The Complete Capitol Collection is a compilation album by American singer and Actor Liza Minnelli.[1] The anthology was released by the record label DRG in 2006 and features songs from Minnelli's recordings released under Capitol Records.[2] The tracklist includes three complete studio albums in their original order.
On November 23, 2013, Playbill critic Ben Rimalower included The Complete Capitol Collection in his list of the twelve best albums of Liza Minnelli's career.[3]
Background
Minnelli's first phonographic recordings took place when she was still a teenager.[4] At just 17, she had starred in the Off-Broadway play Best Foot Forward, for which she even recorded songs from the soundtrack.[4] The publicity generated by her vocal and acting skills led to TV appearances and the recording of a single, "You Are For Loving".[4]
With this moderate success, Capitol Records signed her and gradually released singles, followed by three studio albums: Liza! Liza! (1964), It Amazes Me (1965), and There Is a Time (1966).[4] Although they were well received by music critics, only the first album performed well commercially, becoming the only one to chart on Billboard's Top LPs list.[5]
Content
For decades, the record label did not reissue the albums in CD format, despite most of the songs having appeared in a substantial number of compilations released over the years.[a]The Complete Capitol Collection compiles the three albums in their entirety, with their track listings in the order in which the albums were originally released.[9]
In total, there are 55 songs included in the double CD,[10] all remastered in 24-bit.[11] Tracks that were originally released only as singles, at a time when they could only be purchased by the public through 7-inchs, were also included.[12]
In an interview, the compilation's producer, Scott Schechter,[13] revealed: "The use of the original session tapes eliminated an entire layer of added reverb that was heard on the original LPs, and as a result, it has a much cleaner, warmer, and brighter sound, with much more presence in Liza's voice, as it should be. She sounds like she's in the same room, singing directly to you. You can hear everything better than ever before. It's like hearing the songs for the first time and [having] a completely new listening experience."[13]
William Ruhlmann, from the website AllMusic, rated it four and a half stars out of five,[12] and wrote that all "of [Liza Minnelli's] talents are on display in these early recordings, which will be warmly received by her fans."[12]
Ben Rimalower, from Playbill magazine, wrote that "although these recordings show an immature Minnelli, still somewhat unsure of how to express herself more artistically in song, the pure heart and throat are undeniable."[3]
Credits adapted from The Complete Capitol Collection CD.[14]
Executive producer (for Drg Records) – Hugh Fordin
Liner notes – Scott Schechter
Producer [for Drg Records] – Scott Schechter
Notes
↑ Compilations with tracks taken from the Capitol Records albums include: Best of Liza Minnelli: The Capitol Years (which was reissued with new covers and titles in 2001, under the name The Capitol Collection[6] and Essential, in 2003);[7] and Finest, from 2009.[8]
References
↑ "CDs". The Official Liza Minnelli Website. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
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