Nice and Naughty- Excerpts from Michael Steinman’s Liner Notes

Barbara brings so much deeply-felt music to a record date that it’s a wonder it can all be captured on a little silver disc.  But it can.  She has a beautiful voice, an understated delivery, and a fine dramatic sense, which enables her to bring more out of a song than the lyrics and notes would suggest.  When the material requires it, she can be warmly affectionate, coy, witty, low-down, heartbreakingly wistful, and a thousand shadings in between.  Unlike some singers who attempt to go boldly back into the past, Barbara doesn’t approach her songs at an ironic distance.  Rather, she has worked hard to become one with her material.  Every song she chooses has an emotional connection to her life, and each one becomes a finely-crafted playlet.

Barbara’s romantic hopefulness is balanced by a clear-eyed view of modern life, so IF YOU WANT THE RAINBOW is a statement of belief to her.  She can also enact deep sadness without overacting.  When she begins, the room becomes quiet, as audiences feel the deep yearning she creates.  To me, her understanding of musical pathos is as deep as Connee Boswell’s — and I do not write those words casually.