Barbra Streisand - The Concert (Live at the MGM Grand)(Keep Case)

The song line-up for THE CONCERT: LIVE AT THE MGM GRAND resembles the HBO special, with a few exceptions. Never before heard on this new DVD are "I'm in the Mood For Love / Speak Low / Guilty", "What Is This Thing Called Love?", and the Disney medley. A special appearance by Mike Meyers as his SNL character Linda Richman is another bonus on this DVD. He and Barbra do a funny skit utilizing various Jewish expressions.

The MGM concert varies from the HBO concert in several other ways: "I'm Still Here/Everybody Says Don't/Don't Rain on My Parade" is longer, with more lyrics by Sondheim for "I'm Still Here". "Lover Man" is longer as is "I'll Know". Barbra's pyschiatrist skits in the first act feature a different script that varies slightly from the Anaheim show.

Most importantly, the reason to own this DVD is because Barbra wears that gorgeous empire-waisted, split-up-the-middle dress in the first act!! Also, Barbra's voice is in exquisite form during the Vegas concert.

Sony & Barbra's people have done fans a great favor in releasing the MGM Grand concert for home video.

It's been 10 years since Barbra sang "As If We Never Said Goodbye" as her opening song. Now, after watching LIVE AT THE MGM GRAND, you'll remember why Linda Richman said Barbra was "like buttah."


DAZZLING STREISAND CONCERT TOUR-DE-FORCE~BRAVO!!!   April 11, 2004
Bradly Briggs (TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful

Barbra Streisand hit the concert stage in 1980 in Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler in a Marilyn & Alan Bergman Tribute Concert and was totally electrifying and brilliant beyond description! The finale was Barbra doing what at first appeared to be a solo version of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" only to be joined from rear orchestra by an unannounced Neil Diamond for a stunning and showstopping duet!!! This night was a spoiler so nothing has come close to this great event until "Live At The MGM Grand"!! What an extraordinary event with Barbra giving the most raw and passionate performance ever to be captured on film in her amazing career. Opening strong with a show-stopping "As If We Never Said Goodbye" then gliding into a brilliant medley which ends with an exhuberant "Don't Rain On My Parade", it is clear that Barbra is a her absolute peak with nothing held back!!!! Charming and winning in her Marlon Brando duet then deeply passionate in the definitive version of "People", Barbra then thrills with a burning "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)". Cole Porter's classic "What Is This Thing Called Love?" is spellbinding and "On A Clear Day" is pure magical bliss that hits wonderful heights!! Comic moments are great throughtout and the special Linda Richman skit is great fun!! The beauty of a Mother's love is incredibly moving in "Not While I'm Around" sung to a handsome Jason and "Ordinary Miracles" is just plain riveting with Barbra at her vocal and emotional peak!! Moments shared with Barbra's Mother and President Clinton's Mother are special and the dedication to their memory at the finale is another of the many moving moments in this extraordinary and historic event!! This is a concert that reminds one how incredibly gifted this legend is and how her talent is incomparable when she is moved and inspired to do her best!! Barbra was moved and inspired on this great evening and did she ever deliver!!! Don't miss this spectacular performance!!! Bravo Barbra!!!!


Excellent Variation!   April 15, 2004
Chris Sullivan (Chicago, IL)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

True, these were the shows that would lay the groundwork for what would become "Barbra - The Concert". The enormously successful HBO special and the quadruple platinum video/multi platinum album.

True, some of the highlights of that concert...the Yentl medley, "Somewhere", "Lazy Afternoon" and "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" are not included here, much to my disappointment (it would have been VERY wise of Columbia to include Barbra's closing night in NYC version of "Somewhere" as an extra on this disc... the one that was aired on the Sony Jumbotron out over Times Square...)

Still, THIS version of THE CONCERT is riveting for a number or reasons. First, Barbra is far more "raw" here... arms swinging, hands gesturing at a rapid fire pace... Barbra is clearly enjoying herself and says so more than once.

What I LOVE on this disc is the extended version of "I'm Still Here" (God, you have to love the line "Why can't she shut up and sing!" - A good many Republicans would no doubt agree!) and then into a longer version of "Everbody Says Don't".

"What Is This Thing Called Love" was an INSTANT favorite! A jazzy, bossa nova version of the Cole Porter classic as only Barbra can do it.

The "I'm In the Mood For Love/Speak Low/Guilty" medley was wonderful and her rendition of "Ordinary Miracles" is better here than the original concert version. A very touching introduction to the song as well.

The Disney medley was OK and although Barbra did not go out with a bang with "Somewhere" but with a sweet "For All We Know", I can say that this disc is electrifying.

