Just for the Record... is a box set by American singer Barbra Streisand. It was released by Columbia Records on September 24, 1991. Streisand and her manager, Martin Erlichman, were credited as the album's executive producers. Just for the Record... includes a variety of performances throughout Streisand's career, including a song taken from her first studio recording session in 1955: a cover of "You'll Never Know". Other tracks were compiled from various live performances, TV specials, and previous albums from her back catalog.
Just for the Record... | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | September 24, 1991 (1991-09-24) | |||
Recorded | 1955–1988 | |||
Genre | Pop[1] | |||
Length | 4:07:14 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
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Barbra Streisand chronology | ||||
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Just for the Record... received positive reviews regarding its comprehensiveness of Streisand's overall career. Commercially, the album was equally successful, becoming the second best-selling box set in the United States by 1994, when it had sold over 404,000 units. It entered the Billboard 200 in the United States and peaked at number 38; it has also been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In the Netherlands, Highlights from Just for the Record, a condensed version of the album, peaked at number 72.
Just for the Record... was released on September 24, 1991, by Columbia Records.[2] It includes four discs, with each disc focusing on a different decade ("The 60s Part I", "The 60s Part II", "The 70s", and "The 80s"). It was initially priced at $79.98 USD and by 1994 was the second best-selling box set collection in the United States (behind only Led Zeppelin's 1990 self-titled box set) with approximately 404,000 copies sold.[3] Serving as a retrospective of Streisand's three decade-spanning career, it features several songs from her catalogue in addition to previously unreleased tracks. Her first studio-recorded track ever, a cover of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren's "You'll Never Know" (1943), was featured as the album's opener track and was recorded in 1955.[4] Howard Reich from PopMatters claimed that Streisand's cover proved that she already had had plenty of talent to become a recording artist, despite her young age.[5] Despite the wide array of producers who contributed to the various tracks included in the collection, Streisand and her manager, Martin Erlichman, were credited as the album's two executive producers.[6] In addition to the four discs of material, Just for the Record... includes a 92-page color booklet featuring a variety of photos and artwork created throughout her career.[1]
Among the previously unreleased material of Just for the Record... are live performances on The Jack Paar Show, P.M. East, The Garry Moore Show, The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Judy Garland Show. Duets with Judy Garland, Harold Arlen, Don Rickles, and Ryan O'Neal are also featured. As a whole, the performances featured on the collection range in year recorded from 1955 to 1988.[6] A condensed version of the box set titled Highlights from Just for the Record was released sometime in 1992. It includes 24 of the songs from Just for the Record... and was priced significantly lower than the original collection.[7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AllMusic Highlights from Just for the Record | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[1] |
Just for the Record... received high ratings and praise from music critics. William Ruhlmann from AllMusic enjoyed the unique nature of the record and commented that because "she had complete creative control over th[e] retrospective", she was able to release a box set consisting of nearly only "rare [and] previously unreleased material". He also labelled the duets with Garland and "Las Vegas Medley" as some of the album's best tracks.[2] In the publication's review of Highlights from Just for the Record, Ruhlmann was equally appreciative and noted that it serves as a "fine overview of Bab's career" and provides for a "great listening".[8] Describing the large size of the collection, Entertainment Weekly's David Browne compared it to the two installments of Use Your Illusion (volumes I and II) by Guns N' Roses and claimed that it "is impossible to digest in one sitting". Browne ultimately awarded the collection a grade of A- and called it a good representation of the singer's ability to "chang[e the] definition of pop" and "make mainstream adult pop that was strong, elegant, [and] even passionate".[1] Joe Brown from The Washington Post was more mixed towards the effort: "All four discs are dotted with oddities that even the most devoted Barbraphiles will program their CD players to skip after the first listen or two"; however, Brown appreciated some of the rarities on the album, including her duets with Garland and her melody of "My Man" and "Auld Lang Syne".[9]
