Lazy Afternoon (1975)

Catalog Number(s):

Lazy Afternoon Front cover Back cover

(Above) The LP back cover ... (Below) The CD back cover ...

CD Back cover

Gatefold album Lazy Afternoon Buy from Amazon

Tracks

  1. Lazy Afternoon [3:47]
    (J. LaTouche / J. Moross)
  2. My Father's Song [3:52]
    (R. Holmes)
  3. By The Way [2:55]
    (B. Streisand / R. Homes)
  4. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over) [2:50]
    (B. Holland / L. Dozier / E. Holland)
  5. I Never Had It So Good [3:35]
    (P. Williams / R. Nichols)
  6. Letters That Cross In The Mail [3:36]
    (R. Holmes)
  7. You And I [4:16]
    (S. Wonder)
  8. Moanin' Low [4:25]
    (H. Dietz / R. Rainger)
  9. A Child Is Born [2:48]
    (M. Bergman / A. Bergman / D. Grusin)
  10. Widescreen [3:59]
    (R. Holmes)

About the Album

In 2003, I interviewed Rupert Holmes exclusively for Barbra Archives and asked him many questions about working with Streisand, including this album.

Read the Barbra Archives interview with Rupert Holmes here.

As for the songs that Streisand and Holmes selected:

“Lazy Afternoon” was from a musical called The Golden Apple, with lyrics by John La Touche and music by Jerome Moross. Author John Gavin noted that Streisand almost participated in an album of La Touche songs circa 1962, but the project never jelled. So, 13 years later Streisand recorded La Touche's brilliant lyric to “Lazy Afternoon”.

Paul Williams and Roger Nichols' song, “I Never Had It So Good” appeared on Williams' 1971 debut solo album, Just An Old Fashioned Love Song. A year later, Williams would contribute lyrics to Streisand's musical composition, “Evergreen”.

Stevie Wonder's song, “You and I”, appeared on his 1972 album Talking Book. Besides his harmonica playing on “Can't Help Lovin That Man of Mine” (The Broadway Album), Stevie and Barbra have not worked together on a song.

Barbra sang a verse of Dietz and Rainger's “Moanin Low” on the Garry Moore television show in 1962. Rupert Holmes gave her an amazing arrangement here, and Barbra added a subtle vocal homage to Billie Holiday.

Dave Grusin’s song “A Child is Born”, was written for Up the Sandbox. Streisand recorded it for Lazy Afternoon with lyrics by her friends, the Bergmans. As Rupert Holmes told me in our interview, he also recorded a fully orchestrated version of this song that was not used.

Recorded, but unreleased, was a song called “Everything” by Rupert Holmes. It is not the same melody or lyric as the same-titled song in A Star is Born.

Rupert Holmes also recorded “Better” with Streisand — by Ed Kleban (who wrote the lyrics to Marvin Hamlisch's music for 1975's A Chorus Line). Streisand recorded “Better” three times: Once in a 1973 session produced by Richard Perry; again in September 1973 with an arrangement by Marty Paich and conducted by Marvin Hamlisch; and a third time with Holmes.

Shake Me Wake Me 12 inch

A 12-inch dance single of “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)” was released by Columbia (catalog number AS 217). The vinyl record contained a 4:55-minute stereo "Disco Version" mix of the uptempo song on one side, and a mono mix on the other.

Billboard Charts

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine.

Here's the numbers for this Streisand album:

Gold: 500,000 units shipped

Note: The record company must submit an album to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where it undergoes a certification process to become eligible for an award. The process entails an independent sales audit, which calculates the quantity of singles or albums shipped for sale, net after returns. The audit surveys shipments to the entire music marketplace, including retail, record clubs, television sales, Internet orders and other ancillary markets. Based on the certification of these shipments, a title is awarded Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum or Diamond status. The data here comes directly from official sources, mainly the RIAA online database.

CD Packaging

When Columbia Records issued the digital CD of Lazy Afternoon, they did a great job replicating the original album artwork designed by Nancy Donald, including all of Barbra's liner notes.

Well, all except one ... The CD left off the note from the back cover. Streisand wrote, beneath her photo:

In case you've noticed—I cut my nails to study the guitar—the front cover picture was taken six months before —

Album Cover Outtakes

Steve Schapiro captured the inviting shot of Streisand on the cover of Lazy Afternoon. It was shot in Streisand's living room in “The Barn”—her rustic home on the eight acres of land in Ramirez Canyon that she and Jon Peters bought in the 1970s.

Streisand and Peters designed a sofa-less sitting area. Streisand was posed on a mattress on the floor, enclosed by an L-shaped cabinet. “It was thrown with all kinds of pillows, antique embroideries, 1940s fabrics, and furs—before they became politically incorrect,” she told In Style Magazine. “On the cover of the Lazy Afternoon album, there's a picture of me on that mattress.”

Schapiro shot Streisand outside the house on the wooden deck, too. Below is also an alternate shot from Streisand in the recording studio, again by Steve Schapiro.

Schapiro outtakes

Streisand, with long hair, recording LAZY AFTERNOON

Streisand at microphone

Below are photographer Sam Emerson's outtakes from the recording studio.

Emerson

End.

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Related Link: Lazy Afternoon—Quadraphonic album

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