Stoney End

Columbia 30378 (CD) Original Release: February 1971

1. I Don't Know Where I Stand [3:45]
   (J. Mitchell)
2. Hands Off The Man (Flim Flam Man) [2:33]
   (L. Nyro)
3. If You Could Read My Mind [3:50]
   (G. Lightfoot)
4. Just A Little Lovin' (Early In The Mornin') [2:28]
   (B. Mann / C. Weil)
5. Let Me Go [2:22]
   (R. Newman)
6. Stoney End [2:59]
   (L. Nyro)
7. No Easy Way Down [3:52]
   (G. Goffin / C. King)
8. Time And Love [3:39]
   (L. Nyro)
9. Maybe [3:09]
   (H. Nilsson)
10. Free The People [3:17]
    (B. Keith)
11. I'll Be Home [2:58]
    (R. Newman)

Footnotes

• "Stoney End" and 4 others were first recorded July 30, 1970 in a marathon, all-night session, which ended around 5:30 a.m. The album was completed in December 1970.
• Barbra remembers in Just For The Record: "Richard [Perry] was always trying to get me to sing on the beat, which I found very hard to do. We had a bet over whether "Stoney End" would be a hit. He said yes, I said no. The bet was settled when we were driving on Sunset Boulevard, and a local DJ announced on the radio that the record had just hit #1 in Los Angeles. What a great way to lose!"
• Richard Perry recalls in BBC Radio 2's The Richard Perry Story (May 2005) that he asked Columbia prez Clive Davis whether he could produce Barbra with an "assortment of contemporary songs at its best." "The night before our (first) session, there I was sitting at the piano with Barbra, we're running through it, and she suddenly says, 'I can't do this, it's just not me, I just can't do it,' and I said to her, 'Barbra, if you don't want to go ahead with the session, no problem, I'll cancel it now,' " Perry offered. " 'But I can't imagine that Barbra Streisand would back down from a challenge, so just have belief that I promise you this is going to be an amazing experience and one of the most exciting sessions of your career.' " "When she sang 'Stoney End' for the first time, we got goosebumps, and I immediately asked her and everybody to come in and listen back as soon as we had done the first take, and while we were listening, she leaned over and whispered in my ear, 'You were right, and I was wrong, but it's nice to be wrong.' " Perry describes this as one of the all-time great moments of his career. "She was the "consumate pro," says Perry. "She would come in with the song prepared no matter how far apart it might be from her normal repertoire," which impressed him tremendously. "There's a reason why she's Barbra Streisand."
• Randy Newman piano on tracks 5 & 11.
• Reached #10 on pop album charts, Barbra's return to Top 10 after nearly 5 years.
• Quadraphonic LP also released (out of print), with alternate versions of tracks 6 (some add'l vocal layering), 7 (many different vocal sections), and 8 (many different vocal sections).
• Digitally restored/remastered CD released.
• BB: 2-20-71 / 29 / #10 || G, 4/28/71; P, 11/21/86

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