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Wet (1979)

Catalog Number(s):

• FC 36258 (LP, 1979)
• CK 36258 (CD)

(Below: The original WET LP included a photo sleeve with a tinted picture of Streisand in the hot tub of her Malibu home; on the reverse side was song and album credits.)

Tracks

1. Wet [3:56]
   (D. Wolfert / S. Sheridan / B. Streisand)
2. Come Rain Or Come Shine [4:43]
   (J. Mercer / H. Arlen)
3. Splish Splash [4:15]
   (B. Darin / J. Murray)
4. On Rainy Afternoons [3:08]
   (M. Bergman / A. Bergman / L. Schifrin)
5. After The Rain [3:40]
   (M. Bergman / A. Bergman / M. Legrand)
6. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (Duet with Donna Summer) [8:19]
   (P. Jabara / B. Roberts)
7. Niagara [3:30]
   (M. Hamlisch / C. Bayer Sager / B. Roberts)
8. I Ain't Gonna Cry Tonight [5:00]
   (A. Gordon)
9. Kiss Me In The Rain [4:16]
   (S. Farina / L. Ratner)

Individual track credits:

(mouse and click on each song to reveal the credits...)

About the Album

• Released October 1979
• Produced by Gary Klein for The Entertainment Company
• Executive Producer: Charles Koppelman
• Recorded & Mixed by: John Arrias
• Photography: Mario Casilli
• Visual Coordination: Tony Lane, A.D.
• Inner Sleeve color-tinting: Ginger Canzoneri

Barbra started working with The Entertainment Company for her 1977 album, Superman. Wet was the third album with the company.

Comprised of producers Gary Klein and Charles Koppelman, The Entertainment Company promoted song catalogs, acquired major songs, and produced a series of hits in which superstar recording artists were paired together. Charles Koppelman described what he does as “listening to songs, hearing a song and feeling it would be right for a particular artist to sing, and convincing that artist that he or she should sing it. And then finding a producer to produce it, making sure the music comes out in a way that matches my original vision, the way I imagined it when I first heard it. It’s incredibly simple, and it’s incredibly difficult.”

Barbra recorded Wet in Hollywood on five dates in July 1979. She did more recording on August 8, 1979 at Capitol Studios in Hollywood when she layed down tracks for “Niagara,” “After the Rain” and “Tracks of My Tears” (by William Robinson, Jr., Warren Moore, and Marvin Tarplin— which remains unreleased).

The title track (which Barbra co-wrote lyrics for) was recorded on July 23, 1979 at Capitol Studios with a 55-piece orchestra. John Arrias, who still works with Streisand after all these years, was the sound engineer on that session. He told author Karen Swenson, “Barbra walked in as we were rehearsing the orchestra—this is one moment she can't remember—dressed in purple, and she went straight into the vocal booth where I had everything set up for her. Right away, we had a headphone problem ... It turned out it was because I gave her a mono mix and she likes to hear it in stereo; she likes to hear the ‘openness’ in her headphones. (Mono sounds much smaller.) So I worked out a technical way of giving her stereo and she said, ‘Oh, there it is. Wonderful.’ And from that day to today she has never raised her voice to me, never said a harsh word, she's always been super kind."

“On Rainy Afternoons,” a song with lyrics by the Bergmans and music by Lalo Schifrin, was originally composed for a 1976 war adventure film starring Michael Caine & Robert Duvall, The Eagle Has Landed. It’s also known as “The Eagle Has Landed Love Theme,” “Eagles In Love” and “On Rainy Afternoons.”

Two more songs recorded by Barbra but not used on the album were “Understand Your Man,” by Alan Gordon (he also wrote “My Heart Belongs To Me” and “I Found You Love” for Superman and “Love Breakdown” for Songbird); and “Rainbow Connection” by Barbra’s Star is Born collaborators Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher. “Rainbow Connection” was from The Muppet Movie.

