As If We Never Said Goodbye
| "As If We Never Said Goodbye" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Andrew Lloyd Webber | |
| from the album Sunset Boulevard | |
| Released | 1993 |
| Songwriter(s) | |
"As If We Never Said Goodbye" is a show tune from the musical Sunset Boulevard. It was written by Don Black, Christopher Hampton (with additional lyrics by Amy Powers), and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ben Rimalower on Playbill calls it Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest song.[1]
In Sunset Boulevard, the main character, Norma Desmond, reveals her longing to return to the spotlight of fame.[2]
The song has been performed by Barbra Streisand. It is featured on her album Back to Broadway and the live albums The Concert and Back to Brooklyn.
Elaine Paige recorded the song for her album Encore.
Countertenor Chris Colfer (as Kurt Hummel) sings the song in the Glee season 2 episode "Born This Way". A review in Salon describes Colfer's performance as turning the song "into a valentine to self-knowledge and self-improvement—and a young, gay singer's dream of treating the world as a stage and commanding it like a star."[3]
English tenor Alfie Boe, recorded his version on his album “Bring Him Home” in 2010.
Jason Manford recorded the song for his 2017 album A Different Stage which was later used to open the 2020 Royal Variety Performance.
Barbra Streisand version
[edit]| "As If We Never Said Goodbye" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Barbra Streisand | ||||
| from the album Back to Broadway | ||||
| Released | January 14, 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:45 | |||
| Label | Columbia Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Barbra Streisand singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "As If We Never Said Goodbye" on YouTube | ||||
In 1994, American singer, songwriter, actress and director Barbra Streisand released her cover version of "As If We Never Said Goodbye". It is taken from Streisands twenty-sixth studio album, Back to Broadway (1993), and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is also featured on the live albums The Concert and Back to Brooklyn.
Critical reception
[edit]Sam Wood from Philadelphia Inquirer found that after premiering the song, taken from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway adaptation of Sunset Boulevard, Streisand takes the opportunity to place "a proprietary stamp" on it.[4] Richard Harrington from The Washington Post named "As If We Never Said Goodbye" the "standout" of Back to Broadway, writing, "Like many Lloyd Webber songs, it's maudlin, sentimental and faintly familiar - an assemblage of nostalgic reflections cannily crafted into a major statement through a melody that sweeps steadily toward its bravado finale. Streisand-as-Desmond sings "This world's waited long enough/ I've come home at last," and it's hard not to make a connection to commercial expectations for this album."[5]
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC) | 20 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Unexpected Songs: Top Ten Compositions By Andrew Lloyd Webber | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
- ^ Everett, Nicholas; Everett, William A. & Laird, Paul R. (2002). The Cambridge Companion to the Musical. Cambridge University Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780521796392.
- ^ "The genius of Chris Colfer". Salon. 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
- ^ Wood, Sam (1993-06-29). "Streisand is Brilliant with Broadway Tunes". Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Harrington, Richard (27 June 1993-06-27). "Streisand's Return: Nothing Subtle, Nothing New". The Washington Post. p. G06.
