Barbra Steisand completed some unfinished business with Willie Nelson for her forthcoming compilation album Release Me 2 (out Aug. 6).
Fans of both pop culture fixtures can now hear "I'd Want It To Be You" as it was originally intended. When the song appeared on 2014 album Partners, Streisand sang it with Blake Shelton because the Nelson version was not yet complete.
Produced by Walter Afanasieff & Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, "I'd Want It To Be You" was recorded in 2014 and 2020.
This one's been a long time coming for Nelson, who'd named Streisand as a dream duet partner during a 2012 SiriusXM Town Hall hosted by Johnny Knoxville.
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It's one of several duets from the vault that'll see the light of day on Aug. 6. The album also brings us Streisand singing with Kermit the Frog ("Rainbow Connection") and Barry Gibb ("Sweet Forgiveness").
"For me, the studio is a combination musical playground and laboratory... a private sanctuary, where the possibility of catching lightning in a bottle always exists," Streisand wrote in the album's notes (as quoted by People). "Whenever that kind of magic happens, it's extremely satisfying. Sometimes though, when the arrangement doesn't quite gel or the song no longer fits the tone of the album it was meant for, the tapes go into the vault for safekeeping.
"Working on this 2nd volume of Release Me has been a lovely walk down memory lane," she added. "A chance to revisit, and in some cases, add a finishing instrumental touch to songs that still resonate for me in meaningful ways."
Per a press release, the compilation follows Streisand's highly-successful 2012 Columbia/Legacy album Release Me, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7, making it her 32nd Top 10 and 7th consecutive Top 10 album at the time.
It's Streisand's first album since 2018's Walls.
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