Franklin, she attempts to make her way through Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands" and a portion of the reggae "Guava Jelly." On "Let the Good Times Roll," the debt is to Diana Ross. On the latter two, Streisand is unconvincingly animal. Being beautiful, romantic and desirable have not come to her so effortlessly that she can easily throw them over for the sake of a little authentic, malodorous sweat. Streisand has always been an immaculate technician, but hitting all the high notes is not what her new material is chiefly about. She remains most persuasive in her handling of the more conventional ballads, all of which here are forgettable.

^*©1971, Tantric Music Corp. (RS 177)

BEN GERSON