At Carnegie Hall (Liza Minnelli album)
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| At Carnegie Hall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | September 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Jazz, vocal, traditional pop | |||
| Label | Telarc International Corporation | |||
| Producer | Larry Marks, Robert Woods | |||
| Liza Minnelli chronology | ||||
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At Carnegie Hall is the fifth live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli.[1] Released in 1987, it marks the singer's first work released under the independent label Telarc Distribution.
The recordings took place over a period of three weeks at the Carnegie Hall concert hall, located in Midtown Manhattan, in the city of New York City, in 1987.[2][3] Minnelli's 17-day residency at the venue became the longest consecutive period in the concert hall's history.
Minnelli performed with a 47-piece orchestra, wearing costumes designed by Halston.[4] The repertoire includes classics from the Great American Songbook,[3] and songs made famous by artists such as Al Jolson, Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, and Charles Aznavour. It also ventures into contemporary pop-rock with the track "Somewhere Out There" by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, as well as the compositions of Kander and Ebb, who were highly present in her career.[3] According to critic Stephen Holden, "her songs, imaginatively arranged by Marvin Hamlisch and conducted by Bill La Vorgna, were accompanied by decisive and powerfully illustrative gestures."[3]
The album was released as a double LP/CD, with the complete recording lasting 83 minutes and entirely in digital format. Additionally, a "Highlights" version was released, featuring the album's best moments with an 18-minute reduction in total duration, omitting nine songs in the process and rearranging the remaining ones.[5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| AllMusic |  (Highlights)[5] |
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted that the album almost definitively captured the essence of Minnelli's show, blending classic standards with theatrical songs of her generation and contemporary hits, all performed with a full orchestra. Ruhlmann also pointed out that the highlight was the extended medley of Kander and Ebb songs, which brought together iconic numbers such as "Money, Money", "Mein Herr", "Maybe This Time", and "New York, New York", concluding a concert that, according to him, brilliantly summed up Minnelli's career and marked her return to the charts after 13 years.[7]
Commercial performance
On November 14, 1987, the album debuted on the Billboard magazine's list of best-selling albums, known as the Billboard 200, at position number 176,[8] marking Minnelli's first appearance on the chart since 1977, with the soundtrack of the film New York City from the same year.[9]
On November 28, 1987, it reached its peak position on the chart, at number 156.[10][11] In total, it remained on the chart for eight weeks, marking her best performance in the 1980s before the release of Results in 1989.[12]
