Walls (Barbra Streisand album)
Walls is the thirty-sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Barbra Streisand, released on November 2, 2018 by Columbia Records.[1] The lead single "Don't Lie to Me" was written as a criticism of America's political climate amid the presidency of Donald Trump,[2][3] while the title track alludes to Trump's frequent calls for a wall at the Mexico border.
| Walls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 2, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | November 2017 – September 2018 | |||
| Studio | Various
| |||
| Genre | Vocal pop | |||
| Length | 47:09 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Barbra Streisand chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Walls | ||||
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Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| The Times | |
Walls received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Walls has an average score of 84 based on 5 reviews.[4]
Walls was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Year-end lists
| Publication | Accolade | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stone | The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2018 | |
Commercial performance
Walls debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200, but then dropped off the charts after a second week.[10] Walls opened at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 15,604 copies and giving Streisand her 36th top-75 album and 15th top-10 entry in the United Kingdom.[11] In Australia Walls debuted at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart.[12]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What's on My Mind" |
| 5:16 | |
| 2. | "Don't Lie to Me" |
|
| 3:57 |
| 3. | "Imagine/What a Wonderful World" |
| 5:20 | |
| 4. | "Walls" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 5. | "Lady Liberty" | Desmond Child |
| 3:52 |
| 6. | "What the World Needs Now" |
| 4:36 | |
| 7. | "Better Angels" |
|
| 4:08 |
| 8. | "Love's Never Wrong" |
|
| 4:06 |
| 9. | "The Rain Will Fall" |
|
| 4:42 |
| 10. | "Take Care of This House" (from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) | Streisand | 4:10 | |
| 11. | "Happy Days Are Here Again" | Streisand | 3:53 | |
| Total length: | 47:09 | |||
Personnel
- Walter Afanasieff – arranger, keyboards, orchestral arrangements, producer, synthesizer
- Tariqh Akoni – acoustic guitar
- Leo Amuedo – acoustic guitar
- Annie Bosko – background vocals
- Adrian Bradford – engineer
- Jorge Calandrelli – orchestral arrangements
- David Campbell – string arrangements
- Mabvuto Carpenter – background vocals
- Desmond Child – keyboards, producer, programming
- Steve Churchyard – orchestration recording
- Tim Davis – choir director
- Nathan East – bass guitar
- Kenneth Edmonds – vocals
- David Foster – arranger, producer
- Ian Fraser – arranger
- Dmytro Gordon – engineer
- Tyler Gordon – engineer
- Mark Graham – music preparation
- Keith Gretlein – engineer, programming
- Missi Hale – background vocals
- Jeri Heiden – design
- Russell James – photography
- Jay Landers – executive producer, liner notes
- Whitney Martin – music contractor
- Michael McDonald – vocals
- Vlado Meller – mastering
- Shawn Murphy – orchestration recording
- Jonas Myrin – arranger, associate producer, background vocals
- Obie O'Brien – orchestration recording
- J.C. Monterrosa – orchestration recording
- Clay Perry – arranger, keyboards, programming
- Tim Pierce – electric guitar
- Tiffany Plamer – background vocals
- William Ross – adaptation, arranger, orchestral arrangements
- John Shanks – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer, programming, background vocals
- Blake Slatkin – keyboards, programming
- Barbra Streisand – arranger, art direction, executive producer, primary artist, producer
- Shari Sutcliffe – music contractor
- Mary Webster – score coordinator
- Kris Wilkinson – music contractor
- Lucy Woodward – background vocals
- Gina Zimmitti – music contractor
Charts
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] | 7 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] | 18 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] | 50 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] | 37 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] | 33 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20] | 59 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 15 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 145 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 34 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] | 34 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[25] | 58 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 38 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] | 9 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] | 16 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 19 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[30] | 6 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 12 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[31] | Silver | 60,000 |
|
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References
- "It's Easy to Feel Powerless, But We're Not: Barbra Streisand Takes a Stand Against Trump on Her New Song". Time. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- "Barbra Streisand Talks New Album Walls and its Trump-Dissing single "Don't Lie to Me"". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- "Barbra Streisand's New Song "Don't Lie to Me" Is a Pointed Trump Dig". HuffPost. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- "Reviews for Walls by Barbra Streisand". Metacritic. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Walls - Barbra Streisand : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- Morris, Damien (November 11, 2018). "Barbra Streisand: Walls - review (Columbia)". The Guardian. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- Pollard, Alexandra. "Barbra Streisand, Walls". The Independent. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- Hodgkinson, Will. "Pop review: Barbra Streisand: Walls". The Times. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- Sheffield, Brittany Spanos,Rob; Sheffield, Rob (December 14, 2018). "20 Best Pop Albums of 2018". rollingstone.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- Jones, Alan (November 9, 2018). "Charts analysis: The Prodigy maintain chart-topping album run". Music Week. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- "The Aria Report: Issue 1498" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. November 12, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- "Barbra Streisand Will Release New Album Walls in November". Playbill. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- "Walls – Barbra Streisand | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- "Australiancharts.com – Barbra Streisand – Walls". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Austriancharts.at – Barbra Streisand – Walls" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- "Ultratop.be – Barbra Streisand – Walls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Ultratop.be – Barbra Streisand – Walls" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201846 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Barbra Streisand – Walls" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums (Week 45, 2018)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Barbra Streisand – Walls" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Irish-charts.com – Discography Barbra Streisand". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Italiancharts.com – Barbra Streisand – Walls". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Charts.nz – Barbra Streisand – Walls". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "Spanishcharts.com – Barbra Streisand – Walls". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- "Swisscharts.com – Barbra Streisand – Walls". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
- "British album certifications – Barbra Streisand – Walls". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
