Chita had this song in her nightclub act well-ahead of the release of "Funny Lady". When the movie was released, I was quite surprised at Streisand's take on it. Chita's version had much more impact. The breakdown in the middle, the emotional changes (and this version doesn't capture what she did in her act 15 years prior to this performance.) She brought the house down every night at Studio One Backlot with this number in 1973. I thought it would be a killer for Streisand, but she was mostly one-note all the way through it.
I'll preface this by saying I of course love both Streisand and Chita. FUNNY LADY was pretty much a misfire for Streisand (okay, it was a mess), but I would not say her "How Lucky Can You Get" was one-note. I would say it's a bit overwrought and bordering on ghoulish, but not one-note. And I realize you're specifically saying Chita's version 15 years prior to this had much more impact than what we see here - because (again, I absolutely LOVE Chita) the voice is not really up to it here. I also don't really see much difference here in terms of basic structure than Streisand's - I'll watch it again during the day this week and give it a closer look. It's a tough song that requires a "diva vocalist" so, yes, earlier on for Chita I could see her being a knock out dramatically and carrying it vocally very nicely. I recently watched Marin Mazzie do it (she replaced Karen Mason in AND THE WORLD GOES ROUND I believe) - and it's quite an impressive vocal and read of the song.
@@kenalanfitness ok, you may think she out sings Streisand, but that doesn't mean she sang to first ! She incorporated the song from Funny Lady in her act and that's it.
