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Higher Ground | 
 enlarge | Artist: Barbra Streisand
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $11.97 (100%)
New (51) Used (269) Collectible (12) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 20710
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 66181
UPC: 074646618127
EAN: 0074646618127
ASIN: B000002ANX
Release Date: November 11, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Used - Very Good; Item is in very good condition and at a great price!All day low prices!! Buy from us, Sell to Us, we do it all! All Day Low Prices! Buy From Us, Sell To Us, We Do it All!!
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| Tracks:
| • | I Believe/You'll Never Walk Alone - Barbra Streisand, Drake, Ervin | | • | Higher Ground - Barbra Streisand, Dorff, Steve | | • | At the Same Time - Barbra Streisand, Callaway, Ann Hampt | | • | Tell Him - Barbra Streisand, Afanasieff, Walter | | • | On Holy Ground - Barbra Streisand, Davis, Geron | | • | If I Could - Barbra Streisand, Miller, Ronald Lee | | • | Circle - Barbra Streisand, Friedman, Jud J. | | • | The Water Is Wide/Deep River - Barbra Streisand, Traditional | | • | Leading with Your Heart - Barbra Streisand, Bergman, Alan | | • | Lessons to Be Learned - Barbra Streisand, Rich, Allan | | • | Everything Must Change - Barbra Streisand, Ighner, Bernard | | • | Avinu Malkeinu - Barbra Streisand, Janowsky, Max |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
She's been eclipsed by a generation of newfangled power divas, but Babs still has it--superior repertoire in the Tin Pan Alley tradition, deep-pile production from the likes of Foster, Mardin and Afanasieff, and those zillion dollar pipes. Cuddlesome James Brolin gets a credit "for giving me the love I sing about" on tunes like "Leading with Your Heart," while the title track, "At the Same Time," and "Everything Must Change" could one day be used in a Broadway musical about pre-millennial spirituality. --Jeff Bateman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 81 more reviews...
Kind of falls flat in places... January 8, 2009
I'm a big Barbra fan. She is a force to be reckoned with in just about every arena she enters. She is a living legend.
This album for me is, on the whole, very good, but it just falls flat in several instances...for me at least. Her opening track, the "I believe/You'll never walk alone" medley, shows promise at the beginning, but it never really picks up and goes anywhere. The arrangement of "I believe" is very pretty and poignant, but the arrangement of "You'll never walk alone" is, in my opinion, very lackluster. I know that less can be more sometimes, but this is a song that has the potential to soar, and other than a marginal swell towards the end of the song, it basically stays the same dynamically the whole way through.
Her famous duet with Celine Dion is quite good...it has alot of passion, and their voices blend very well together. Even though they are both vocal powerhouses, they never seem like they are competing or trying to outdo each other.
"Holy Ground" is very powerful and moving, with Barbra beginning the song very introspectively, and then ending it by belting at the top of her lungs over a full-bodied gospel choir. She left out the words "Jesus" and "Jehovah", for political correctness I assume...it was a bit of a disappointment for me, being a Christian, but I know that she had to make it marketable to all groups of people.
"The water is wide/Deep River" is another highlight for me. It is another vehicle for her to show of that legendary vocal prowess of hers.
"Lessons to be learned" is a very powerful and poignant song, but I feel like Barbra's of out of her zone while singing it. Sure, she does a vocally outstanding job, but it's a more modern pop ballad, and in my opinion, it just isn't her style.
Perhaps the best song on the entire album for me is the hauntingly beautiful "Avinu Malkeinu", a prayer from Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the words of the prayer are so beautiful and powerful, we should all stop and contemplate them at least once a day.
The other songs on the CD are nice, but not all that memorable...in my opinion.
Some of Barbra's high notes are beginning to sound pinched and strained in this album, but nevertheless they are still powerful and majestic.
Overall, I'd say this album is worth buying, if for no other reason than to add to your Streisand collection.
 It's Barbara. What do you expect? August 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a student of music, and particularly of the female voice, I own a wide range of music that I study, simply to understand the appeal of various styles and sounds. This is one that was recommended, and I bought it (cheap & used, thank God) to study.
Personally, Barbara's voice drives me up the wall. Her forced, unnatural vibrato that is produced in the back of her throat, her melodramatic emphasis of every stinking line, and her miserable attempt at Sinatra-esque phrasing (hesitating a moment before coming in on the phrase). She has some of the most predictable phrasing and ornaments ever known to womankind.
I actually love several of these songs, including "On Holy Ground", and I am annoyed that she tried to recreate this track. Barbara, only the "alternative" lifestyles like you! And those who like fake, contrived emotions.
YUCK! She only avoided a "1" because she has somehow managed to make a name for herself, and that deserves some credit.
 Barbara Gem June 18, 2008
This album is the best album from Barabara in YEARS. Inspirational, and depply spiritual, it will be uplift you in a way that few albums can. Barabara is in her element here, and it shows
 I'd love this album...if I could January 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Released in 1997 just in time for Christmas, this was actually Barbra Streisand's most successful proper album since the Broadway Album. It debuted at #1, and went triple platinum. However, I cannot honestly say this is one of her best albums. Yes, it did very well, but that can easily be contributed to her teaming with Celine Dion on a song, as she was the most popular singer in the world at that time, as well as appearing on the highly popular Oprah and Rosie O'Donnell talk shows to promote it.
The beginning of the album isn't too terrible, with not only the true highlight, "Tell Him," (one of the only songs I listen to on this album) being in the mix, but also lovely songs such as "At the Same Time," "On Holy Ground," and "Higher Ground" being played in the process. Many of the songs also have a feeling of uplift in them, so that if you listen at a time you're down or worried about something, you'll feel at least a little better afterwards.
However, there are plenty of flaws to add to the mix as well. First off, like her 70s album Lazy Afternoon, the songs, while pleasant to the ears, all sound the same, making the tracks forgettable music that just blends in the background. Second, her voice was not at its greatest on here, which is truly evident on "Tell Him." Celine is actually singing over her at many times in the song. Finally, "Tell Him" aside, this is not music that will appeal to everyone, since there are many people out there not religious or spiritual who can be put off by this stuff.
In short, this is more for the hardcore Barbra Streisand fans than the general public or those curious about her music. If you want the "Tell Him" song only, you'd probably be happier with a greatest hits or Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love album, released around the same time. At her worst, Barbra's better than many at their best, and while she's done worst than this, it doesn't make it much more appetizing.
madam onnie December 29, 2007
Higher Ground has some of the most inspirational, thought provoking songs that has aided in my growth and development as a young woman. This is my first piece of Barbra Streisand's and I look forward to purchasing more of her music.
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