''Liza! Liza!'' is the debut studio album by American singer

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

. It was released on October 12, 1964, by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The album contains her interpretations of twelve

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

s. It was recorded in June 1964 at Capitol Records' New York studio at 151 West 46th Street. The album was re-released in 1988 by Capitol as ''Maybe This Time – Liza Minnelli Sings the Sensational Hit from the Film "Cabaret"''.

Album information

When Liza Minnelli recorded this album she was just a teenager. At seventeen she had starred in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of '' Best Foot Forward'' in 1963. The publicity surrounding her abilities led to television appearances and a single on the

Cadence Records Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also laun ...

label. This single, "You Are for Loving", a song she performed in the show, reportedly sold half a million copies. On the strength of this, Capitol signed the singer and slowly began issuing several singles targeted to Minnelli's age group and later committed to a whole album. These singles were recorded over the summer of 1963 in New York and by reviewing this output it is clear the artistry displayed by Minnelli was not that of a regular teenager. For the creation of her debut album, she turned to her friend and classmate

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

, who could help her in choosing the tunes. At the time he was working in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of '' Funny Girl''. Two of the songs featured on the album, "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "The Travelin' Life", were cut by Minnelli with Hamlisch on piano 2 years earlier as a gift to her mother. Another one of the tracks featured here, "If I Were in Your Shoes", was written by the young writers

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Ri ...

and

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Ca ...

, who had yet to make a big impact on the stage. It was the start of a decade-long collaboration during which the trio delivered several unforgettable hits.

Peter Matz Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent ...

, who was also working with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

at the time, and would keep on collaborating with Minnelli up until his death, was mainly responsible for the rich and lush orchestral treatment given to the whole project.

Reception

''Liza! Liza!'' peaked on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 115. It debuted there on November 21, 1964 and remained in the chart for 8 weeks. Over a period of 3 years it reportedly sold over half a million copies. It received several glowing reviews, with '' Cashbox'' feeling it was "an auspicious debut" showcasing "fine new talent", while ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said it was an "impressive ...beguiling ... andbeautifully varied" album from a "major singing talent". ''Billboard'' called it "simply great .. withclarity of tone, genuine feeling, emotion".

Track listing

Side one

#"It's Just a Matter of Time" (Richard Everitt, Laurence Stith) #"If I Were in Your Shoes" (

) #"Meantime" (

Al Stillman Al Stillman ''(né'' Albert Irving Silverman; 26 June 1901 Manhattan, New York – 17 February 1979 Manhattan, New York) was an American lyricist. Biography Stillman was born to Jewish parents Herman Silverman and Gertrude Rubin ''(maiden).'' He a ...

, Robert Allen) #"

Try to Remember "Try to Remember" is a song about nostalgia from the musical comedy play ''The Fantasticks'' (1960). It is the first song performed in the show, encouraging the audience to imagine what the sparse set suggests. The words were written by the Amer ...

" (

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

, Tom Jones) #"I'm All I've Got" (Milton Schafer, Ronny Graham) #"Maybe Soon" (Richard Everitt, Laurence Stith)

Side two

#" Maybe This Time" (John Kander, Fred Ebb) #"Don't Ever Leave Me" (

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

) #"The Travelin' Life" (Howard Liebling,

) #"

Together (Wherever We Go) "Together (Wherever We Go)" is a song, now considered a standard, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, written for the musical play ''Gypsy'' in 1959. It was introduced by Ethel Merman, Jack Klugman, and Sandra Church. Recor ...

" (

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

) #"

Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

) #"I Knew Him When" (

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg,

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

)

Personnel

*Producer: Si Rady *Orchestra arranged and conducted by

*Sherman Weisburd - front cover photography

Charts

References

*Liza Minnelli: ''When It Comes Down to It.......1968–1977'' liner notes by Glenn A. Baker, 2003 *Liza Minnelli: ''The Complete A&M Recordings'' liner notes by Scott Schechter, 2008 *Liza Minnelli: ''The Complete Capitol Collection'' liner notes by Scott Schechter, 2006 {{Authority control Liza Minnelli albums 1964 debut albums Capitol Records albums Albums arranged by Peter Matz Albums conducted by Peter Matz