I would have preferred that Barbra use the opening sequence from the original where she brushes back here hair just at the moment we first see her backstage as opposed to what we have here... but this way the two concerts are unique enough from each other and each has it's own very special feel.

THIS version is for me, equal to, and in some ways superior to the version that originally aired because Barbra is so electric.

Here's hoping that the gossip mill stating she will sing live again for John Kerry is true!

Paul McCartney once sang.. "Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs... what's wrong with that... I'd like to know..."... I agree.

God Bless Barbra Streisand for all the joy, hope and inspiration she has brought and continues to bring to this country... now more than ever!

Chris Sullivan


I Was There   April 25, 2004
John T. Borek (Grand Rapids, MI United States)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Finally, the performance I've been waiting for. I was there in Las Vages the night this concert was taped. This is from the second night, New Year's Day and I remember it as if it were yesterday. And I can actually here myself yell just before she sings her first note of "He Touched Me". That night was ELECTRIC and I was honored to be in the same room, big as it is, with Barbra Streisand. What a thrill. I also saw the show once on tour in Detroit and the night in Vegas IS THE BEST SHOW. If you love her you'll love this DVD. The woman is SIMPLY AMAZING and she proves it here. It was a night I'll never forget and the fact that I was there in that audience is an event I'll remember and treasure always. Now it is on DVD and I can relive it over and over again. So can you and you won't be dissapointed I promise. Take it from someone who was there on THE actual night, it was magic and I don't care how many concert you go to, there will never be a night like this one.


One of Ms. Streisand's crowing achievements.   July 31, 2004
Robert Johnson (Richmond, KY USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

After insisting for years that she didn't enjoy live public performances, Barbra Streisand finally came out of hiding and delivered exactly what all of her fans had been dreaming of - and much more. Despite giving many live performances over the years on television shows and fund-raisers, this was actually the first real concert tour of Streisand's career. She decided it was time to finally conquer her intense stage fright and, at the same time, give something back to the fans who had been begging to see her perform live for years. The show's pricey tickets sold out instantly, and fans eagerly awaited the day of the concert. Little did anyone know that Streisand would not only meet the huge expectations that had been placed before her, but that she would greatly exceed them - the `93-`94 concerts will be forever remembered as one of the best things she has ever done.

From the slow emergence of the perfectly-selected opening song "As If We Never Said Goodbye" to appropriately wistful closing selection "For All We Know," Streisand treated her audiences to a spectacular evening. She opened herself up more than she ever had before, and allowed her fans to spend time with the woman behind the superstar. The first act of the show was more like one of her sixties television specials (particularly MY NAME IS BARBRA) than a traditional concert, with insightful and humorous "therapist" monologues peppered throughout the first half. Streisand effectively reminisced about many of the events that shaped her life as an entertainer, and the song selections perfectly complemented the stage dialogue. The songs performed in this half are not the typical "greatest hits" set that most artists perform, but were selected because of what they represent in Streisand's life. It works flawlessly, with the well-known selections ("People," "Evergreen") folding into the context as easily as the lessor-known material ("I'll Know, "Will He Like Me").

The second act is performed more like a traditional concert, however Barbra still lets her guard down quite a bit when she discusses her relationships to her son and goddaughter, both of whom she dedicates songs to. Making it's long-awaited debut on DVD (and home video period), this the original New Year's concerts performed at the MGM Grand over two nights. It features a slightly different song listing, with a terrific three-song medley of "I'm In the Mood For Love," "Speak Low," and "Guilty" added to the first act, as well as a brassy rendition of the rarely-performed "What Is This Thing Called Love." There are also some alternate song lyrics and stage dialogue sprinkled throughout, and "Evergreen" is performed during the second act instead of the first. Streisand herself sounds absolutely phenomenal here. I though she sounded wonderful in the later concert that was filmed for HBO (even if she had been fighting laryngitis at the time), but she amazingly sounds even better here. The only minor disappointment is that "Somewhere" and the YENTL medley (both of which became instant show-stoppers) had not yet been added to the song list at the time of this performance.

Viewers should take note, the concert that was recorded for the Triple-Platinum-selling double-CD set was performed at Madison Square Garden in New York, in which the fact that she was performing in her own home-city made the show seem even more poignant. The concert that was filmed for the HBO/NBC airing (as well as the original home video release) was performed at Anaheim, Canada, which was the last stop on Streisand's tour. As previously mentioned, she was fighting laryngitis at the time, and, even though there are a couple of scratchy notes, Streisand still sounded phenomenally great. The HBO version of THE CONCERT is the version that won five Emmy awards in addition to the prestigious Peabody award.