Gently is a studio album by Americansinger and actressLiza Minnelli. Released in 1996, it is her first album under the Angel Records/EMI label and her first studio release in seven years. The jazz-infused album features romantic ballads and lounge music, with arrangements that include vibraphone, piano, and muted trumpet. Its thematic focus revolves around moments in Minnelli's love life.
The album was promoted as a "make-out album" and its release was supported by an appearance on the UK shopping channel QVC. It became one of Minnelli's most successful albums of the decade, reaching number 156 on the Billboard 200 and number 58 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1997, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Album details
Gently is a jazz-infused album that also includes romantic ballads and lounge music numbers with arrangements featuring vibraphone, piano, and muted trumpet.[1] Its title and theme reference moments in Minnelli's love life, starting from her adolescence when she had crushes on handsome schoolboys.[2]
During the album's promotion, she referred to the work as her "make-out album" due to the irredeemably sentimental themes behind the song choices.[2] She summed up the inspiration behind the album on The Rosie O'Donnell Show when she explained, "There wasn't a romance section [in the record store]. So, I thought, well, maybe I'll make an album that people can kiss to. Remember kissing? Wasn't it great to kiss? That's what this album is about."[2]
As part of the album's promotion, the singer appeared on the UK shopping channel QVC.[6] According to Gilbert Hetherwick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Angel Records, her appearance on the channel was positive: "She sold thousands of her CD 'Gently' on the network. It's a great way to create awareness, especially for people who live in small towns."[6]
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars.[8]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Minnelli managed to blend her musical heritage with the trends of her generation.[9]
Rennie Sparks of the Chicago Reader gave a favorable review, stating that at 50 years old, Liza Minnelli had finally decided to shed the role of a cheerful and optimistic superstar, delivering somber and profound songs, sung with a solitary and sentimental voice, full of fragility and sadness.[1]
Gently was one of Minnelli's most successful albums on the charts during the 1990s. It reached number 156 on the Billboard magazine's list of best-selling albums, the Billboard 200.[12] In the UK, it reached number 58 on the Official Charts Company's list of best-selling albums.[13]
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