Liza's Back

Liza's Back is the ninth live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released by J Records in 2002.^[2]

Liza's Back
Live album by Liza Minnelli
Released	October 29, 2002
Recorded	April 2, 2002 Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York[1]
Genre	Traditional pop, jazz
Length	73:20
Label	J
Producer	David Gest
Liza Minnelli chronology
Minnelli on Minnelli (2000) Liza's Back (2002) Liza's at The Palace.... (2009)

After her performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London and her nationally televised rendition of "New York, New York" at the Yankee Stadium following the September 11 attacks in the United States, Liza Minnelli embarked on a series of comeback concerts.^[3] These comeback shows were conceived and produced by her husband, David Gest, marking the end of a two-year hiatus she took due to a diagnosis of viral encephalitis, a potentially fatal illness.^[4][5][6]

The album's recordings took place on April 2, 2002, at the beginning of summer, during a week of sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York.^[3] Minnelli performed many songs associated with her and introduced Liza's Back, written by her long-time collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb.^[3]

The album was produced by Phil Ramone and marked Minnelli's reunion with Clive Davis, the president of J Records, who had signed her to Columbia Records in the early 1970s.^[7][8] The tracklist includes 18 songs such as "Cabaret," "Don't Smoke in Bed," "Something Wonderful," and "New York, New York."^[3] Minnelli and Ramone had previously worked together on her 1972 album Liza with a Z.^[3] The television special of the same name directed by Bob Fosse that year earned the artist and the director an Emmy award.^[9]

Among the new songs is Liza's Back, which was described by some sections of the press as an anthem of triumph.^[10] The lyrics of the song go: "I took my pill bottles and threw them away / I emptied the alcohol, went back to AA / Hey, Broadway... Liza's back!".^[10]

The release was preceded by a party held at the Equitable Auditorium in New York, organized by Clive Davis.^[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
BBC Music	Favorable[13]
Uncut	[14]
The Washington Post	Mixed[10]

Critical reviews from music critics were favorable.^[15]

William Ruhlmann, from the AllMusic website, gave it three out of five stars and wrote that Minnelli "sounds much better than she did on Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace, a recording that showed vocal deterioration in her breath control and an unsteady vibrato."^[12] He said that while the first part of the show features forgettable songs by Kander and Ebb, there is an excellent performance of "Something Wonderful" and the standout track "Never Never Land" that features a chorus from her mother Judy Garland's iconic song, "Over the Rainbow."^[12]

Morag Reavley, from BBC Music, wrote that after a series of personal experiences, the songs seemed to have been endowed with new meaning,^[13] and that Liza Minnelli's "performance is imbued with an infectious sense of joy in her newly textured and more vigorous vocal abilities, while her conversations with the audience alternate between cheeky and affectionate."^[13]

Commercial performance

Commercially, it failed to chart on the Billboard 200.^[16]

Track listing

1. "Liza's Back" - 3:12
2. "Something Wonderful" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) - 6:07
3. "Cry" (Churchill Kohlman) - 2:05
4. "Don't Cry Out Loud" (Peter Allen, Carole Bayer Sager) - 2:13
5. "Crying" (Joe Melson, Roy Orbison) - 3:38
6. "City Lights" - 5:23
7. "Don't Smoke in Bed" - 5:07
8. "Some People" (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) - 3:42
9. "Never Never Land"/"Over the Rainbow" (Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green)/(Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) - 3:44
10. "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?" (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner) - 4:43
11. "Rose's Turn" (Styne, Sondheim) - 5:05
12. "Mein Herr" - 5:34
13. "Money, Money" - 1:33
14. "Maybe This Time" - 3:19
15. "Cabaret" - 5:12
16. "But the World Goes 'Round" - 4:30
17. "Theme from New York, New York" - 5:41
18. "I'll Be Seeing You" (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal) - 2:32

All songs written by John Kander and Fred Ebb unless otherwise noted.

Note: track times include on stage dialogue between songs.

References

1. Gans, Andrew (May 31, 2002). "Liza's Back, and the Beacon's Got Her". Playbill. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
2. "Diskograpie". Liza May Minnelli - Official German Homepage. Archived from the original on February 12, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
3. "'Liza's Back' With Live Album". Billboard. October 1, 2002. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
4. Bairos, Ricardo (July 26, 2002). "Liza Minnelli abre sua vida para a TV". Folha de Londrina. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
5. "Liza Minnelli tem alta de hospital após encefalite". Folha de S.Paulo. UOL HOST. October 31, 2000. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
6. Presse, France (October 23, 2000). "Liza Minnelli teve encefalite viral, diz hospital, e se recupera bem". Folha de S.Paulo. UOL HOST. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
7. "'Liza's Back' With Live Album". Billboard. October 1, 2002. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
8. Wolf, Matt (April 3, 2002). "Review: 'Liza's Back…'". Variety. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
9. "Singer Presents Liza with a "Z"". Emmy Awards. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
10. Harrington, Richard. "Liza Minnelli "Liza's Back"". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
11. "Update". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 45. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 9, 2002. p. 65. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
12. Ruhlmann, William. "Liza Minnelli - Liza's Back (Allmusic Review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
13. Reavley, Morag (17 February 2003). "Liza Minnelli Liza's Back! Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
14. "Liza's Back - Liza Minnelli". Uncut. 1 February 2003. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
15. Berkowitz, Ben (October 31, 2002). "Rede de TV desiste de produzir "reality show" com Liza Minnelli". UOL TV e Famosos (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL HOST. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
16. "Liza Minnelli | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. December 23, 2015. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2023.