Love is the Answer- Barbra Returns

No doubt about it: Mrs. James Brolin still has a beautiful voice. And she returns on September 29 with a new album and a twist. "Love is the Answer" is her first new collection since "Guilty Pleasures in 2005. It's full of jazz standards and classics you'd come to expect.

Now for the twist- whether it was Barbra Streisand's idea as executive producer or someone else's, and this is a great one; with the deluxe two disc package, one features a quartet backing and on the other, a full orchestra accompanies her voice. This is an idea that should be embraced by many artists. (And I only wish Richard and Karen Carpenter would have done this with some of their music. It can still be done- and it would be amazing. What a way to celebrate their 40th anniversary in the music business.)

The song list does not capture many of my favorites in the genre, but there are a few. Gotta say, though, I love the title of the disc. Love is the Answer- and it's only found in God, nowhere else. "Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (I John 4:7b-10)