SongsTube Barbra Streisand

About "The Way We Were"

The Way We Were is the fifteenth studio album recorded by American singer Barbra Streisand. Following the commercial success of its lead single "The Way We Were", the album was released in January 1974. Three additional songs were newly recorded for the album, while six of the tracks salvaged material from previously unreleased Streisand projects. Following the distribution of a soundtrack album for the 1973 film of the same title, Columbia added a caption to Streisand's LP (Featuring the Hit Single The Way We Were and All in Love Is Fair) in order to minimize confusion between the two albums.

Covering a wide array of themes and topics, Streisand sings about recovering relationships, social awareness, and love in general. Like the majority of Streisand's catalog, The Way We Were was described as a contemporary pop album blended with her signature vocal style. In terms of production, she heavily worked with Tommy LiPuma and Wally Gold, while Marty Paich contributed to the title track. The lead single ("The Way We Were") was released on September 27, 1973, and became a chart-topper in both the United States and Canada. It was also the top-selling single in the former country in 1974. The second and final single, "All in Love Is Fair", was released in March 1974 and also charted in the two countries.

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised Streisand's vocals and found the record capable of being extremely successful. However, some critics felt the album was not carefully planned out and Streisand was acting out the tracks rather than actually singing them. Commercially, The Way We Were topped the Billboard 200 in the United States and reached the top ten on album charts in Australia and Canada. It also entered the charts in Japan and the United Kingdom. Due to strong sales, it has since been certified 2× Platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).