2. Barbra StreisandLazy Afternoon
This record is unique in the catalogue of Barbra Streisand because it was a collaboration between her and Rupert Holmes. She heard his first album Widescreen and was obsessed with it. He was minding his own business and she rang up saying, ‘Rupert, I love your album, come to California’. This is 1975, way before he had the hit with ‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’, so she kind of discovered him. He’s like, ‘Oh my god, this is where my life changes’, freaking out, and she’s like ‘I’m gonna sing your songs and I want you to write me some more.’ She’s in her prime, and it did change his life. His songs are on it: ‘Letters That Cross In The Mail’, ‘Widescreen’, ‘My Father’s Song’, and ‘Lazy Afternoon’, and he conducted the orchestra. Again, it’s that collaborative spirit that you can hear between her and Rupie. Apparently he was really nervous, and she gave him a packet of Rupert The Bear playing cards and there was a note saying, ‘Dear Rupert, don’t be frightened, you’re the best, love Barbra.’
A lot of it’s recorded live, proper old school. A friend gave this to me. A lot of people give me records they think I’d like. I’m not, like, a big Barbra Streisand fan, because when I hear a song, I just want to hear the song, not The Voice. But this is the album for people who don’t like Barbra Streisand. It’s so cinematic, so dreamy. It was an album in the sense that it was a moment: she’d never done it before and she’s never done it since. It’s a gorgeous experience. It’s got a musical mood and it hangs together. The thing that’s most important about an album is when you’ve listened to the individual songs but then you pull back, and see the whole thing, the landscape of an album. Because usually there’s a message in that.
