Confessions

Liza Minnelli | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca U.S.
• ASIN: B003GH6M2O
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,494 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Celebrating sixty years in show business, the iconic Liza Minnelli is about to release the most intimate and revealing recording of her career, Confesssions, available everywhere on September 28th (Decca). A collection of American classics, Confessions features some of Minnelli's favorite songs of all time, arranged simply and elegantly, with accompaniment by her long-time pianist Billy Stritch. Though the album will surely stand as a landmark in her celebrated body of work, Minnelli maintains that the origins of Confessions were entirely organic, almost accidental. "It just sort of happened," she says. "I used to have these evenings at my house, usually on a weekend, and people like Tony Bennettor more surprising people like Janet Jacksonwould come by, and we would end up singing around the piano." Inspired by the intimacy of those incredible evenings, Liza decided to start recording some of her favorite songs with Stritch, and producer Bruce Roberts. Excited by how effortless the process became, she decided to keep going, giving the listener an up close and personal glimpse into her musical world. Unlike so many of the "Songbook" albums that have come out in recent years full of over-familiar selections, Minnelli dug deeper into the catalogues of great writers, balancing beloved numbers like "All the Way" and "At Last" with such hidden gems as "You Fascinate Me So" and "Moments Like This." The timeless songs were written by the accomplished likes of Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Berlin and Sammy Cahn to name a few. What could still represent a challenge for someone who grew up in the spotlight, and has continually explored new avenues for her work as a singer, dancer and actress (not to mention philanthropist and teacher)? The answer is a return to the most basic configuration of all - a voice, a piano, and some magnificent songs - all which are the ingredients for the extraordinary Confessions. Significantly, the disc is her first non-cast album studio recording in almost fifteen years. Liza Minnelli remains one of the world's most beloved performers, and belongs to an elite group of entertainers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar Award. Confessions is the follow-up to her wildly acclaimed 2008 return to Broadway, "Liza's at the Palace" which was nominated for a Grammy, and also won the Tony Award (her fourth) for Best Special Theatrical Event. As someone who represents the whole package, Liza Minnelli is a one-a-of-kind, multi-talented, larger-than-life superstar the world over.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Liza Is Back At Her Best", September 21, 2010

By 

Terry Richard "Terry Richard" (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

"Confessions" is Liza Minnelli's first non cast album in over 15 years and fans will be thrilled when they hear it. Here in this superb collection Liza's voice is what carries the project along with the piano arrangements by her longtime collaborator Billy Stritch. Gone are the songs that use to feature Liza screaming, and instead you get a beautiful collection of tracks that would be suitable if you were having a dinner party and wanted background music.

When Liza was a child her parents would often have intimate dinner parties where her mother and her friends would sit around the piano and sing. Once Liza became older that tradition was carried on and it wasn't uncommon for Liza to have people like Tony Bennett and Janet Jackson at her house where they would sing for hours in a relaxed atmosphere.

About ten years ago Liza showed up at Billy Stritch's Beverly Hills house one night and wanted to sing and from that very session came the idea for this album. Billy had recorded many of the songs from that night and found them about a year ago on various tapes. He went to Liza and told her he had the idea for her next album: recording songs that were simple, hearfelt, and most of all, easy to listen to for the fan. They went to Decca Records and a contract was signed and the result is one of Liza's best albums.

I have to say there isn't one song on this CD that I do not like: they range from many popular well-known tracks to some that have been pretty much forgotten. Still, Liza puts her undeniable trademark on every one of these gems. Highlights include "I Got Lost In His Arms", "If I Had You", "Close Your Eyes", and "You Fascinate Me So". However, the two tracks that outshine all others are Liza's extraordinary rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic "All The Way" and the final track on the album "At Last".

The perfect Liza Minnelli Album: a record with just her voice and wonderful piano arrangements by Stritch with Liza making her mark on songs that really become her own. An A+ record.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LIZA HAS RETURNED FROM "BEING BACK"!, November 10, 2010

By 

Dean Babcock (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

Have been a LIZA fan forever and need to report that this new collection is voice and age appropriate at last. Song choices are wonderful and re-demonstrate that Liza knows how to master phrasing and the essence of telling a story. No need to strain or screech beyond her current range, this album is a definite pleasure. Can't get the tunes out of my head and even caught myself singing them in an elevator today! Thank God Liza has returned from "being back"!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A jazzy Liza and a truly classy album, January 18, 2011

By 

Just Jake (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Confessions (Audio CD)

A New York reviewer once said of Liza Minelli on stage that she 'does everything but eat the audience'. That overpowering persona onstage has at times flowed over into her albums, making them uneven and difficult to absorb with a mixture of studio and loud, live recordings. For this album Confessions, her first full studio recording in almost fifteen years, in her wisdom, she has taken it down a few notches and has delivered a wonderful, understated collection of American standards. Backed by small group, her voice takes center stage along with great songbook writers such as Cy Coleman, Jerome Kern, and others. Some songs well known, others less so, the overall pallette is a breezy, jazzy, and understated recording, including beautiful renditions of All The Way, I Got Lost In His Arms, He's A Tramp and This Heart Of Mine. Much like Barbra Streisand's excellent Love Is The Answer which was produced by Diana Krall and ultimately nominated for a grammy, Liza has taken the less is more approach, pulled it back a bit, and the result is something close to astonishing.