Three additional songs were newly recorded for the album, while six of the tracks salvaged unreleased material from previous Streisand projects.

Covering a wide array of themes, Streisand sings about recovering relationships, social awareness, and love in general: a contemporary pop album blended with her signature vocal style.

Streisand's production team included Tommy LiPuma and Wally Gold, while Marty Paich contributed to the title track.

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised Streisand's vocals and found the record capable of being extremely successful.

The concept for the record first developed in late 1973, following the success of "The Way We Were", which was written specifically for the 1973 film of the same title starring Streisand and Robert Redford.

[2] American composer and producer Marvin Hamlisch was commissioned to write the melody for the track, which he found to be hugely challenging due to Streisand's demands.

[5] Both "The Best Thing You've Ever Done" and "Summer Me, Winter Me" were previously released together as a non-album single by Streisand in April 1970, and were originally intended for inclusion on the official soundtrack to her 1970 film The Owl and the Pussycat.

In particular, its lyrics detail the personal life of Katie Morosky, the character Streisand portrays in the previously mentioned film, and her troubling relationship with boyfriend Hubbell Gardiner.

was written by French composer Michel Legrand (who would continue writing songs with Streisand for years) and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

[22][23] "I've Never Been a Woman Before" is song written by Tom Baird and Ron Miller for Cherry, an unproduced musical based on the William Inge play Bus Stop.

[7] The first part of the melody details someone affected by the loss of a friend, particularly a soldier who died during combat, as noted by author Robert Eberwein in his 2007 book Armed Forces; Masculinity and Sexuality in the American War Film.

[26] The album's lead single "The Way We Were" was released as a 7" record on September 27, 1973, roughly three weeks before the premiere of the accompanying film.

[2] The song was largely successful after its initial release, where it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent twenty-three consecutive weeks among the ranking.

[35][36] On the National Endowment for the Arts and Recording Industry Association of America's list of the top 365 "Songs of the Century", "The Way We Were" was placed at number 298.

[38] Matthew Greenwald from AllMusic was so fond of her rendition that he wrote: "It is no doubt one of the most graceful and memorable hooks from the era, and Streisand's performance – particularly her phrasing of this line – is unforgettable".

"[46] Stephen Holden from Rolling Stone labeled it "her best album in years"; he also found that her voice sounds just "as fresh as it did in the sixties".

[47] Jon Landau, also from Rolling Stone, was disappointed by the singer's effort, writing that she "no longer sings songs", but rather "acts them out".

He referenced her catalogue and stated: "I've enjoyed Barbra Streisand's music in the past, but of the 20 albums I listened to to write this column, The Way We Were was not only the most disappointing, but the most difficult to get all the way through.

"[48] AllMusic's William Ruhlmann awarded the album three out of five stars but found it obvious that the record was "thrown together" instead of being orchestrated and thought out carefully.

[56] The Recording Industry Association of America changed its certification status to Platinum for shipments upwards of 1,000,000 sales, and again on September 23, 1998, The Way We Were was certified for selling over 2,000,000 copies.