Customer Reviews

Liza Minnelli: The Collection

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2 star:		(1)
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Liza has such a wonderous voice. I had not really heard many of these songs interpreted by her before. This is my little Liza treasure. Liza before her CABARET stardom.

As a matter of fact one of the only 2 songs that I was not pleased to hear were CABARET and LIZA WITH A "Z" in French. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Liza. I am just tired of hearing those songs in most of her cd's.

I truly enjoyed all the other 18 selections. Her interpretations and the quality of her voice are splendid and soothing to the ear and soul. My favorites are: EVERYBODY'S TALKIN', I WILL WAIT FOR YOU, LAZY BONES, HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOIN' ON, COME RAIN OR SHINE.......ect., ect. Refreshing! Her voice sounds so inocent and vulnerable. Enjoyable!

This is a nice and beautiful little gem for your treasure box. Sit down, listen, enjoy and relax.

Abe :-)

This is a wonderful collection of Liza's early A&M recordings, both live (from the "Olympia in Paris" album) and studio. Highlights among the generous selection of some 20 songs are a spirited "Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)", a rockin' "Lazy Bones" and her absolutely beautiful rendition of "MacArthur Park" coupled with "Didn't We."

Many of us fell in love with LiZa when she first started with her great debut album on Capitol Records arranged by the late and great Peter Matz. After several Capitol releases Liza moved to A&M Records and recorded a number of albums that are true classics and this collection is a nice selection from these releases. Sadly these great albums have not been released on CD so this collection is a welcomed release as Liza is in incredible vocal form throughout! Never has "The Look Of Love" been sung with so much sensual passion and "On A Slow Boat To China" is hypnotic and magical. This awesome collection is full of so many classic performances and The Beatles "For No One" is haunting and brilliant! Many songs in this great collection would have been chart hits but radio never programmed any of Liza's music so exposure was limited. I cannot think of any singer who topped this great work or even came close to the quality of these incredible vocals!! Too bad that the Grammy Awards that many a lesser talent received were not given for any of these great works!! Wonderful live performances are included from "Liza Live At The Olympia In Paris" album with "I Will Wait For You" being a sublime standout. Another classic featured is "MacArthur Park/Didn't We" with the late and great Peter Allen on piano. Liza's "New Feelin'" is a brilliant album recorded in Memphis and features an incredible "God Bless The Child" and a totally electricfying "Maybe This Time". Liza is a Legend and anyone who experiences this wonderful collection will understand why!! "Mamma may have And Papa may have But God Bless The Child who's got his own" Liza's got her own and big time!!!!

Liza Minnelli: The Collection has twenty songs all performed flawlessly by that brilliantly talented entertainer, Liza Minnelli. Liza always strives to please her adoring fans--and she succeeds every time. Liza is in excellent form on this album; and the songs are very well chosen although this is not by any means a complete collection of her best--that would require more than just a single CD! At any rate, this is still a must-have for her fans. The quality of the sound is excellent and I like the artwork very much.

"Cabaret" starts the CD off with a wonderful live track and Liza's rapport with her audience is clearly very special; her excellent diction enhances her performance all the more and the music that plays fits in perfectly with her vocals. I love that piano arrangement--what a strong way to start the album! "The Look of Love" features Liza squarely front and center--right where she belongs! Liza never lets go of a single superfluous note and that's terrific. "The Man I Love" is heavenly in Liza Minnelli's capable hands; she delivers this faultlessly. The backup choir sounds great, too--not that Liza needed it; but they do sound pretty good anyway.

"Leavin' on a Jet Plane" gets the royal treatment from this timeless songbird who handles the complex tempo and key changes like the pro she is and always will be! The percussion works wonders for the ballad and this couldn't have been done any better. "Liza (With a "Z")" is a major highlight of this album; this song belongs to Liza alone for obvious reasons and she performs this with her usual panache.

"Everybody's Talkin'" charms me with its natural beauty; and Liza's "la la las" enhance the number. "Come Rain or Come Shine" gets a modern twist--and wow, how this really works! "Come Rain or Come Shine" is another highlight of this CD. "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" is another timeless love song that has Liza outdoing even herself here; and that's grand. In addition, I really like "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)." "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" showcases Liza's fine ability to deliver this with so much passion that it strikes me with its extra radiance--this number really shines!

"God Bless the Child" is a tender song that Liza does beautifully; this is so poignant I could never forget it and that arrangement is very sophisticated. It all holds its own very well. "Maybe This Time" is another signature Liza Minnelli song; and just one listen will tell you why this is Liza's territory! She does this better than anyone else ever could. In addition, the album ends very well with Liza performing "How Long Has This Been Going On?" The electric guitar, the organ and the drums sound just great, too.

Liza Minnelli is one of the very best songbirds we've ever been fortunate enough to have; and if you like this album you should definitely seek out other CDs and CD sets by her. I highly recommend this for Liza fans as well as people just discovering Liza's incredible genius.

Liza Minnelli has earned her own spot as one of the greatest living American performers. Maybe it was in the genes, her mother was the wonderful Judy Garland and her father was film director, Vincente Minnelli. Regardless of her personal problems, Liza is an incredible singer, dancer, and actress. She excels in singing at the best at least in my opinion. This compact disc was believe it or not at the bargain bin of a supermarket when I bought it. I expect Liza is on the shortlist to get top American honors like the Kennedy Center Honors or the National Medal of the Arts. Liza is in her own. She is clearly her own worst enemy at times. She is a perfectionist much like her mother was. When her heart breaks, the fans' heart breaks with her. This compact disc is worth it for the diehard Liza Minnelli fan. There are some songs here that are not anywhere. Of course, Cabaret and Liza with Z but in French which I didn't care for, her renditions of Bacharach's THe Look of Love, Stormy Weather, THe Man I Love, Come Rain or Come Shine, Maybe This Time from Cabaret, and God Bless the Child just to name a few. Liza is a living legend in the entertainment industry. Her singing voice can range from low octave to soprano if she wanted to be. Liza could teach a lot about singing and performing for a crowd to today's performers which I won't mention. Yes, it's about the music and the way it's interpreted by the performer. I would pay to see Liza perform if I could. She is such a magnificient entertainer all around. We love her onstage because she's bearing herself to the fans and is honest as the summer days are long. God Bless Liza!

This collection of some of Liza's recordings on A&M is similar, but not identical to, the FOUR SIDER album, which was issued on CD but went out of print. Strong, enthusiastic performances all the way. I hope to see her four A&M albums, LIZA MINNELLI (A&M SP 4141), COME SATURDAY MORNING (SP 4164), NEW FEELIN' (SP 4272) and LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA IN PARIS (SP 4345) reissued in their entirety, perhaps as two discs, each containing two albums. Meanwhile, this one is a great start.

I really like Liza Minelli, but this CD is so disappointing. Her rendition of Love for Sale is almost unbearable. And I really didn't need a French version of Liza with a Z. God Bless The Child is an insult to Billie Holiday.