The Donna Summer Duet

On August 14, 1979 , Barbra and Donna Summer began recording the duet “(No More Tears) Enough Is Enough” in Santa Monica. Paul Jabara wrote the song with his partner Bruce Roberts. Jabara told US Magazine, “I was trying to get Barbra to include ‘Enough Is Enough’ on her Wet album. But it didn’t have any water in it.” After adding the introduction “It’s raining/It’s pouring” to make it qualify for the concept album, Jabara scheduled some time with Streisand to play the new song for her. “The day before,” Jabara said, “I asked Donna [Summer] if she wanted to come with me to Barbra’s for lunch. She immediately said, ‘I’d love to.’

“When I called Barbra, her 11-year-old son, Jason, answered,” Jabara explained. “I told him to ask his mother about lunch. He screamed, ‘Donna Summer!’ Turns out Jason’s the biggest Donna fan in the world. So I owe it all to him.

“The minute Donna and I arrived at Barbra’s, I said, ‘This is the duet I’ve been trying to get you two to do.’ They both got excited. Barbra kept asking, ‘What part do I sing?’ I knew if I could just get them together, they’d do it.”

“Enough is Enough” was recorded over two weeks at the Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles. Reportedly, the session cost $40,000. Jabara was ecstatic. “There was Streisand,” he said, “hands flaring, and Donna, throwing her head back — and they’re both belting, sparking each other. It was a songwriter’s dream. Forget ‘Enough Is Enough,’ I want ‘More and More.’”

An urban legend sprung up around this recording session. Reportedly, Donna Summer, while holding the long note at the end of the intro, fell off her stool, unconscious from lack of air. In 2005, while promoting a new CD and tour, Summer confirmed the story to Entertainment Tonight: “I had just come off a long tour and I didn’t know I was in the studio the next morning, so I was out all night partying. I got a call at eight in the morning, ‘You are at the studio.’ I had to get up and I was tired and spent. We were holding a high note and I blacked out and fell off the stool. Barbra kept holding her note. She thought I was joking. She goes, ‘Donna, are you okay?’”

Famed photographer Francesco Scavullo shot the provacative black and white photographs of the diva duo, who posed in black and white Merry Widows.

For Streisand completists, please note that there are several versions of “(No More Tears) Enough Is Enough” ...

• Wet album version (8:19 minutes)
• Single #1-11125 version (4:39 minutes)
• 12-inch one-sided disco single # NBD 20199 on Casablanca Records (11:40 extended dance mix)
• 11:40 mix on Donna Summer—On The Radio: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2
• 11:40 mix on Donna Summer: the Dance Collection

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:

• Debut Chart Date: 11-3-79
• No. Weeks on Billboard 200 Albums Chart: 26
• Peak Chart Position: #7
• Gold: 2/22/80
• Platinum: 2/22/80

Gold: 500,000 units shipped

Platinum: 1 million 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 Notes

The tinted photograph of Streisand by Mario Casilli —which originally took up one side of the LP's sleeve—was reproduced on the fold-out CD insert.

Not reproduced was the other side of the LP sleeve (see above scan) with two more Casilli shots.

Another mistake: Casilli's name is spelled wrong on the LP and the misspelling was reproduced on the CD. It's 'Casilli' not 'Caselli'.

 

Album Cover Outtakes

Streisand called Mario Casilli to photograph the cover of Wet. Casilli shot for Playboy magazine, but also shot celebrities and album covers.

Casilli told Shaun Considine, “Barbra did her own hair and makeup. We photographed her in three or four different wet settings. One was in the hot tub at the redwood house. Another was by the pool by the art-deco house, which had just been built. We worked fast because there's just so much water the skin can take before it becomes unattractive. Also it was a cold day, so the pool was heated. That added steam to the shots.

“There was nothing arty or contrived, because she didn't want that,” Cassilli explained. “It was a good experience. Each one was better than the one before.”

End.

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