YENTL: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition commemorates the Oscar-winning soundtrack to Yentl, the groundbreaking motion-picture which Barbra directed, wrote, produced and starred in. The Deluxe Edition features all the songs from the original album, plus a bonus disc of 15 tracks that Barbra recorded as demos or alternate versions. The 10 demos were recorded in her living room on a stereo cassette deck, with Barbra narrating the introduction to each track. They feature Barbra accompanied only by Michel Legrand on piano.

The living room demos are nothing short of a revelation. Barbra’s voice, accompanied only by Legrand’s piano, is stunning. This is Streisand au naturel. Without their elaborate orchestrations, the songs are delivered with an intimacy revealing their flawless construction. Like peering into the inner workings of a fine watch to study the gears, one gets a sense of how precisely the words and music are synchronized, and how Barbra imbues each with layers of meaning.