SIX decades down the line, Barbra Streisand has delivered perhaps the most inventive album in her career by redefining the entire concept of the celebrity duet album.

No stranger herself to collaborating on sets with the crème de la crème of the music world, Encore ventures into rarely chartered waters by incorporating spoken word into much of the album.

Although obviously scripted, the dialogue punctuating much of the record has a natural feel and rhythm, unlike say the spoken part on Diana Ross’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough or ABC’s Poison Arrow. It certainly helps that Streisand and her partners on this work are established and credible actors, as well as decent singers.

In particular, the combination of Streisand with Hugh Jackman on Any Moment Now (Smile) and Alec Baldwin on The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened (Road Show) convey adults in very real situations.

Of course, dialogue over songs is common place in musical theatre but on record the spoken part is usually erased, especially on a big-budget celebrity showcase, thus sanitising the core work. But here, and in all its glory, dialogue is added to enhance the experience, often telling a completely new story.

For example, the tried and tested Anything You Can Do (Annie Get Your Gun) is given new life as two actresses, Barbra and Melissa McCarthy, are embroiled in a bitter competition for the same role.

Other guests include Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, Seth McFarlane, Antonio Banderas and (as if by magic) Anthony Newley and Jamie Foxx adding a gospel influence to Climb Ev’ry Mountain (The Sound Of Music). This is a truly spectacular album, and is a pretty sure fire bet to become a Grammy winner at the end of term.