Full-bodied, sensuous, regal — you can choose among countless superlatives to describe the voice of Barbra Streisand. By age 25, she had earned her iconic status as a Broadway standards chanteuse; then remarkably she was able to change with the times and embrace pop, rock and even disco sounds with sustained success. The Essential Barbra Streisand maps her progress from the early ‘60s onwards, chronicling her willingness to experiment even while remaining true to her basic emotive style. “Second Hand Rose,” “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and similar tracks show her precocious ability to grasp the sophistication of theater and jazz-based pop. With “Stoney End,” “The Way We Were,” and “All in Love is Fair,” she moved into the ‘70s with renewed vigor and confidence. The ‘80s found her turning an unlikely partnership with Barry Gibb into a triumph with “A Woman in Love” and “Guilty” while reasserting her musical stage credentials with glorious renditions of “Memory” and “Somewhere.” You can trace both the evolution of Barbra’s artistry and the shifts in America’s cultural tastes while enjoying the gorgeous contours of her inimitable voice in this collection of her signature songs.