Emotion is the twenty-third studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released in October 1984 by Columbia Records. It was her first studio album in four years after the release of Guilty, which has since become her highest selling studio album worldwide.
| Emotion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 9, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | May 17 - June 24, 1984[1] | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 46:12 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Maurice White, Barbra Streisand, Albhy Galuten, Jim Steinman, Kim Carnes and Richard Perry | |||
| Barbra Streisand chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Emotion | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
The album was promoted with the release of three singles, but none of them entered the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. [3] The album wasn't as successful as its predecessor, having peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA and Gold in the UK by the BPI.[4][5]
Overview
This album was recorded in eleven studios in Los Angeles and two in New York with a multitude of producers and composers. Produced by Jim Steinman, "Left in the Dark" was the lead single peaking at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Make No Mistake, He's Mine", a duet with Kim Carnes, was the album's second single and charted at #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #51 on the Billboard Hot 100. The final single "Emotion", featuring the Pointer Sisters on background vocals, was also released as extended 12" remix.
An instrumental version of "Here We Are At Last" appeared on the soundtrack of the 1987 feature film Nuts.[2][6]
The video for "Left in the Dark" reunited Streisand with Kris Kristofferson, her co-star from A Star Is Born. The video to the album's title track "Emotion", which received some airplay on MTV, featured cameos from The Who's Roger Daltrey and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
The album peaked at #19 on the US Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Pop Album chart.[7] Emotion has also been certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA and Gold in the UK by the BPI.[4][5]
In 2023, in her memoir My Name Is Barbra, Streisand described the album as a "hodgepodge", vowing to "never again" make a pop record like "Emotion".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Emotion" | Peter Bliss | 4:58 |
| 2. | "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" (with Kim Carnes) | Carnes | 4:10 |
| 3. | "Time Machine" | Maurice White, Martin George Page, Brian Fairweather | 4:56 |
| 4. | "Best I Could" | Bobby Whiteside, Richard Parker | 4:21 |
| 5. | "Left in the Dark" | Jim Steinman | 7:13 |
| 6. | "Heart Don't Change My Mind" | Diane Warren, Robbie Buchanan | 4:56 |
| 7. | "When I Dream" | Kathy Wakefield, Richard Baskin | 4:31 |
| 8. | "You're a Step in the Right Direction" | Barbra Streisand, John Mellencamp | 3:54 |
| 9. | "Clear Sailing" | Peter McIan, Anne Black Montgomery | 3:56 |
| 10. | "Here We Are at Last" | Streisand, Richard Baskin | 3:19 |
Unreleased songs
- "When the Lovin' Goes Out of the Lovin'"
- "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" (this song was later re-recorded and included on The Movie Album).
Personnel
- Barbra Streisand – vocals
- Roy Bittan – piano
- Abraham Laboriel, Lee Sklar, Neil Stubenhaus, Nathan East, Steve Buslowe, Bob Lizik – bass guitar
- Peter Bliss – programming, guitar
- Bill Cuomo – piano, synthesizer
- Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, synthesizer, programming
- Randy Waldman, Michel Colombier – synthesizer
- James Newton Howard – keyboards
- Steve Mitchell – synthesizer, Hammond B-3
- Albhy Galuten – synthesizer, keyboards
- Gary Mallaber, Max Weinberg, Tom Radke, Russ Kunkel, Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Ed Tossing – piano, Fender Rhodes
- Paulinho Da Costa, Joe Porcaro, Jimmy Maelen, Steve Forman – percussion
- Gary Chang – additional synthesizer, programming
- Paul Jackson Jr., Don Felder, Steve Lukather, Rick Derringer, Dann Huff, Craig Hull, George Doering, Bruce Gaitsch – guitar
- Ray Kelley – cello
- Lon Price, Jerry Peterson, John Phillips - saxophone
- Maurice White, Maxine Willard Waters, Clydene Jackson, Julia Waters Tillman – backing vocals
Charts
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[18] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[20] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[5] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||