Barbra Streisand has dropped the emotional ballad Sweet Forgiveness from her forthcoming ‘Release Me 2’ album.
The track is the third to be released from the record and comes weeks after the legendary singer released her Kermit the Frog duet The Rainbow Connection.
Of the track, produced by Barbra and Walter Afanasieff and recorded in 1994, she says: “When I was planning my return to the concert stage in 1994, I asked Walter to produce a song called Ordinary Miracles by Marvin Hamlisch and Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and Walter said, ‘If there’s time to record a second song, would you be interested in hearing something I wrote for you?’
“Then he sat down at the piano and played me this exquisite piece of music called Sweet Forgiveness.
“Ordinary Miracles took longer to record than we planned, so we only had time to do one complete pass [of Sweet Forgiveness], meaning I recorded my one take vocal, singing live with the orchestra.
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And now, I’m really happy to share it with you.”
Barbra’s new album features outtakes from her celebrated career, including new collaborations with Barry Gibb and Willie Nelson.
In the album notes, the singer writes: “For me, the studio is a combination musical playground and laboratory… a private sanctuary, where the possibility of catching lightning in a bottle always exists.
“Whenever that kind of magic happens, it’s extremely satisfying. Sometimes though, when the arrangement doesn’t quite gel or the song no longer fits the tone of the album it was meant for, the tapes go into the vault for safekeeping.”
“Working on this 2nd volume of Release Me has been a lovely walk down memory lane,” she adds. “A chance to revisit, and in some cases, add a finishing instrumental touch to songs that still resonate for me in meaningful ways.”
