOLSTERING HER POSITION AS THE THIRD HIGHEST ACHIEVING ARTIST EVER IN THAT MAJOR STAT. LAST HALF DOZEN NEW STREISAND ALBUMS HAVE CHARTED IN TOP TEN

Adding to her lead over The Beatles as the third highest ranked recording act or artist in achievement of one of the industry's most respected statistics, the number of albums to attain Top Ten status, Barbra Streisand's new Columbia Records album, "Release Me," debuted at #7 this week. It becomes her 32nd album and sixth in a row to rank in the top ten. The only artists with more in that category are The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra.

A year ago, when her album "What Matters Most" arrived on the charts at #4, Streisand eased past The Beatles with whom she had been tied for third place with 30. "Release Me" is comprised of eleven recordings, dating back as far as 1967, which were not included on the albums for which they had been intended. They've all been stored in her vault until now. Over the past year, the artist painstakingly selected recordings to create "Release Me".

All of Streisand's six most recent albums of new material have charted top ten. 2009's "Love Is The Answer," became her 9th Number One album, making her the only artist or act to have Number One Albums in five consecutive decades. Prior to that, her 2007 album "Streisand: Live In Concert" was ranked seventh, "Guilty Pleasures" in 2005 reached number five and "The Movie Album" (2003) arrived in the number five spot as well.

The most accomplished female recording artist ever, Barbra Streisand has received 10 Grammys-including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Legend Awards-51 gold albums, 30 platinum albums, and 13 multi-platinum albums. According to the RIAA, Barbra Streisand is the #1 best-selling female recording artist in history and the only woman to make the Top 10 all-time best-selling artists list.

Highlights of "Release Me," her latest top ten winner, include: "Didn't We" written by Jimmy Webb - recorded in 1970 for an unreleased album project titled The Singer; the standard "Willow Weep For Me" - an unreleased track recorded in 1967 for Simply Streisand, arranged by Ray Ellis . noted for his legendary work with Billie Holiday; A striking version of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going Rain Today," with Barbra on vocals and Newman on piano - from the 1971 Stoney End sessions; an unreleased studio version of "With One More Look At You" from A Star Is Born; Two tracks from the unreleased sequel to the acclaimed The Broadway Album, titled Back To Broadway - "Home" (from The Wiz) and "How Are Things In Glocca Morra ? / Heather On The Hill" (from Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon).

The complete track listing for Release Me features: Being Good Isn't Good Enough (from Hallelujah, Baby!), Didn't We, Willow Weep For Me, Try To Win A Friend, I Think It's Going To Rain Today, With One More Look At You (from A Star Is Born,) Lost In Wonderland, How Are Things In Glocca Morra? / Heather On The Hill (from Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon,) Mother And Child, If It's Meant To Be, Home (from The Wiz).

Link to Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/news/macklemore-ryan-lewis-score-top-billboard-1007981952.story#/news/macklemore-ryan-lewis-score-top-billboard-1007981952.story

Hi everyone: I have just arrived back in the UK - after the most wonderful week of my life. 3 Barbra shows in a week - how lucky can you get? It was so amazing to meet so many of you for the first time. I was amazed how many people recognized me from the website.

Thank you for making my trip even MORE memorable than it was. I wanted to alert you all to the fact that there are some NEW "Meet Barbra" auctions running now for the West Coast shows. Don't forget - the money goes to The Streisand Foundation - so not only do you get to meet Barbra, and have top seats at the show, but you're benefiting such a worthy cause. 

The concerts included are: LAS VEGAS, SAN JOSE and LOS ANGELES (x2).

 For the record, Linda Eppley who has helped moderate my message board for nearly 10 years won the auction to meet Barbra in Brooklyn. She's still on cloud 9... and it's an experience she'll never forget. So if you can afford it, go for it!! Once in a lifetime experience.

 Here is a link to view the auctions: 

http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us/news/charitybuzz-auctions-meet-barbra-streisand-your-choice-concerts

A Star Is Born Coming To Blu-ray

A STAR FILLED CLASSIC ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME!

A Star Is Born 40-Page Blu-Ray Book - with live performance photos, rare behind-the-scenes photos and more!

Special Features Include:

• Commentary by Barbra Streisand.
• Additional Scenes.
• Wardrobe Tests.
• Soundtrack remastered in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• A Star Is Born Trailer Gallery.

Coming: February 5, 2013.

Click here to pre-order.

Barbra Opens Tour In Philadelphia.

