A Love Like Ours

Barbra Streisand makes sure there's no doubt to what love she's referring to in the title of A Love Like Ours. On both the front and back covers, and throughout the liner notes, she's seen with her new husband, James Brolin. As a matter of fact, the album is no less than a celebration of her love of Brolin and their storybook wedding. To some, this may be a little too sentimental, but the emotions are genuine, as she makes abundantly clear in her gushing, track-by-track liner notes. Streisand tackles both standards and newly written tunes, including the Richard Marx-penned "If You Ever Leave Me," which she sings with Vince Gill. She claims in the liner notes that "If You Ever Leave Me" was intended to be a country song — that's why Gill sings on the track — but, like the Gershwin tune "Isn't It a Pity," the show tunes, and "We Must Be Loving Right," the other country song on the album, everything is given a measured, polished adult contemporary production. That's a little ironic, since Streisand claims nearly everything was recorded live with an orchestra. Nevertheless, it sounds as if it was assembled in a studio piece by piece, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, the absence of longtime collaborator Marvin Hamlisch is notable, since the arrangers on A Love Like Ours don't have much flair. Consequently, the album is a little subdued, which is appropriate for a romantic album. And, judged as a romance album, it works pretty well. Essentially, A Love Like Ours is a simple love album, a soundtrack to Streisand and Brolin's wedding that will work for other weddings. It's mood music that doesn't set the mood, but will compliment the mood quite nicely.