FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2019 file photo, Barbra Streisand introduces "BlacKkKlansman" at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Streisand’s return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 13 years attracted political figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as pop superstar Mariah Carey. Streisand performed a show-stopping concert Saturday night, Aug. 3 in front of feverish fans, who gave the iconic singer several standing ovations, including Carey, who showed up to her seat as Streisand ended her first song of the night. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

With the release of her new album, Release Me 2, at 79 years old legendary and iconic, Barbra Streisand, still has that lush Fifth Avenue penthouse suite vocal quality that, by comparison, leaves all other singers sounding a bit like a one-bedroom, cold water studio walk-up in a bad part of town. Simply put, she is still the best in the business, and she shows not the slightest chance of slowing down or giving up her throne.

With the passing of so many years, one can almost forget the pristine purity and timeless allure of her velvet voice. Almost, but not entirely, as listening to this collection of songs that were initially recorded between 1962 and 2020, but failed to have their moment in the sun for a variety of reasons, it all drifts back to you in a feather-soft way. The gulf of 40 years that spans across the album’s song tracks still amplifies that same unique atmospheric romantic feel that wraps itself around you like a warm blanket.

True to the album’s title, Release Me 2 unleashes Streisand and allows her to take listeners by the hand and chaperone them on a beautiful, emotional and liberating musical journey. Her extraordinary voice tells stories in a way that drills down,and taps into, those deep emotions that lay sleeping inside of all of us. For with each track in the collection, she is like a vocal travel guide who offers a brief, and much-needed, escape to a place where they can sit back in their favorite chair, exhale, and just for a little while, be all alone with their thoughts.

This is an intoxicating album that, from the opening track to the closer, draws you in completely.

Release Me 2 follows the same path taken by her 2012 Release Me album, as like its predecessor it offers a compilation of unreleased material from her extensive vault of unreleased vocal gems. She has some help on the new album from long-time friend and collaborator, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees on the song “If Only You Were Mine,” an unreleased track that was originally planned to be included on Gulity Pleasures, her 2005 duet album with Gibb, but was dropped. Legendary country music icon Wllie Nelson shares his soft and crooning voice on “I’d Want It to Be You,” another duet that had also been planned to be included in an early album but failed to make the cut.

A long-time, very vocal liberal Democrat who, in the past, has used her previous albums and extended social reach to protest against former President Donald Trump, a relevant track on this latest offering is the empathetic and socially relevant “Be Aware.”

It is a song that echoes the glaring lack of kindness and compassion towards others, and the obsessive greed of society that is so pervasive in today’s world. With a passion in her voice she sings, “Somewhere in the world someone is cold….be aware. And while you’re feeling young, someone is old….be aware.” She also displays her trademark vocal range and surging passion as she soars against the underpinning of deep kettle drums rumbling on “Once You’ve Been in Love.”

Sitting back and letting the voice of a woman who is, in my mind, the greatest female vocalist of our time, or of any other time, is a delight. When all is said and done, Release Me 2 is far from being simply a Greatest Hits album. Rather, it is a thoughtful compilation of previously unreleased material that has the power to wash over you in a drenching wave of vocal magic. Barbara Streisand is that very rare singer who, at 79 years old, still has a vocal range that can shatter crystal without ever showing the slightest strain. She is an iconic artist who remains at the top, and in a class by herself. Today, after so many years, she is still the gold standard.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.

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