Liza's Back Explained

Liza's Back
Type:Live album
Artist:Liza Minnelli
Cover:LizaBack.jpg
Released:October 29, 2002
Recorded:April 2, 2002
Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York[1]
Genre:Traditional pop, jazz
Length:73:20
Label:J
Producer:David Gest
Prev Title:Minnelli on Minnelli
Prev Year:2000
Next Title:Liza's at The Palace....
Next Year:2009

Liza's Back is the ninth live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released by J Records in 2002.[2]

After her performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London and her nationally televised rendition of "New York, New York" at the Yankee Stadium following the September 11 attacks in the United States, Liza Minnelli embarked on a series of comeback concerts. These comeback shows were conceived and produced by her husband, David Gest, marking the end of a two-year hiatus she took due to a diagnosis of viral encephalitis, a potentially fatal illness.[3] [4] [5]

The album's recordings took place on April 2, 2002, at the beginning of summer, during a week of sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York.[6] Minnelli performed many songs associated with her and introduced Liza's Back, written by her long-time collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb.

The album was produced by Phil Ramone and marked Minnelli's reunion with Clive Davis, the president of J Records, who had signed her to Columbia Records in the early 1970s.[7] [8] The tracklist includes 18 songs such as "Cabaret," "Don't Smoke in Bed," "Something Wonderful," and "New York, New York." Minnelli and Ramone had previously worked together on her 1972 album Liza with a Z. The television special of the same name directed by Bob Fosse that year earned the artist and the director an Emmy award.[9]

Among the new songs is Liza's Back, which was described by some sections of the press as an anthem of triumph.[10] The lyrics of the song go: "I took my pill bottles and threw them away / I emptied the alcohol, went back to AA / Hey, Broadway... Liza's back!".[10]

The release was preceded by a party held at the Equitable Auditorium in New York, organized by Clive Davis.[11]

Critical reception

Critical reviews from music critics were favorable.[12]

William Ruhlmann, from the AllMusic website, gave it three out of five stars and wrote that Minnelli "sounds much better than she did on , a recording that showed vocal deterioration in her breath control and an unsteady vibrato." He said that while the first part of the show features forgettable songs by Kander and Ebb, there is an excellent performance of "Something Wonderful" and the standout track "Never Never Land" that features a chorus from her mother Judy Garland's iconic song, "Over the Rainbow."

Morag Reavley, from BBC Music, wrote that after a series of personal experiences, the songs seemed to have been endowed with new meaning, and that Liza Minnelli's "performance is imbued with an infectious sense of joy in her newly textured and more vigorous vocal abilities, while her conversations with the audience alternate between cheeky and affectionate."

Commercial performance

Commercially, it failed to chart on the Billboard 200.[13]

Track listing

  1. "Liza's Back" - 3:12
  2. "Something Wonderful" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) - 6:07
  3. "Cry" (Churchill Kohlman) - 2:05
  4. "Don't Cry Out Loud" (Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager) - 2:13
  5. "Crying" (Joe Melson, Roy Orbison) - 3:38
  6. "City Lights" - 5:23
  7. "Don't Smoke in Bed" - 5:07
  8. "Some People" (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) - 3:42
  9. "Never Never Land"/"Over the Rainbow" (Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green)/(Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) - 3:44
  10. "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner) - 4:43
  11. "Rose's Turn" (Styne, Sondheim) - 5:05
  12. "Mein Herr" - 5:34
  13. "Money, Money" - 1:33
  14. "Maybe This Time" - 3:19
  15. "Cabaret" - 5:12
  16. "But the World Goes 'Round" - 4:30
  17. "Theme from New York, New York" - 5:41
  18. "I'll Be Seeing You" (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal) - 2:32

All songs written by John Kander and Fred Ebb unless otherwise noted.

Note: track times include on stage dialogue between songs.

Notes and References

  1. News: Gans . Andrew . Liza's Back, and the Beacon's Got Her . January 20, 2021 . . May 31, 2002.
  2. Web site: Diskograpie . Liza May Minnelli - Official German Homepage . August 21, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20060212130759/http://lizaminnelli.de/html/diskograpie.html . February 12, 2006 . live.
  3. Web site: Bairos. Ricardo. Liza Minnelli abre sua vida para a TV. Folha de Londrina. August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230826021604/https://www.folhadelondrina.com.br/folha-2/liza-minelli-abre-sua-vida-para-a-tv-407351.html?d=1. August 26, 2023. July 26, 2002 . live.
  4. Web site: Liza Minnelli tem alta de hospital após encefalite. Folha de S.Paulo. UOL HOST. August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230826021827/https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u5784.shtml. August 26, 2023. October 31, 2000 . live.
  5. Web site: Presse. France. Liza Minnelli teve encefalite viral, diz hospital, e se recupera bem. Folha de S.Paulo. UOL HOST. August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230826022108/https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u5376.shtml. August 26, 2023. October 23, 2000 . live.
  6. 'Liza's Back' With Live Album . . April 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230409090033/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lizas-back-with-live-album-74007/ . April 9, 2023 . October 1, 2002 . live.
  7. 'Liza's Back' With Live Album . . August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230530081418/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lizas-back-with-live-album-74007/ . May 30, 2023 . October 1, 2002 . live.
  8. Web site: Review: 'Liza's Back…' . Matt. Wolf. Variety. April 3, 2002. July 24, 2015.
  9. Web site: Singer Presents Liza with a "Z" . . August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230606184754/https://www.emmys.com/shows/singer-presents-liza-z . June 6, 2023 . en . live.
  10. News: Harrington . Richard . Liza Minnelli "Liza's Back" . . April 9, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230409091904/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/02/14/liza-minnelli-lizas-back/086807cc-3f78-400e-a49a-e262a726a616/ . April 9, 2023 . live.
  11. Update . November 9, 2002 . August 25, 2023 . . . 45 . 65 . en . 114.
  12. Web site: Berkowitz . Ben . Rede de TV desiste de produzir "reality show" com Liza Minnelli . UOL TV e Famosos . . August 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230826012736/https://televisao.uol.com.br/noticias/reuters/2002/10/31/rede-de-tv-desiste-de-produzir-reality-show-com-liza-minnelli.htm . August 26, 2023 . pt-BR . October 31, 2002 . live.
  13. Web site: Liza Minnelli Awards AllMusic. December 23, 2015. August 20, 2023. AllMusic. https://web.archive.org/web/20151223212739/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/liza-minnelli-mn0000273531/awards. December 23, 2015. dead.

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