Live At The Olympia In Paris

About

"Live at the Olympia in Paris" is the second live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released in 1972. It represents her fourth and final release of new material for A&M Records and her second live album, following "Live at the London Palladium" in 1965. The recordings took place over two nights at the prestigious Olympia theatre in Pari. This was the second time Minnelli performed at the venue, following her shows in 1966 at the International Variety Show Festival. The repertoire included songs similar to those she had been performing over the past four year, featuring a mix of contemporary songs from the era and standard. Most of the songs came from the concert on December 11, 1969, but a few selections were replaced with songs from the concert on December 13. The album was produced and arranged by Larry Mark, with orchestration conducted by Jack French. The album's art direction was handled by Roland Young, and Guy Webster provided the photography. Sandra Darnley managed the color technique. The album does not represent the complete show. There were other song, including a French version of "All I Need Is The Boy," the song "Where Did You Learn To Dance?," and an instrumental track, but the record label believed it wouldn't be commercially viable to release a double album with all the songs from the performance and chose not to release them, erasing them from their archive. The album was released due to contractual obligation, marking the end of her contract with A&M Record. The recording had been stored for a considerable period before being released. France, Australia, and Japan received the album before the United State. At the time, Minnelli had achieved notable success with her role in the film musical "Cabaret" and her U.S. television special "Liza with a Z." These successe, along with her live performance, prompted the record label to release one final Minnelli album. "Live At The Olympia In Paris" was never released on CD in the United State, but it briefly had an overseas CD edition. The songs and their original tracklist (including the album's cover in the booklet) were included as part of the 2008 collection "The Complete A&M Recording." The album cover photo was used in the reissue of "The Liza Minnelli Foursider," titled "A&M Gold Serie," which included five tracks from "Live At The Olympia In Pari." Reviews from music critics were mostly favorable. The Billboard critic wrote that Minnelli's electrifying performance in the Paris show was successfully captured on the recording. He highlighted songs such as "I Will Wait For You," "There Is A Time," "Nous On S'Aimera," and "Cabaret" as excellent moments in the concert. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic gave the album three and a half out of five star, noting that the album's repertoire was a curious mix of old pop standards and current pop/rock material, stitched together by Minnelli's enthusiasm. He praised Minnelli's lively and animated performance, stating that she overcame all contradictions and even pleased an audience that must have been as surprised as she was by her French accent. Rex Reed of HiFi Stereo Review, however, was not impressed with the recording. He felt that the repertoire was worn out, and Minnelli's voice was not at its best. He claimed that the album fell short of her previous studio recording and that most of the songs had better recordings on previous album. He concluded the review by saying, "I hope this album serves only to fill the gap between past achievements and better things to come. Otherwise, Liza might as well follow in the footsteps of Marlene Dietrich, who inspired one of Judy Garland's favorite stories: 'She insisted that I listen to her new album,' Judy said, winking. 'It was two perfectly recorded sides of applause!'" .

via Last.fm

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