The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording

The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name by American singer Barbra Streisand. It was released by Columbia Records on January 1, 1974. The soundtrack comprises twelve songs, mostly written by Marvin Hamlisch, three of which are different versions of "The Way We Were". The album was mostly produced by Fred Salem, with the exception of the title track which was produced by Marty Paich. Hamlisch and Salem collaborated to create five new songs for the soundtrack, while the remaining ones are cover songs.

The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording
Soundtrack album by
Barbra Streisand
ReleasedJanuary 1, 1974 (1974-01-01)
Recorded1973
Length33:58
LabelColumbia
Producer
Barbra Streisand chronology
The Way We Were
(1974)		 The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording
(1974)		 ButterFly
(1974)
Marvin Hamlisch chronology
Save the Tiger
(1973)		 The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording
(1974)		 The Sting
(1974)

Critically, the staff behind AllMusic awarded the album three out of five stars. It fared well commercially, peaking at numbers 20 and 23 in the United States and Canada, respectively. It also charted in the United Kingdom in 2005. It has since been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 500,000 copies.

Background and composition

The soundtrack was executively produced by Freddie "Fred" Salem, while album track "The Way We Were" was produced by Marty Paich;[1] the aforementioned track also featured additional songwriting from Marvin Hamlisch and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.[2] All of the songs included on the soundtrack were previously used throughout the film's score, while "The Way We Were" is the only composition featuring lyrics; the single's lyrics detail the relationship of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner, whose personal life is documented throughout the film.[3][4] Other songs on the album include Salem's productional covers of "Red Sails in the Sunset", "River, Stay 'Way from My Door", "In the Mood", and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)". Hamlisch and Salem also collaborated to create five brand new tracks: "Look What I've Got", "Like Pretty", "Katie", "Did You Know It Was Me?", and "Remembering".[5]

Promotion and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]

Both the soundtrack and Streisand's The Way We Were were fronted by the commercial single release of the title song on September 27, 1973.[7] The single was a huge success after its release, topping the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and Canada's RPM Top Singles chart,[8][9][10] while also reaching the top ten on the ARIA Charts in Australia.[11] Since considered one of Streisand's signature songs,[12] "The Way We Were" went platinum on August 19, 1997 by selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.[13] Hamlisch and the Bergmans were widely praised for their work on the title track, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 46th Academy Awards, with Hamlisch also winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the film's score (which is featured on the soundtrack).[14] "The Way We Were" also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1974 and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1975.[15][16] Despite not providing the album a written review by one of its critics, AllMusic managed to rate it three out of five stars.[6]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending February 16, 1974.[17] In the following two publications, the soundtrack reached numbers 48 and 29, respectively,[18][19] and on March 16 of the same year, it reached its peak position of number 20, the same week Streisand's solo album topped the chart.[20] It dropped to number 22 the preceding week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the Billboard 200, with its last position being at number 177 on May 25.[21] The Recording Industry Association of America certified the soundtrack Gold for shipments upwards of 500,000 sales on October 20, 1998.[7]

On Canada's Top Albums/CDs chart conducted by RPM, the record debuted at number 71 during the week of March 2, 1974.[22] The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording peaked at number 23 on March 16 and spent another week at that same position on March 23.[23][24] It spent its final week in Canada at number 72 for the week ending May 11, 1974, totaling nine weeks on the chart.[25] The soundtrack also made an appearance on the Official Chart Company's UK Compilation Chart in March 2005, where it debuted and peaked at number four.[26]

Track listing
The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording – Standard edition[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Way We Were"
Marty Paich3:53
2."Red Sails in the Sunset"
Fred Salem1:43
3."Look What I've Got"HamlischSalem3:06
4."Like Pretty"HamlischSalem2:21
5."River, Stay 'Way from My Door"
Salem1:55
6."The Way We Were" (Instrumental)
  • A. Bergman
  • M. Bergman
  • Hamlisch
Paich3:03
7."Katie"HamlischSalem2:28
8."In the Mood"
Salem2:41
9."Did You Know It Was Me?"HamlischSalem4:35
10."Remembering"HamlischSalem1:22
11."Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)"
Salem3:02
12."The Way We Were" (Finale)
  • A. Bergman
  • M. Bergman
  • Hamlisch
Paich3:49
Total length:33:58

Charts
Chart performance for The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording
Chart (1974–2005) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[27] 23
UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[26] 4
US Billboard 200[20] 20

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Freddie Salem: Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  2. "The Way We Were" / "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (Liner notes). Barbra Streisand. Columbia. 1973. 4-45944.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Corliss, Richard (August 7, 2012). "Remembrance: Nobody Did It Better: Memories of Marvin Hamlisch, 1944–2012". Time. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  4. Grad, Laurie Burrows (April 8, 2016). "Memories: Misty Water-Colored Memories Of The Way We Were". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  5. The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording (Liner notes). Barbra Streisand and Martin Hamlisch (vinyl release ed.). Columbia. 1974. S 70132.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "Original Soundtrack – The Way We Were [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  7. "American album certifications – Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 15, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  8. "The Hot 100 – The Week Of February 2, 1974". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  9. "The Hot 100 – The Week Of April 27, 1974". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4966a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  11. "Australian Singles: 1 June 1974". Go-Set. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  12. Passafiume, Andrea. "Trivia & Fun Facts About The Way We Were". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  13. "American certifications – Barbra Streisand". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  14. "The 46th Academy Awards (1974) Nominees and Winners". Academy Awards. 1974. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  15. "Winners & Nominees Best Original Song – Motion Picture". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  16. "17th Annual Grammy Awards". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  17. "Billboard 200: The Week Of February 16, 1974". Billboard. February 16, 1974. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  18. "Billboard 200: The Week Of February 23, 1974". Billboard. February 23, 1974. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  19. "Billboard 200: The Week Of March 2, 1974". Billboard. March 2, 1974. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  20. "Billboard 200: The Week Of March 16, 1974". Billboard. March 16, 1974. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  21. "Billboard 200: The Week Of May 25, 1974". Billboard. May 25, 1974. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  22. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4985b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  23. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4991a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  24. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4997a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  25. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5015b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  26. "Chart Log UK – Chart Coverage and Record Sales 2005". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  27. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4991a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
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