What About Today?

Studio album by Barbra Streisand

Released

July 1969

Recorded

1968–1969

Genre

Pop

Length

34:22

Label

Columbia

Producer

Wally Gold

Barbra Streisand chronology

A Christmas Album
(1967)

What About Today?
(1969)

Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits
(1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	unfavorable^[2]
Billboard	favorable^[3]

What About Today? is an album released in July 1969 by Barbra Streisand. It is considered to be her first attempt at recording contemporary pop songs and was received poorly, peaking at number 31 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It is one of only three studio albums by Streisand (the others being 1973's Barbra Streisand...And Other Musical Instruments and 2011's What Matters Most) not to have received an RIAA sales certification in the United States. The album features songs originally recorded by The Beatles and Paul Simon among others. The cover photograph was an outtake from a 1968 Vogue shoot with Richard Avedon.

Track listing

Side one

"What About Today?" (David Shire, Richard Maltby, Jr.) – 2:57
"Ask Yourself Why" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand) – 3:03
"Honey Pie" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:39
"Punky's Dilemma" (Paul Simon) – 3:29
"Until It's Time for You to Go" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) – 2:55
"That's A Fine Kind O' Freedom" (Harold Arlen, Martin Charnin) - 3:02

Side two

"Little Tin Soldier" (Jimmy Webb) –3:53
"With a Little Help from My Friends" (Lennon, McCartney) – 2:40
"Alfie" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:20
"The Morning After" (Maltby, Shire) – 2:40
"Goodnight" (Lennon, McCartney) – 3:44

Unreleased tracks

Three songs were recorded for the album, but not included:^[4]

"One Day" - Barbra recorded three versions of "One Day" in the studio. Peter Matz and Michel Legrand each tried to arrange it. The last version in May 1969 was arranged by David Shire. The song never made it onto a Streisand album. However, it was used in 1990's Earth Day Special.
"Lost in Wonderland" - released in 2012 on the album Release Me
"Tomorrow I Will Bring You a Rose" - still unreleased

Singles

"The Morning After" / "Where Is the Wonder?" 1968
"Frank Mills" / "Punky's Dilemma" 1969
"Little Tin Soldier" / "Honey Pie" 1969

Personnel

Barbra Streisand – singer, liner notes
Wally Gold – producer
Michel Legrand – arranger, conductor
Peter Matz – arranger, conductor
Don Costa – arranger, conductor
Don Meehan – recording engineer
Richard Avedon – photographer

Chart performance

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Canada (RPM)^[5]	26
US Billboard 200^[6]	31

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Catalog
United States	July 1969 (1969-07)	Vinyl	Columbia CS-9816
United States	July 1969 (1969-07)	Cassette	Columbia 16 10 0658
United States	July 1969 (1969-07)	8-track tape	Columbia 18 10 0658
Worldwide reissue	19 October 1993	CD	Columbia CK-47014

References

↑ William Ruhlmann (2012). "Allmusic Review: Barbra Streisand - What about today?". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
↑ Robert Christgau (October 26, 1969). "Barbra Streisand, Featuring Mary Hopkin". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
↑ "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. books.google.co.uk. August 23, 1969. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
↑ http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/what_about_today_streisand.html
↑ Top Albums/CDs - Volume 12, No. 7 April 10, 1969 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 10, 2016). RPM
↑ "Barbra Streisand – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Barbra Streisand. Retrieved March 9, 2016.

Barbra Streisand

Studio albums	The Barbra Streisand Album (1963) The Second Barbra Streisand Album (1963) The Third Album (1964) People (1964) My Name Is Barbra (1965) My Name Is Barbra, Two... (1965) Color Me Barbra (1966) Je m'appelle Barbra (1966) Simply Streisand (1967) A Christmas Album (1967) What About Today? (1969) Stoney End (1971) Barbra Joan Streisand (1971) Barbra Streisand…and Other Musical Instruments (1973) The Way We Were (1974) ButterFly (1974) Lazy Afternoon (1975) Classical Barbra (1976) Superman (1977) Songbird (1978) Wet (1979) Guilty (1980) Emotion (1984) The Broadway Album (1985) Till I Loved You (1988) Back to Broadway (1993) Higher Ground (1997) A Love Like Ours (1999) Christmas Memories (2001) The Movie Album (2003) Guilty Pleasures (2005) Love Is the Answer (2009) What Matters Most (2011) Partners (2014) Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway (2016)

Live albums	A Happening in Central Park (1968) Live Concert at the Forum (1972) One Voice (1987) Barbra: The Concert (1994) Timeless: Live in Concert (2000) Live in Concert 2006 (2007) Back to Brooklyn (2013)

Compilations	Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits (1970) Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1978) Memories (1981) A Collection: Greatest Hits... and More (1989) Just for the Record... (1991) The Essential Barbra Streisand (2002) Duets (2002) Barbra: The Ultimate Collection (2010) Release Me (2012) The Classic Christmas Album (2013)

Cast recordings and soundtracks	I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962) Pins and Needles (1962) Funny Girl (1968) On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) A Star Is Born (1976) Yentl (1983)

Videos	Timeless: Live in Concert (2001) One Night Only: Barbra Streisand and Quartet at The Village Vanguard (2010)

Tours	Barbra Streisand in Concert Timeless Streisand Barbra Live Barbra: The Music, The Mem'ries, The Magic

Films directed	Yentl (1983) The Prince of Tides (1991) The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)

Related articles	Discography

Book Category

External links

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