Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Dann Huff (guitar); Eric Rigler (Uileann pipes); Greg Phillinganes (piano, keyboards); Mervyn Warren (piano); Scott Frankfurt (keyboards, synthesizer, bass, programming, drum programming); Walter Afanasieff (keyboards, synthesizer, bass, drum programming); Dan Shea (keyboards, drum & computer programming); David Foster (keyboards, synthesizer); Byron Smith (Hammond B-3 organ); Neil Stubenhaus, Reggie Hamilton (bass); J.R. Robinson (drums); Bob Zimmetti, Peter Michael Escovedo III (percussion); Simon Franglen (drum programming); Phillip Ingram, Alex Brown, Lynn Davis, Jim Gilstrap, The Carol Lombard Children's Choir (background vocals). | | Producers: Barbara Streisand, Arif Mardin, Walter Afanasieff, David Foster, Mervyn Warren, Jeremy Lubbock. | | Engineers include: David Reitzas, David Gleeson, Jeff Balding, Humberto Gatica, Frank Wolf. | | Includes liner notes by Barbra Streisand and Jay Landers. | | "I Believe/You'll Never Walk Alone" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s). | | As Barbra Streisand's first studio album of mainstream pop material in nine years, Higher Ground is something of an oddity. Instead of devoting herself to Broadway standards or a set of radio-oriented pop tunes, Streisand has crafted a record that she intended as a tribute to the power of music as prayer. It's an ambitious project, but for the most part it works, achieving a surprising grace. Higher Ground comprises both traditional religious songs and new material (even "Tell Him," an overblown duet with Celine Dion, vaguely touches on that theme), with grandiose arrangements by Marvin Hamlisch. Although Streisand and Hamlisch still favor sweeping strings and bold statements -- so much so that many of the songs sound remarkably similar to each other, in terms of dynamics and arrangements -- the album retains its power thanks to her subtle interpretations of melody and lyrics. The end result might not quite match her latter-day masterpieces, but it's another strong addition to her catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | This album, which is dedicated to the memory of Virginia Kelley, President Clinton's mother, opens with a sense of quiet sincerity in Barbra Streisand's restrained take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone," paired with an equally non-traditional version of the Frankie Laine hit, "I Believe," both of which set the tone for the remainder of HIGHER GROUND. Offerings range from show tunes and popular songs to traditional pieces like "The Water is Wide" and "Avinu Malkeinu," which is traditionally sung during Rosh Hashanah, and whose lyrics translate as "Cause all hate and oppression to vanish from the earth/Inscribe us for blessing in the Book of Life." HIGHER GROUND carries this sense of spirituality to a variety of levels, resulting in a very accessible and timeless collection of songs sung by one of the world's most popular divas, who is at her most powerful and passionate, her rich and expressive voice backed by a lush 70-piece orchestra. |
Musical Guests | | Celine Dion | | Greg Phillinganes | | Mervyn Warren |
|
CD
