Customer Reviews

Live At The Winter Garden

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Having fallen in love with Liza Minnelli's big-eyed, big-voiced talent back in 1972--the year of her unforgettable partnership with legendary showbiz taskmaster Bob Fosse, who guided her through both the movie "Cabaret" and the television special "Liza With A Z"--I was delighted a few years later to discover this lp in a neighborhood "Used & New" record shop and bought it for a steal.

This 1974 Columbia release captures her electrifying performance, as the title states, live at the fabled Winter Garden Theatre in New York, NY when the twenty-something Liza was still basking in her Oscar-Emmy Award glow. Memorable selections include the razzle-dazzle bravura of "Shine On Harvest Moon," the hilarious send-up "Exactly Like Me," (in which she comically kvetches about constantly being accosted by less-than-glamorous people who fancy they resemble her), the hushed, lovely Ebb-Kander "Quiet Thing" (as she's holding the song's final note a thrilled audience member cries out "BEAUTIFUL, Liza!!"), and the quirky, melodramatic "The Circle."

Minnelli also reprises several of her best "Cabaret" and "Liza With A Z" moments, but the showstopping standouts here are the joyous, breathtaking "There Is A Time (Le Temp)", where the swooping, thunderous Billy Byers arrangement seems to run to keep up with her, and the chilling, heartbreaking "And I In My Chair (Et Moi Dans Mon Coin)", in which Minnelli talk-sings to great effect, the ordeal of a betrayed wife trying gamely to keep up appearances at a party as her husband chases yet another woman right in front of her. Another very dramatic arrangement by Billy Byers, and listen carefully for the devastating spoken fade-out.

A bit of trivia: both "There Is A Time" and "And I In My Chair" were co-written by Minnelli's long-time friend, Charles Aznavour, the chic French singer-songwriter-actor known as the "French Sinatra" who appeared in films like the 1960 Truffaut classic "Shoot The Piano Player." (Elvis Costello recorded Aznavour's popular 1970 song "She" for the Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant film "Notting Hill.")

I found the marvelous "There Is A Time" (the actual live version from this album) and bought it from iTunes; I only wish I could find also the stunning "And I In My Chair" or better yet a remastered CD release of this album.

If you can find this record album anywhere, grab it and enjoy, but it really deserves to join "Liza With A Z" and other Minnelli gems on compact disc. (A DVD of the actual performance would be too much to hope for, I'm sure. Sigh.)

I can't understand after all these years "Liza live at the Winter Garden" is not released onto a CD.I think this is her greatest record ever,recorded live right after "Liza with a Z." If there is any Minnelli fans that have never experienced this recording,you are really missing something,from "Shine on Harvest Moon,Exactly like me,"(This song is so funny,better than "Liza with a Z"}"I can see clearly now,"and my favorite,"Quiet thing."(You can hear one person from the audience say,"Beutifull Liza"after the songs finished."PLEASE place this CLASSIC album onto a CD NOW!!!