The Act is a musical by my favourite Broadway team of songwriters, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and yet I always find it a little disappointing. Famous for writing Cabaret, Chicago and New York, New York, the two of them supplied a series of star turns for Liza Minnelli, as a nightclub star, ... Read review
Advantages: Lots of up-tempo music Disadvantages: Sounds too much like a solo Minnelli album
The Act is a musical by my favourite Broadway team of songwriters, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and yet I always find it a little disappointing. Famous for writing Cabaret, Chicago and New York, New York, the two of them supplied a series of star turns for Liza Minnelli, as a nightclub star, and hence the C sounds very much like a Liza album, with a couple of other tracks thrown in.
The songs aren't bad, and some of them are rather good ... ...notch comedy, delivered perfectly by Liza, and the number sung by the chorus members (presumably while Liza had forty winks to get her breath back), 'Little Do They Know', works very well as an insiders view of being a Broadway-type dancer. There is also a lovely ballad called 'My Own Space', which Minnelli carries off fairly well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the CD consists of a parade of up-tempo, 'life is great (or if it's not, I'm ... more
The Act is a musical by my favourite Broadway team of songwriters, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and yet I always find it a little disappointing. Famous for writing Cabaret, Chicago and New York, New York, the two of them supplied a series of star turns for Liza Minnelli, as a nightclub star, and hence the C sounds very much like a Liza album, with a couple of other tracks thrown in.
The songs aren't bad, and some of them are rather good indeed. 'Arthur in the Afternoon'. for example, is top notch comedy, delivered perfectly by Liza, and the number sung by the chorus members (presumably while Liza had forty winks to get her breath back), 'Little Do They Know', works very well as an insiders view of being a Broadway-type dancer. There is also a lovely ballad called 'My Own Space', which Minnelli carries off fairly well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the CD consists of a parade of up-tempo, 'life is great (or if it's not, I'm going to act as though it is)' numbers which just become rather samey. They are all decent songs, and all sung well by Liza, but they're just a tad repetitive. These are the sort of songs at which Kander and Ebb excel, but they just don't win me over. The final number, 'Walking Papers' gives you a definite spring in your step after hearing it, but this could simply be because it comes after the ballad and thus feels fresher than some of the other bombastic numbers.
A CD for the background, or for adding to the random shuffle feature of Media Player or the iPod, but not a great listening experience on its own. For a much better experience of 'Liza sings Kander and Ebb', go for the movie Soundtrack to Cabaret!
Product Information for "Act, The - Liza Minnelli" »
Product details
Title
Act, The
Performer
Liza Minnelli
Genre
Soundtracks
Sub Genre
Show
Release Date
1987
Original Release Year
1990
Label / Distributor
DRG / RSK/Trilogy Logistics
Producer
Hugh Fordin
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
21471610123
Catalogue Number
DRGCD 6101
Additional notes
Album Notes
Principal cast includes: Liza Minnelli, Roger Minami, Gayle Crofoot. Like her mother Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli has a strong and expressive voice. Having grown up under the lights of stage and screen, she displayed the chops of a seasoned veteran even in her youth. 1977's THE ACT finds Minnelli singing with the divine bravura that ranges from soft sentimentality to gruff belting. She performs the 13 selections with delightful ease. The songs themselves range from swinging honky-tonk to the semi-gospel shadings of "Turning." This is theatrical music. From the chorus refrains to the instrumental arrangements and backings, there is a broadness to the songs' dynamics and intonation that puts the listener behind the footlights. If the comic dialogue intro to "Arthur in the Afternoon" is reminiscent of Minnelli's performance in "Cabaret," it should be; the talented songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb created both this album's powerful songs and those of the 1970 musical that earned Minnelli her Oscar for best actress.
Titles on disc 1
1.
Shine It On
2.
It's The Strangest Thing
3.
Bobo's
4.
Turning
5.
Little Do They Know
6.
Arthur In The Afternoon
7.
Money Tree
8.
City Lights
9.
There When I Need Him
10.
Hot Enough For You
11.
Little Do They Know (Reprise)
12.
My Own Space
13.
Walking Papers
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Listed on Ciao since
02/04/2005
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