Liza's Back is the ninth live album by Americansinger and actressLiza Minnelli, released by J Records in 2002.[2] The album captures her comeback following a two-year hiatus caused by a diagnosis of viral encephalitis. This return was marked by a series of sold-out concerts at New York's Beacon Theatre, conceived by her husband, David Gest, and came after high-profile performances at London's Royal Albert Hall and Yankee Stadium after 9/11.
Recorded during these shows, the album was produced by Phil Ramone and executive produced by Clive Davis, marking Minnelli's reunion with the music executive. It features a setlist of her classics, including "Cabaret", and "Theme from New York, New York" alongside the new titular anthem of resilience, "Liza's Back", written by her long-time collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb. The release was met with favorable reviews from critics, who praised her reinvigorated vocal power and the infectious joy she brought to the performance.
Production and recording
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.[3] 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.[4][5][6]
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.[3] Minnelli performed many songs associated with her and introduced Liza's Back, written by her long-time collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb.[3]
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."[3] Minnelli and Ramone had previously worked together on her 1972 album Liza with a Z.[3] 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 reviews from music critics were favorable.[15]
William Ruhlmann, from the AllMusic website, gave it three out of five stars and wrote that Minnelli "sounds much better than she did on Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace, a recording that showed vocal deterioration in her breath control and an unsteady vibrato."[12] 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."[12]
Morag Reavley, from BBC Music, wrote that after a series of personal experiences, the songs seemed to have been endowed with new meaning,[13] 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."[13]
Note: track times include on stage dialogue between songs.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Liza's Back CD (J Records, catalog no. 80813-20045-2)
Liza's Band*
Bill Lavorgna – musical conductor and drums
Joey Melotti – musical director, arranger and synth
Tom Barney – bass
Michael Bearden – piano
Michael Aarons – guitar
Mark Sherman – percussion
Dann Kahn – trumpet 1
Ron Buttacavoli – trumpet 2
Clinton Sharman – trombone
Gerry Niewood – alto sax, flute and clarinet
Frank Perowsky – tenor sax, flute and clarinet
Ed Xiques – baritone sax, bass clarinet, flute and clarinet
Production
Produced by Phil Ramone
Co-produced by David Gest
Executive producer: Clive Davis
Remote recording: Dave Hewitt at Remote Recording Services, Buckingham, PA
Mixed by Eric Schilling
Additional engineering: Eric Schilling & Larry Alexander
ProTools operators: Ken Freeman, Larry Alexander & Andreas Meyer
Production manager for David Gest Productions, Inc.: Steve Benenav
Production manager & contractor for Phil Ramone, Inc.: Jill Dell’Abate
Audio post: Sue Pelino
Assistant engineers: Pablo Arraya, Jamie Duncan, Paul Gregory, Michael McCoy, Claudius Mittendorfer, Flip Osman, Matt Snedecor, David Swope & Chris Testa
Additional recording at Right Track Studios, NYC & Sony Studios, NYC
Mixed at Right Track Studios, NYC & The Hit Factory, NYC
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NYC
Public relations
Mr. Warren Cowan and Mr. Richard Hoffman of Warren Cowan and Associates
Phil Symes and David Freed of Warren Cowan/Phil Symes and Associates
Additional credits
Hairstylists: Kristen Foster, Scott Ferreira of Giuseppe Franco Salon
Legal representation: Judge Franklin Weissberg of Morrison, Cohen, Singer & Weinstein LLP; Joel Weinstein of Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz & Weinstein, PC
Security: Willie Green
Director of Operations: M’Hammed Soumayah
Stylist: Ann Caruso
New material by Fred Ebb & John Kander
Original Broadway production *Liza’s Back* created and produced by David Gest
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