The box set entered and peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 38 on October 12, 1991, and was the week's fifth highest-peaking debut.[10] It dropped to number 63 the following week and spent a combined total of 16 weeks on the chart.[11] On November 19, 1991, it was certified Gold as a multi-disk package by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for physical shipments of 125,000 copies; its certification was then upgraded to Platinum, signifying shipments of 250,000 copies, on July 8, 1992.[12] As of June 2007, Just for the Record... had sold 454,000 box sets in the United States.[13] The Highlights from Just for the Record version entered the album charts in the Netherlands, where it spent three weeks in total and peaked at number 72.[14]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
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1. | "You'll Never Know" | Studio recording, 1955 | 2:58 | |
2. | "A Sleepin' Bee" (live) | The Jack Paar Show, 1962 | 4:50 | |
3. | "Moon River" (live) | P.M. East, 1962 | 3:35 | |
4. | "Miss Marmelstein" | Harold Rome | I Can Get It for You Wholesale, 1962 | 3:21 |
5. | "Happy Days Are Here Again" (live) | The Garry Moore Show, 1962 | 3:50 | |
6. | "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" (live) | Bon Soir, 1962 | 1:48 | |
7. | "I Hate Music" (live) | Leonard Bernstein | Bon Soir | 1:11 |
8. | "Nobody's Heart (Belongs to Me)" (live) | Bon Soir | 2:11 | |
9. | "Value" (live) | Jeffrey D. Harris | Bon Soir | 2:18 |
10. | "Cry Me a River" (live) | Arthur Hamilton | Bon Soir | 3:53 |
11. | "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" (live) | Bon Soir | 2:10 | |
12. | "I Had Myself a True Love" (live) |
| Bon Soir | 4:27 |
13. | "Lover, Come Back to Me" (live) | Bon Soir | 1:48 | |
14. | "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" (live) |
| The Tonight Show, 1963 | 3:48 |
15. | "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" | The Barbra Streisand Album, 1963 | 2:13 | |
16. | "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home" |
| The Second Barbra Streisand Album, 1963 | 2:44 |
17. | "When the Sun Comes Out" (live) |
| The Ed Sullivan Show, 1963 | 3:36 |
18. | "Be My Guest / Dialogue" (with Judy Garland and Ethel Merman) (live) | Mel Tormé | The Judy Garland Show, 1963 | 2:28 |
19. | "Judy Garland Medley, No. 1" (with Judy Garland) (live) |
| The Judy Garland Show | 4:34 |
20. | "Judy Garland Medley, No. 2" (with Judy Garland) (live) |
| The Judy Garland Show | 2:28 |
Total length: | 60:11 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I'm the Greatest Star" | Funny Girl, 1964 | 4:08 | |
2. | "My Man / Auld Lang Syne" |
| Funny Girl | 4:08 |
3. | "People" |
| People, 1964 | 3:40 |
4. | "Act II Medley" (featuring Diana Kind) |
| My Name Is Barbra, Two..., 1965 | 4:27 |
5. | "1965 Emmy Awards" (live) | 17th Primetime Emmy Awards, 1965 | 1:45 | |
6. | "He Touched Me" |
| My Name Is Barbra, Two... | 3:09 |
7. | "You Wanna Bet" | Where Am I Going? (Single)[15] | 2:27 | |
8. | "House of Flowers" (with Harold Arlen) |
| Harold Sings Arlen (with Friend), 1966 | 2:44 |
9. | "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (with Harold Arlen) |
| Harold Sings Arlen (with Friend), 1966 | 1:55 |
10. | "Circus Medley" | Color Me Barbra, 1966 | 3:23 | |
11. | "Starting Here, Starting Now" | Color Me Barbra | 2:54 | |
12. | "A Good Man Is Hard to Find / Some of These Days" (live) | Belle of 14th Street, 1967 | 3:33 | |
13. | "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (live) |
| Belle of 14th Street | 2:34 |
14. | "Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Silent Night)" (live) | A Happening in Central Park, 1968 | 2:58 | |
15. | "Don't Rain on My Parade" |
| Funny Girl, 1968 | 2:44 |
16. | "Funny Girl" |
| Funny Girl | 2:43 |
17. | "1969 Academy Awards" (live) | 41st Academy Awards, 1969 | 1:58 | |
18. | "Come Rain or Come Shine" (featuring Harold Arlen) (live) |
| the Friars Club, 1969 | 2:48 |
19. | "Time After Time" (featuring Jule Styne) (live) |
| the Friars Club | 2:36 |
20. | "Untitled" (featuring Don Rickles) (live) | the Friars Club | 1:13 | |
21. | "The Sweetest Sounds" (featuring Richard Rodgers) (live) | Richard Rodgers | the Friars Club | 2:01 |
22. | "Hello, Dolly!" (featuring Louis Armstrong) | Jerry Herman | Hello, Dolly!, 1969 | 3:47 |
