Lazy Afternoon is the seventeenth studio album recorded by American singer Barbra Streisand. It was released on October 14, 1975 by Columbia Records. Following a mixed critical response to her previous studio album, ButterFly (1974), the singer began working with new musicians for the project. Recorded in April 1975 in Los Angeles, Lazy Afternoon contains pop standards. Producer Rupert Holmes wrote three songs on the album, and co-wrote a fourth, "By the Way", with Streisand. She also included a few cover songs, such as Four Tops' "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)", Stevie Wonder's "You and I", and Libby Holman's "Moanin' Low".
The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics who agreed that it was more exciting than ButterFly. Commercially, the album peaked at number 12 on the United States, number 42 in Canada, and number 84 in Australia. It was later certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies. "My Father's Song" and "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" were released as singles in August and November 1975, respectively. The former entered the Adult Contemporary charts in the United States and Canada while the latter was a success on two of Billboards dance charts in late 1975.
Development
Following the release of the Funny Lady soundtrack earlier in 1975, Streisand began work on Lazy Afternoon with producers Jeffrey Lesser and Rupert Holmes, with whom she had not previously worked. Because of the lackluster critical response to her previous album, ButterFly (1974), and her personal dislike for the record, she chose to collaborate with new musicians for the then-upcoming album. Holmes, in particular, was nervous while working with the singer. Following the completion of the album, Streisand hand-wrote a note to Holmes that read, "Dear Rupert, don't be frightened, you're the best, love Barbra". Specifically, she was touched by "My Father's Song", writing in the liner notes that she considered the song to be "a very personal gift [that] means a great to deal to me".
Recording sessions for the album took place at Record Plant, RCA Studios, and Capitol Recording Studios in Los Angeles in April 1975. Columbia Records released Lazy Afternoon on October 14, 1975. It features handwritten liner notes developed by Streisand herself; she opened the booklet by writing, "While I usually let the vinyl speak for itself, I really had fun making this record, and I thought it might interest you to know something about each song. After all, I wouldn't want to be a chef who doesn't share her secrets!" Additionally, the label issued the album as an 8-track cartridge in 1975, with the track listing switching the order of "By the Way" and "Widescreen" around. Also a Cassette Tape version was issued. The album was finally released in compact disc format on October 25, 1990.
Music and lyrics
As a whole, the album contains a mixture of several different genres of music, particularly pop standards. Commenting on the diverse musical nature of the album, author Tom Santopietro described as the singer being able to "cover [...] all fan bases without seriously alienating any". Lazy Afternoon opens with the title track, written by John La Touche and Jerome Moross. A "poetic nature song" where "Streisand gives her voice totally over to the lyrics", director Francis Ford Coppola suggested the song to the singer in order to revive it. "My Father's Song" was written by Holmes and is the first original song on the track listing. Like other album tracks, it was considered to be a "sympathetic" ballad that relies on Streisand's vocals, according to AllMusic's William Ruhlmann. "By the Way", the record's third track, is noted as Streisand's first English-lyric songwriting credit in her career. While creating the track, Streisand decided to write from a "sense of resolute rather than desperate emotions". It is followed by a cover of the Four Tops' "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)". The original version, set in a gospel rock tempo, was updated into a disco track. The song tells a story of a lost love, with neighbors supposedly discussing the matter during "long and sleepless night[s]". "I Never Had It So Good" is the fifth track on Lazy Afternoon and was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. She wrote in the album's liner notes that she had always wanted to sing it and accompany it with someone playing the harmonica.