16 Biggest Hits is a compilation album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli,[1] released by by Legacy Recordings,[a] in July 2000.[3] The album focuses on songs from her tenure with Columbia Records. Due to the fact that her recordings are spread across multiple labels, the compilation utilizes live versions from her Columbia albums to represent career-defining songs whose original studio recordings are owned by other companies.
The tracklist includes material from her Broadway shows, such as "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York" from film, and "Losing My Mind" from her 1989 album Results. In some Latin American countries, the album was expanded and released under different titles, such as Vinteum: 21 Grandes Sucessos and Los Exitos Del Siglo featuring five additional tracks.
Music critics gave 16 Biggest Hits favorable reviews.
Album details
Liza Minnelli’s career spans decades of success across multiple fields, including music, theater, and film. As a result, compiling a comprehensive collection of her hits is commercially and bureaucratically challenging, as her recordings are spread across different labels. Prior compilations to 16 Biggest Hits were organized based on the labels under which the songs were originally released.[4] Her early recordings under Capitol Records were featured in A Touch of Class (1997)[5] and The Capitol Years (2001).[6] Her work with A&M Records was compiled in The Liza Minnelli Foursider (1973)[7] and The Collection (1998).[8] Her Columbia Records era is represented in Simply The Best (1982),[9]Liza (1993), and All That Jazz (1999).[10]
For 16 Biggest Hits, producer Didier C. Deutsch selected songs that were not necessarily hits but represented Minnelli’s most celebrated career moments and the standards she became associated with. Since many original recordings were under other labels, live versions from her Columbia albums were used instead.[4]
From her Broadway career, the album includes "Quiet Thing" from Flora the Red Menace, as well as "My Own Best Friend" and "All That Jazz" from Chicago.[4] Her film work is represented by "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York." The song "Liza with a Z" comes from her Emmy-winning concert special of the same name. "Losing My Mind" was Minnelli’s highest-charting single,[11] taken from her 1989 album Results.[12]
In some Latin American countries, the album was released as a double album titled Vinteum: 21 Grandes Sucessos (in Brazil) or Los Exitos Del Siglo, featuring new cover art and five additional tracks: "Don't Drop Bombs", "Rent", and "So Sorry, I Said" from the album Results, as well as two live recordings—"Stepping Out" and "There's No Business Like Show Business".[13][14]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that while Minnelli's selected recordings are familiar and enjoyable, some tracks lack a special connection to her and hardly qualify as 'biggest hits'. He criticized the omission of signature songs like "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret, despite multiple live versions being available.[4]
Max O. Preeo of Show Music magazine praised the album, particularly highlighting Minnelli's Broadway selections from Chicago, "My Own Best Friend" and "All That Jazz".[15][16]
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