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1996 studio album by Liza Minnelli From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gently is a studio album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli. Released in 1996, it is her first album under the Angel Records/EMI label.[1]
| Gently | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 19, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Jazz, vocal, traditional | |||
| Length | 42:12 | |||
| Label | Angel | |||
| Producer | Brooks Arthur | |||
| Liza Minnelli chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Gently | ||||
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The release came seven years after her last studio album, Results, from 1989.[2] During that time, she released the live albums Live from Radio City Music Hall in 1992[3] and Paris – Palais des Congrès: Intégrale du spectacle in 1995.[4]
Gently is a jazz-infused album that also includes romantic ballads and lounge music numbers with arrangements featuring vibraphone, piano, and muted trumpet.[5] Its title and theme reference moments in Minnelli's love life, starting from her adolescence when she had crushes on handsome schoolboys.[6]
During the album's promotion, she referred to the work as her "make-out album" due to the irredeemably sentimental themes behind the song choices.[6] She summed up the inspiration behind the album on The Rosie O'Donnell Show when she explained, "There wasn't a romance section [in the record store]. So, I thought, well, maybe I'll make an album that people can kiss to. Remember kissing? Wasn't it great to kiss? That's what this album is about."[6]
As part of the album's promotion, the singer appeared on the UK shopping channel QVC.[7] According to Gilbert Hetherwick, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Angel Records, her appearance on the channel was positive: "She sold thousands of her CD 'Gently' on the network. It's a great way to create awareness, especially for people who live in small towns."[7]
In 1997, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.[8] The award went to the album Here's to the Ladies by singer Tony Bennett.[9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Chicago Reader | (positive)[11] |
| The Guardian |  [12] |
Reviews from music critics were favorable.
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars.[12]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic gave it four and a half out of five stars and wrote that Minnelli managed to blend her musical heritage with the trends of her generation.[1]
Rennie Sparks of the Chicago Reader[5] gave a favorable review, stating that at 50 years old, Liza Minnelli had finally decided to shed the role of a cheerful and optimistic superstar, delivering somber and profound songs, sung with a solitary and sentimental voice, full of fragility and sadness.[5]
Commercially, it became one of Minnelli's most successful albums on the charts during the 1990s. It reached number 156 on the Billboard magazine's list of best-selling albums, known as the Billboard 200.[13] In the UK, it reached number 58 on the Official Charts Company's list of best-selling albums.[14]
According to a Billboard magazine article, Gently sold over 100,000 copies worldwide.[7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chances Are" (feat. Johnny Mathis) | Al Stillman, Robert Allen | 3:16 |
| 2. | "You Stepped Out of a Dream" | Gus Kahn, Nacio Herb Brown | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Embraceable You" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Close Your Eyes" | Bernice Petkere | 3:35 |
| 5. | "Some Cats Know" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | 3:47 |
| 6. | "Lost in You" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | 4:02 |
| 7. | "I Got Lost in His Arms" | Irving Berlin | 3:12 |
| 8. | "It Had to Be You" | Isham Jones, Gus Kahn | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Never Let Me Go" | Jay Livingston, Ray Evans | 3:15 |
| 10. | "Does He Love You?" (feat. Donna Summer) | Sandy Knox, Billy Stritch | 4:58 |
| 11. | "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" | David Mann, Bob Hilliard | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 42:12 | ||
| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[15] | 58 |
| Billboard 200[16] | 156 |
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