I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of Barbra's 2012 USA/Canada tour last night. I flew in from England - and was fortunate to experience the show from the front row! This was my 8th Barbra concert since 2006... and definitely ranked at #1 for me. Barbra's voice was the best I've ever heard (She said she give up tomatoes, as they weren't helping her voice!). The set-list was so wonderful and varied too. I don't want to spoil the fun for those of you who want it to be a surprise... but Matt Howe has the list up on his site (link at bottom of this report).

Photos by Russell James.

Phillyburbs.com:

Her consistently entertaining three-hour concert commenced with a montage of photos featuring shots of the iconic figure’s childhood in Brooklyn. There was also footage from a 1970s documentary with interviews featuring Streisand’s high school friends. It closed with a pal asking Babs to come back to Brooklyn for a concert. 

"...the mezzo soprano can still hit the high notes, which she did during her moving rendition of a re-arranged "The Way We Were" and the pretty "Don't Rain On My Parade. Exquisite choices "The Way He Makes Me Feel," from the "Yentl" soundtrack, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" and the show opener "Being Good (Isn’t Good Enough)," a terrific 60-piece orchestra and her special set of pipes were just part of the reason the show will go down as a truly memorable event."

Perhaps what was most significant is that Streisand impressed by just being herself. She held court in between each song and lived in the moment. The legendary figure responded to virtually every remark by the audience and somehow made the arena seem like a club. She paid tribute to her good friend, composer Marvin Hamlisch, who she started working with a half-century ago. 

 USA Today:

Philly nods: After noting similarities between Brooklyn and South Philly ("You have cheesesteaks, we have cheese blintzes"), she paid tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman, the Philadelphia composers behind her medley of Nice 'n' Easy and That Face. 

Guest night:The Italian pop-opera ensemble Il Volo joined her for Smile, then did two songs by themselves, including a rousing O Sole Mio. "Take that, Justin Bieber!" she joked, referencing the teen trio's tender age. 

Her new duet partner: Son Jason Gould ("His first public appearance," Mom says) displayed a soft, pleasing tenor voice as both sat down to sing How Deep Is the Ocean.

A golden moment: She sang a beautifully burnished version of People, then an autumnal Here's to Life. It was a touching, masterful rendition from an aging pro, and she toasted the audience with a cup of tea, ending with "l'chiam" (to life). The night ended with an encore of Leonard Bernstein's Some Other Time.

Matt Howe has a great write up at his site: www.barbra-archives.com

Matt Howe and I before the show!

POSTER + VIDEO TEASER from "The Guilt Trip" Released!

Click here to view: http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us/news/video-teaser-poster-guilt-trip

USA Today also have a gallery of images from the movie here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/10/01/sneak-peek-at-guilt-trip/1600767/

Barbra talks to AP.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Back in the day, if Barbra Streisand made one vocal error or found one problem while recording a song, she'd toss the whole thing.

"If I didn't like that one word, I wouldn't release the record," the 70-year-old said in a recent interview. "Because in those days ... we did take one, take two, take three. We made albums in three days. Twelve songs. We didn't have this digital way."

Now, because of her perfectionism, she has a case full of unreleased material, and she's decided to share it with the world.

"Release Me," a collection of Streisand songs she recorded in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, is out Tuesday. It also includes the new song "If It's Meant to Be," written by her longtime friends and collaborators, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, recorded last year.

___

AP: How's does it feel to finally release this music?

Streisand: It feels liberating. It's really interesting because I don't listen to my records after I make them. I am so sick of them because you have to listen to them over and over, in a car, with good speakers, bad speakers. I get so sick of it that I never hear anything. But I had this black case in my house for so long called "Unreleased songs." Listening to some of them again I thought, "God, I was hard on myself."

AP: How many songs are in that black case?

Streisand: I have another album or two. ... I really wasn't aware of how many things I had in there, between films and videotapes and TV shows. I actually never (have) been to my vaults, can you imagine? I just see them in pictures.

AP: What would Barbra now say to Barbra back then?

Streisand: Be easier on yourself. A lot of these things were done in one take; we don't have a choice and I didn't want to fix it. I didn't want to go in and fix things.

AP: You're returning to your hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y., for your tour at the new Barclays Center. How does that feel?

Streisand: It's like a coming home. It's coming back to my roots. It's where I was born. It was where I was raised. I didn't go into Manhattan 'til I was 14 years old. I didn't even know it existed. I thought the world was just Brooklyn.

AP: Do you remember first going into Manhattan?

Streisand: I'll never forget that moment taking the subway to see the theatre 'cause I wanted to be an actress. ... Just what was happening in that city, my God. So exciting for me as a 14-year-old.

AP: What can people expect from the tour?

