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Life Is a Cabaret!

Life Is a Cabaret!
Compilation album by
Liza Minnelli
Released2002
GenrePop, jazz, synth-pop
LabelColumbia Records
Liza Minnelli chronology
Ultimate Collection
(2001) 		Life Is a Cabaret!
(2002) 		Liza's Back
(2002)

Life Is a Cabaret! (official title with subtitle: Life Is a Cabaret! – The Very Best of Liza Minnelli) is a compilation album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli.[1][2] Released in 2002, it is the second greatest hits compilation of Minnelli's work by Columbia Records, following 16 Biggest Hits (2000). The collection includes material from her studio albums, live recordings, and previously single-only releases, such as selections from the musical Chicago and the charity single "The Day After That".

The album represents one of several attempts to compile Minnelli's work from multiple record labels. It became her first UK chart entry since 1996, peaking at number 77 on the UK Albums Chart. The tracklist focuses on her Columbia/CBS recordings from 1970 to 1995 excluding her earlier work with Capitol Records.

Background

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According to John Bush of AllMusic, Minnelli's extensive discography has always been a challenge for compiling a comprehensive collection of her biggest hits,[3] due to a major obstacle: her material was scattered across multiple record labels, making a collection of her most iconic songs commercially unviable and bureaucratically complicated.[3]

The track listing of Life Is a Cabaret! - The Very Best of Liza Minnelli focuses on Minnelli's sound recordings released between 1970 and 1995 under the labels A&M, Columbia, CBS, and Epic, specifically from the albums: New Feelin' (1970),[4][5] Liza with a Z (1972),[6][7] The Singer (1973),[8][9] Live at the Winter Garden (1974),[10] Results (1989),[11][12] and Live from Radio City Music Hall (1992).[13][14]

The compilation also includes songs previously released only as singles, such as: "My Own Best Friend" and "All That Jazz," from the Broadway musical Chicago, in which Minnelli played the role of Roxie Hart while the original star, Gwen Verdon, was on vocal rest.[15] Other tracks include "More Than I Like You" and "Harbour" (the A and B sides of the same single, released in 1974) and "The Day After That" (1993), whose proceeds were donated to the AmfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research).[16][17]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The TimesUnfavorable[18]

Writing for the British newspaper The Times, David Sinclair noted that Minnelli has a tendency to overperform, which he found evident in this compilation. He also pointed out that the album includes songs already familiar in Minnelli's previous collections, such as "Maybe This Time," "Liza with a Z," "Cabaret," and "Losing My Mind."[18]

Commercial performance

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The album marked Minnelli's first appearance on the UK Albums Chart since 1996, when her album Gently spent two weeks on the chart (July 6 and 13, 1996).[19] Life Is a Cabaret! - The Very Best of Liza Minnelli peaked at No. 77 on April 13, 2002, its only appearance on the chart.[20]

Track listing

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No.TitleAlbumLength
1."All That Jazz"Chicago soundtrack3:04
2."New York, New York"Live from Radio City Music Hall5:38
3."Say Liza (Liza With A "Z")" 3:15
4."Maybe This Time"New Feelin'2:47
5."God Bless The Child"New Feelin'2:57
6."Ring Them Bells"Liza with a Z5:16
7."Losing My Mind"Results4:08
8."Shine On Harvest Moon"Live at the Winter Garden3:35
9."My Own Best Friend"Chicago soundtrack3:10
10."Some People"Live at the Winter Garden3:19
11."Quiet Thing"Live at the Winter Garden4:34
12."Harbour"More Than I Like You / Harbour (single)3:15
13."Love Pains"Results4:11
14."You're So Vain"The Singer3:28
15."More Than I Like You"More Than I Like You / Harbour (single)2:57
16."Dancing In The Moonlight"The Singer3:18
17."Mr. Emery Won't Be Home"Mr. Emery Won't Be Home (single)2:48
18."Here I'll Stay / Our Love Is Here To Stay"Live from Radio City Music Hall5:30
19."The Day After That"The Day After That (single)4:00
20."Cabaret"Live at the Winter Garden4:01

Charts

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Chart (2002) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 77

References

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  1. ^ Elster, Robert J.; Tyndall, Amy (March 2009). International Who's Who in Popular Music 2009. Routledge. p. 367. ISBN 978-1-85743-514-6. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Liza Minnelli (2002). Life Is A Cabaret! (The Very Best Of Liza Minnelli) (Media notes). United Kingdom: Columbia Records. 507808 2.
  3. ^ a b Bush, John. "Liza Minnelli - The Best of Liza Minnelli [Columbia] Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Liza Minnelli (1970). New Feelin' (Media notes). United States: A&M Records. SP-4272.
  5. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Liza Minnelli - New Feelin' Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Liza Minnelli (1972). Liza With A "Z" (Media notes). United States: Columbia Records. KC 31762.
  7. ^ "Billboard Albums Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 40. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 23, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  8. ^ Liza Minnelli (2017). The Singer (Media notes). United States: Strike Force Entertainment. SFE 056.
  9. ^ "Allmusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  10. ^ Liza Minnelli (2012). Live at the Winter Garden (Media notes). Brazil: Sony Music. 88691941962.
  11. ^ Liza Minnelli (1989). Results (Liner notes) (CD ed.). Columbia Records. EK 45098.
  12. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Liza Minnelli - Results Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  13. ^ Liza Minnelli (1992). Live From Radio City Music Hall (Media notes). United States: Columbia Records. CK 53169.
  14. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Liza Minnelli - Live from Radio City Music Hall (Allmusic Review)". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  15. ^ "Look Back at Liza Minnelli in Chicago on Broadway". Playbill. August 8, 2020. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  16. ^ Considine, J. D. (November 19, 1993). "Minnelli leads the march for a song for the AIDS war". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  17. ^ Galvin, Peter (November 15, 1994). "The Advocate". The Advocate. No. 668. Here Publishing. p. 49. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Sinclair, David (March 22, 2002). "She's the cream of the cheese". The Times. ProQuest 318640708. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Gently - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  20. ^ "Life is a Cabaret - The Very Best of". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  21. ^ "Liza Minnelli | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 15, 2025.