Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits (1970) [2004, Reissue]

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Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits (1970) [2004, Reissue]

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"Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits" is the first greatest hits album recorded by American vocalist Barbra Streisand. It was released on January 1, 1970 by Columbia Records. The record is a compilation consisting of 11 commercially successful singles from the singer's releases in the 1960s, with a majority of them being cover songs. The songs on Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits originally appeared on one of the singer's eight previous albums and span in release from 1963 to 1968. It contains her most commercially successful tracks, including her first Billboard Hot 100 top ten single "People" and top 40 entry "Second Hand Rose". "Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits" reached the record charts in three countries. In the United States, the compilation debuted at #77 on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 28, 1970, while also serving as the week's highest new entry. During its fifth week on the chart, it peaked at #32. Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits spent a total of 30 weeks on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 500,000 copies on May 4, 1971, and by November 21, 1986, the record had been certified double Platinum for shipments of two million albums. On the UK Albums Chart, the compilation peaked at #44, where it became Streisand's second entry altogether, immediately following her sixth studio album, My Name Is Barbra, Two... (1965), which peaked at number six. Elsewhere, the album achieved its highest position in Canada, where it peaked at #17 on the official Top Albums chart compiled by RPM. Although the compilation did not chart in Australia, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Gold in 2000, signifying shipments of at least 35,000 copies.

At a time when Barbra Streisand's career was in decline, what turned out to be only her first greatest-hits album seemed to serve as both a summing up and a kiss-off of her 1960s recordings. Streisand was not primarily a singles artist; between 1964 and 1969, she enjoyed nine chart singles, of which only one, "People," made the Top Ten, with only one other, "Second Hand Rose," reaching the Top 40. But in that time, she scored seven gold-selling, Top Ten albums. This hits collection contained seven of her chart singles, plus her non-charting early single "My Coloring Book," "Happy Days Are Here Again," which was one of the highlights of her debut album (heard here in the live version from A Happening in Central Park), and "Don't Rain on My Parade" from the Funny Girl soundtrack. For casual fans, that made for a good sampling of Streisand's most prominent '60s work, and if at the time it seemed likely that this was all the hits there would be, instead the '60s proved to be only the first chapter in Streisand's career.

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Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits (1970) [2004, Reissue]

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Barbra Streisand - Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits (1970) [2004, Reissue]

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