The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2＜限定盤/Blush Vinyl＞

When youre a major pop icon like Barbra Streisand, along with solo albums, one of the anticipated moves is the duet recording. While its a concept that goes back to the earliest days of pop and jazz, its one that Streisand has made an integral aspect of her brand. From her duet on "Evergreen" with Kris Kristofferson in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, to her disco-fantasy pairing with Donna Summer "No More Tears" off 1979s Wet, to her 1980 Guilty album team-up with bearded Bee Gee Barry Gibb, and her Oscar-nominated collaboration with Bryan Adams from her 1996 film The Mirror Has Two Faces, Streisand has found value in joining forces with singers from across the musical spectrum. Primarily, it has been a way for the singer, whose voice fits firmly in the traditional pop/adult contemporary genres, to access other genre avenues and broaden her audience. It can also just be a lot of fun to hear well-known artists from seemingly different worlds play together. She brought that playful, cross-genre vibe to full flower on 2014s Partners and returns to it here on 2025s The Secret of Life: Partners, Vol. 2. Once again produced and arranged with warm orchestral sophistication by Walter Afanasieff (with some production/arranging by William Ross and Peter Asher), Secret of Life finds Streisand singing alongside a handful of special guests, including fellow icons like Sting and younger stars like Icelandic jazz-pop wunderkind Laufey. Of the former, she and the founding Police frontman offer a lush reading of his Nothing Like the Sun ballad "Fragile," a song that is a perfect fit for Streisand, whose voice has gained added textures over the years and surprisingly evokes the Portuguese fado style of legendary singer Amalia Rodriguez. Equally compelling is her generous showcase for Laufey, whose song "Letter to My 13 Year Old Self" gains ever more bittersweet meaning when sung by both master and ingenue. Other inspired moments pop up, including her long-overdue pairing with Paul McCartney on his 2011 composition "My Valentine" (a song that deserves to be a new standard) and her passionate rendition of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" with Hozier that works as a heartfelt homage to the late Roberta Flack. While theres more obvious contrast between Streisands voice and the gruff Bob Dylan on the standard "The Very Thought of You," theres a warm sweetness and even a little thrill to hearing the two musical titans come together. ~ Matt Collar