My Name Is Barbra, Two...

Performer: Barbra Streisand
Producer: Robert Mersey
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: My Name Is Barbra, Two... is not exactly a sequel to My Name Is Barbra, though it contains a medley of songs about poverty that was performed as one of the three sections of the TV special. For the most part, this is just the next Barbra Streisand album, containing the usual mixture of recent songs ("He Touched Me," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "No More Songs for Me") and lesser-known songs by classic pop writers (Rodgers & Hart's "Quiet Night" and "Where's That Rainbow?"), filled out by full-length versions of songs from the medley ("Second Hand Rose," a song associated with Fanny Brice that became Streisand's second Top 40 hit, and "I Got Plenty O' Nothin'" from Porgy and Bess). The medley lacks the TV show's visual complement of Streisand cavorting in a department store, but the arrangement and her performance still camp up songs like "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" a dubious choice of interpretation. ~ William Ruhlmann MY NAME IS BARBRA, TWO was a number three record and a very strong showing from Streisand when it was released in October 1965. It was the second of two releases that coincided with the My Name Is Barbra TV special (which won five Emmys). The album combines ballads with some faster numbers and all are given the special Barbra touch. "He Touched Me" is a great leadoff track; a show-tuney ballad with big production. "The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme From 'The Sandpiper')" follows and is a mid-tempo song that showcases Barbra's amazing vocals. "I Got Plenty Of Nothin'" is another mid-tempo number with a big horn section. Streisand shows she can sing the blues on "The Kind Of Man A Woman Needs" and "Where's The Rainbow?," with the latter featuring a big, jazzy ending. Barbra also injects her shticky humor into the record. In "All That I Want" she places an extra emphasis on "a rose is a rose, a nose is just a nose" and has a little fun with the otherwise somber "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" This record is an excellent companion piece to the TV special and an album bursting with personality.

When she emerged in a 1960s pop scene dominated by rock & roll, Barbra Streisand was a breath of fresh air to those nostalgic for the great Broadway-oriented pop vocalists of the past. Her stratospheric range and (initially) anachronistic taste in material made her the new Grande Dame of non-rock pop music. Along the way she experimented with the flavors of the day, from folk-rock to disco, but she always returned to the Great American Songbook for inspiration.

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