Barbra Streisand is a diva in her own right, but this concert was extremely disappointing. Filmed at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas on the eve of the millennium, this was supposed to be her final 'live' concert. She opted to perform further shows in London and Sydney, before doing one more in both New York and Los Angeles FOLLOWING this performance. She basically sold the premise of her concerts as being her 'final' ever. She should have said that her performance would be her 'final' in THAT particular city.
So naturally, one would regard this as being an hour and a half of her greatest hits. She performs quite a few hits from her Broadway days (nothing fresh from her "Back To Broadway" stint) and also expands the stage to make room for her new protégé, Lauren Frost. Unfortunately, I expected to hear more of her hits from the late 70's and early 80's, right up to the material off her last album devoted to her husband, James Brolin. Instead, we hear TOO much from Lauren Frost and not enough from Barbra. When we do see Barbra, she sits on a bar stool on the stage and warbles into a projected screen where Shirley MacLaine's face appears and the two spend a good five minutes chatting to each other about the 'good IL' days'. The concert is titled "Timeless" to refer to her career and the entering of a new millennium. Seeing pictures of a young Barbra performing live on "The Judy Garland Show" is always a treat, but for most die-hard fans, we've already seen this stuff on television.
For $500.00 a ticket, you certainly got gypped. For a DVD rental or purchase, this was barely satisfactory. A lot of people would suggest that her best hits happened to be 'duets', such as with Neil Diamond, Barry Gibb, Celine Dion and Donna Summer. Performing these songs live would be extremely difficult without the other singer actually being there. I still felt that she could have chosen a better selection of songs to 'bow out' with. I would suggest that you stick to your albums for now and only hope she records something in the near future for us all to enjoy.
3/10
So naturally, one would regard this as being an hour and a half of her greatest hits. She performs quite a few hits from her Broadway days (nothing fresh from her "Back To Broadway" stint) and also expands the stage to make room for her new protégé, Lauren Frost. Unfortunately, I expected to hear more of her hits from the late 70's and early 80's, right up to the material off her last album devoted to her husband, James Brolin. Instead, we hear TOO much from Lauren Frost and not enough from Barbra. When we do see Barbra, she sits on a bar stool on the stage and warbles into a projected screen where Shirley MacLaine's face appears and the two spend a good five minutes chatting to each other about the 'good IL' days'. The concert is titled "Timeless" to refer to her career and the entering of a new millennium. Seeing pictures of a young Barbra performing live on "The Judy Garland Show" is always a treat, but for most die-hard fans, we've already seen this stuff on television.
For $500.00 a ticket, you certainly got gypped. For a DVD rental or purchase, this was barely satisfactory. A lot of people would suggest that her best hits happened to be 'duets', such as with Neil Diamond, Barry Gibb, Celine Dion and Donna Summer. Performing these songs live would be extremely difficult without the other singer actually being there. I still felt that she could have chosen a better selection of songs to 'bow out' with. I would suggest that you stick to your albums for now and only hope she records something in the near future for us all to enjoy.
3/10