Streisand: A lot of songs I've never sung live before. Some songs I wrote, even. I wrote a song in "A Star Is Born" — "Evergreen" became the hit — but not the other song, "Lost Inside of You," that I wrote with Leon Russell, and now we just recorded it for the duets album. Haven't picked who's going to sing the duet yet. But it's really cool. I'm working with Babyface. ... (Babyface) is fantastic. I hope people can sing as good as him because ... he's just fabulous.

AP: What did you think of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions?

Streisand: I am glued. ... I watch news shows — MSNBC, CNN. Thank God (President Barack) Obama's pulling ahead because it's a clear choice, you know, in my opinion. If you want to survive as a planet, recognize that there is climate change and you want to protect your food and your air and your water from pesticides, chemicals, you want to focus on education and young people and giving healthcare to the public — there's no choice.

AP: Are there any contemporary musicians who are impressing you?

Streisand: I haven't had time to listen. When I finish an album like "Release Me" and now working on the duets album, believe me, I never turn on the radio. I only listen to news; something that concerns the whole country and world.

 

Full Length Trailer for "THE GUILT TRIP"

Once discarded for being less than perfect, Streisand songs now get an audience with new album

By Mesfin Fekadu, The Associated Press

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Back in the day, if Barbra Streisand made one vocal error or found one problem while recording a song, she'd toss the whole thing.

"If I didn't like that one word, I wouldn't release the record," the 70-year-old said in a recent interview. "Because in those days ... we did take one, take two, take three. We made albums in three days. Twelve songs. We didn't have this digital way."

Now, because of her perfectionism, she has a case full of unreleased material, and she's decided to share it with the world.

"Release Me," a collection of Streisand songs she recorded in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, is out Tuesday. It also includes the new song "If It's Meant to Be," written by her longtime friends and collaborators, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, recorded last year.

Besides the new album, Streisand is readying another duets album and a launching a U.S. tour on Thursday in Philadelphia. She talked with The Associated Press about it all, including politics.
___

AP: How's does it feel to finally release this music?

Streisand: It feels liberating. It's really interesting because I don't listen to my records after I make them. I am so sick of them because you have to listen to them over and over, in a car, with good speakers, bad speakers. I get so sick of it that I never hear anything. But I had this black case in my house for so long called "Unreleased songs." Listening to some of them again I thought, "God, I was hard on myself."

AP: How many songs are in that black case?

Streisand: I have another album or two. ... I really wasn't aware of how many things I had in there, between films and videotapes and TV shows. I actually never (have) been to my vaults, can you imagine? I just see them in pictures.

AP: What would Barbra now say to Barbra back then?

Streisand: Be easier on yourself. A lot of these things were done in one take; we don't have a choice and I didn't want to fix it. I didn't want to go in and fix things.

AP: You're returning to your hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y., for your tour at the new Barclays Center. How does that feel?

Streisand: It's like a coming home. It's coming back to my roots. It's where I was born. It was where I was raised. I didn't go into Manhattan 'til I was 14 years old. I didn't even know it existed. I thought the world was just Brooklyn.

AP: Do you remember first going into Manhattan?

Streisand: I'll never forget that moment taking the subway to see the theatre 'cause I wanted to be an actress. ... Just what was happening in that city, my God. So exciting for me as a 14-year-old.

AP: What can people expect from the tour?

Streisand: A lot of songs I've never sung live before. Some songs I wrote, even. I wrote a song in "A Star Is Born" — "Evergreen" became the hit — but not the other song, "Lost Inside of You," that I wrote with Leon Russell, and now we just recorded it for the duets album. Haven't picked who's going to sing the duet yet. But it's really cool. I'm working with Babyface. ... (Babyface) is fantastic. I hope people can sing as good as him because ... he's just fabulous.

AP: What did you think of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions?

Streisand: I am glued. ... I watch news shows — MSNBC, CNN. Thank God (President Barack) Obama's pulling ahead because it's a clear choice, you know, in my opinion. If you want to survive as a planet, recognize that there is climate change and you want to protect your food and your air and your water from pesticides, chemicals, you want to focus on education and young people and giving healthcare to the public — there's no choice.

AP: Are there any contemporary musicians who are impressing you?
Streisand: I haven't had time to listen. When I finish an album like "Release Me" and now working on the duets album, believe me, I never turn on the radio. I only listen to news; something that concerns the whole country and world.

New Poster "THE GUILT TRIP"

Out Christmas Day!

Capture the magic of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" - New Video!

Capture the magic of Barbra's stunning performance of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" from her new album RELEASE ME in this new video recreating the poetry of Randy Newman's lyrics and the studio recording experience.

Click here to view: https://vimeo.com/50393514

For more exciting updates on "Release Me" - visit Barbra's official website: http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us