The Liza Minnelli Foursider
| The Liza Minnelli Foursider | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1968–1972 | |||
| Genre | Traditional | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Liza Minnelli chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Liza Minnelli Foursider is the first compilation album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli.[1][2] It was released in 1973 under the A&M Records label, after the singer had released three studio albums and one live album with the label.[1]
The tracklist features songs from four albums released by A&M Records between 1968 and 1972, namely: Liza Minnelli (1968), Come Saturday Morning (1969), New Feelin' (1970), and the live album Live at the Olympia in Paris (1972).[1]
The Foursider series was a collection of double LPs from the early 1970s, which compiled catalog tracks from A&M Records' roster of artists.[3] The series had standardized covers, with each artist represented by a distinct color.[3] Minnelli was represented by the color green. All material in the series was compiled and edited by Clare Baren and Richard Burns.[3] Although it was a double album, it was sold at the price of a single LP.[4]
Following its release, it received favorable critical reviews from music critics[1][5] and appeared on one of Billboard magazine’s charts, Bubbling Under the Top LPs.[6]
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the compilation was re-released under different titles and cover art in CD format, including: A&M Gold Series (1991),[7] Master Series (1999),[8] and Millennium Edition (2000).[9] Despite these variations, the tracks and original sequence remained unchanged. The Liza Minnelli Foursider was also released in CD format with its original cover.[10]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Cash Box | Favorable[5] |
Reviews from music critics were favorable. William Ruhlmann, from AllMusic, gave it three and a half out of five stars[1] and wrote that "[the album] is as good a sampler as could be compiled from the limited resources available and features some of the songs most identified with Minnelli, although not always in ideal versions."[1]
A reviewer from Cash Box magazine wrote that the album is a testament to the singer’s incredible virtuosity, which, according to him, "shines in her luxurious delivery and emotional interpretation."[5] He highlighted the songs "You’d Better Sit Down Kids" by Sonny Bono and "Cabaret" by Ebb-Kander, which became a classic.[5]
Commercial performance
Commercially, it became the second-best performing A&M Records album by Minnelli. On the Billboard magazine chart Bubbling Under the Top LPs, it debuted at position number 209[11] and remained on the list for three more consecutive weeks.[12][6][13] Its peak position was number 207.[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction" | Live at the Olympia in Paris | 3:06 | |
| 2. | "Everybody's Talkin' / Good Morning Starshine" | Fred Neil / G. MacDermot, G. Ragni, J. Rado | Live at the Olympia in Paris | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Liza (With a "Z")" | Fred Ebb, John Kander | Live at the Olympia in Paris | 3:46 |
| 4. | "I Will Wait for You" | Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel | Live at the Olympia in Paris | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Cabaret" | Fred Ebb, John Kander | Live at the Olympia in Paris | 4:29 |
| 6. | "The Man I Love" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | New Feelin' | 2:45 |
| 7. | "Love Story" | Randy Newman | Come Saturday Morning | 2:29 |
| 8. | "Married" | Fred Ebb, John Kander | Liza Minnelli | 1:30 |
| 9. | "You'd Better Sit Down, Kids" | Sonny Bono | Liza Minnelli | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" | John Denver | Come Saturday Morning | 3:15 |
| 11. | "Come Saturday Morning" | Dory Previn, Fred Karlin | Come Saturday Morning | 1:46 |
| 12. | "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)" | B. Kalmar, H. Ruby | Come Saturday Morning | 2:52 |
| 13. | "Lazy Bone" | Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer | New Feelin' | 2:32 |
| 14. | "Come Rain or Come Shine" | Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer | New Feelin' | 3:12 |
| 15. | "My Mammy" | Walter Donaldson, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young | Liza Minnelli | 3:01 |
| 16. | "Waiting for My Friend" | George Melly, John Addison | Liza Minnelli | 2:48 |
| 17. | "MacArthur Park / Didn't We" | Jimmy Webb | Come Saturday Morning | 4:08 |
| 18. | "Maybe This Time" | Fred Ebb, John Kander | New Feelin' | 3:12 |
| 19. | "God Bless the Child" | Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday | New Feelin' | 3:30 |
Charts
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Bubbling Under the Top LPs (Billboard)[14] | 207 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ruhlmann, William. "Liza Minnelli - Foursider Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ Liza Minnelli (1973). The Liza Minnelli Foursider (Media notes). United States: A&M Records. SP 3524.
- ^ a b c Tiegel, Eliot (November 10, 1973). "Series Review: A&M offers 5 dual-LP good oldies". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 4. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ "Introducing the A&M Foursider Series; A&M To Release 'Four Siders'" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XXXV, no. 17. October 13, 1973. pp. 13, 33. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "FOURSIDER—Liza Minnelli—A&M SP 3524" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XXXV, no. 18. October 20, 1973. p. 43. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Bubbling Under the Top LPs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 22, 1973. p. 22. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ Liza Minnelli (1991). A&M Gold Series: Liza Minnelli (Media notes). Brazil: A&M Records, Polygram. 397080-2.
- ^ Liza Minnelli (1997). Master Series: Liza Minnelli (Media notes). Europe: A&M Records, Polygram. 540 781-2.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Liza Minnelli - Millennium Edition Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ Liza Minnelli. The Liza Minnelli Foursider (Media notes). United States: A&M Records. CD 6013.
- ^ "Bubbling Under the Top LPs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 8, 1973. p. 28. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ "Bubbling Under the Top LPs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 15, 1973. p. 25. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ "Bubbling Under the Top LPs" (PDF). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 29, 1973. p. 26. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
- ^ "Billboard - Bubbling Under the Top LP's". Billboard. Billboard Publications, Inc. December 15, 1973. pp. 25–. ISSN 0006-2510.