As albums go,
Barbra Streisand's
Memories made a great single. A compilation, but not exactly a hits collection, it contained two newly recorded songs, "Memory" from the musical Cats and the Top 40 hit "Comin' in and Out of Your Life," plus a re-recorded version of "Lost Inside of You," a song previously done as a duet with
Kris Kristofferson in
A Star Is Born, and seven tracks from the previous eight years, three of which were making their third or fourth appearance on record. In other words,
Memories was a blatant consumer rip-off, highly unusual for an artist who usually gave value for money. That said, the album contained some of
Streisand's biggest hits -- "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," "Evergreen," and "The Way We Were," as well as some excellent performances, such as
Streisand's take on
Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." Thus, it was a good collection thought of independently (which may help explain why it became one of
Streisand's biggest sellers), even if in the context of her overall catalog it was an album of reruns baited with a couple of new songs. [In the U.K., the album was released with four additional tracks -- "Kiss Me in the Rain," "I Don't Break Easily," "Wet," and "A Man I Loved" -- under the title Love Songs (CBS 10031).] ~ William Ruhlmann