23. | "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1970 | 2:10 | |
24. | "Las Vegas Medley" (live) |
| the International Hotel, 1969 | 4:05 |
Total length: | 69:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Singer" | Walter Marks | Previously unreleased | 2:43 |
2. | "I Can Do It" | Johnny Worth | Previously unreleased | 2:38 |
3. | "Stoney End" | Laura Nyro | Stoney End, 1971 | 2:58 |
4. | "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (featuring Burt Bacharach) (live) |
| The Burt Bacharach Special, 1971[16][17] | 3:35 |
5. | "We've Only Just Begun" | Previously unreleased | 2:25 | |
6. | "Since I Fell for You" | Buddy Johnson | Barbra Joan Streisand, 1971 | 3:25 |
7. | "You're the Top" (featuring Ryan O'Neal) | Cole Porter | What's Up, Doc?, 1972 | 4:08 |
8. | "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (featuring Michel Legrand) (demo) |
| Previously unreleased | 3:36 |
9. | "If I Close My Eyes" (featuring Michel Legrand) |
| Up the Sandbox, 1972 | 2:24 |
10. | "Between Yesterday and Tomorrow" |
| Previously unreleased | 3:32 |
11. | "Can You Tell the Moment?" |
| Previously unreleased | 2:27 |
12. | "The Way We Were" (Soundtrack version) |
| The Way We Were, 1973 | 3:52 |
13. | "Cryin' Time" (featuring Ray Charles) | Buck Owens | Barbra Streisand...and Other Musical Instruments, 1973 | 2:18 |
14. | "God Bless the Child" | Previously unreleased | 3:32 | |
15. | "A Quiet Thing / There Won't Be Trumpets" |
| Previously unreleased | 5:20 |
16. | "Lost Inside of You" | A Star Is Born, 1976 | 4:53 | |
17. | "Evergreen" (Soundtrack version) (demo) |
| A Star Is Born | 3:13 |
18. | "1977 Academy Awards" (live) | 49th Academy Awards, 1977 | 1:22 | |
19. | "Hatikvah" (featuring Golda Meir) (live) | Naftali Herz Imber | The Stars Salute Israel at 30, 1978 | 4:59 |
Total length: | 63:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Taken from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Neil Diamond) (live) |
| 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, 1980 | 3:37 |
2. | "The Way We Weren't / The Way We Were" (live) |
| ACLU Tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman, 1980[18] | 4:52 |
3. | "Guilty" (with Barry Gibb) | Guilty, 1980 | 4:27 | |
4. | "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" (demo) |
| Yentl, 1983 | 3:34 |
5. | "The Moon and I" (demo) |
| Yentl | 3:19 |
6. | "A Piece of Sky" (demo) |
| Yentl | 4:13 |
7. | "I Know Him So Well" (featuring Richard Page) |
| Previously unreleased | 4:13 |
8. | "If I Loved You" | The Broadway Album, 1985 | 2:38 | |
9. | "Putting It Together" | Stephen Sondheim | The Broadway Album | 4:19 |
10. | "Over the Rainbow" (live) |
| One Voice, 1987 | 4:43 |
11. | "Theme" | Barbra Streisand | Nuts, 1987 | 3:43 |
12. | "Here We Are at Last" |
| Emotion | 3:20 |
13. | "Warm All Over" | Frank Loesser | Previously unreleased | 2:48 |
14. | "You'll Never Know" (duet version) | Previously unreleased | 4:07 | |
Total length: | 53:53 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "You'll Never Know" | 2:58 |
2. | "A Sleepin' Bee" (live) | 4:50 |
3. | "Miss Marmelstein" | 3:21 |
4. | "I Hate Music" (live) | 1:11 |
5. | "Nobody's Heart (Belongs to Me)" (live) | 2:11 |
6. | "Cry Me a River" (live) | 3:53 |
7. | "Judy Garland Medley, No. 2" (with Judy Garland) (live) | 2:28 |
8. | "People" | 3:40 |
9. | "Act II Medley" (featuring Diana Kind) (live) | 4:27 |
10. | "You Wanna Bet" | 2:27 |
11. | "Come Rain or Come Shine" (featuring Harold Arlen) (live) | 2:48 |
12. | "Untitled" (featuring Don Rickles) (live) | 1:13 |
13. | "The Sweetest Sounds" (featuring Richard Rodgers) (live) | 2:01 |
14. | "You're the Top" (featuring Ryan O'Neal) | 4:08 |
15. | "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (featuring Michel Legrand) (demo) | 3:36 |
16. | "Cryin' Time" (featuring Ray Charles) | 2:18 |
17. | "A Quiet Thing / There Won't Be Trumpets" | 5:20 |
18. | "Evergreen" (Soundtrack version) (demo) | 3:13 |
19. | "Between Yesterday and Tomorrow" | 3:32 |
20. | "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Neil Diamond) (live) | 3:37 |
21. | "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" (demo) | 3:34 |
22. | "I Know Him So Well" (featuring Richard Page) | 4:13 |
23. | "Warm All Over" | 2:48 |
24. | "You'll Never Know" (Duet version) | 4:07 |
Total length: | 77:54 |
Information is based on AllMusic[2] and the album’s liner notes[6]
Chart (1991–1992) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] Highlights from Just for the Record |
72 |
US Billboard 200[21] | 38 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[12] | Platinum | 454,000[13] |
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