After her performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London and her nationally televised rendition of "New York, New York" at the Yankee Stadium following the September 11 attacks in the United States, Liza Minnelli embarked on a series of comeback concerts.[3] These comeback shows were conceived and produced by her husband, David Gest, marking the end of a two-year hiatus she took due to a diagnosis of viral encephalitis, a potentially fatal illness.[4][5][6]
The album's recordings took place on April 2, 2002, at the beginning of summer, during a week of sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York.[3] Minnelli performed many songs associated with her and introduced Liza's Back, written by her long-time collaborators John Kander and Fred Ebb.[3]
The album was produced by Phil Ramone and marked Minnelli's reunion with Clive Davis, the president of J Records, who had signed her to Columbia Records in the early 1970s.[7][8] The tracklist includes 18 songs such as "Cabaret," "Don't Smoke in Bed," "Something Wonderful," and "New York, New York."[3] Minnelli and Ramone had previously worked together on her 1972 album Liza with a Z.[3] The television special of the same name directed by Bob Fosse that year earned the artist and the director an Emmy award.[9]
Among the new songs is Liza's Back, which was described by some sections of the press as an anthem of triumph.[10] The lyrics of the song go: "I took my pill bottles and threw them away / I emptied the alcohol, went back to AA / Hey, Broadway... Liza's back!".[10]
The release was preceded by a party held at the Equitable Auditorium in New York, organized by Clive Davis.[11]
Critical reviews from music critics were favorable.[15]
William Ruhlmann, from the AllMusic website, gave it three out of five stars and wrote that Minnelli "sounds much better than she did on Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace, a recording that showed vocal deterioration in her breath control and an unsteady vibrato."[12] He said that while the first part of the show features forgettable songs by Kander and Ebb, there is an excellent performance of "Something Wonderful" and the standout track "Never Never Land" that features a chorus from her mother Judy Garland's iconic song, "Over the Rainbow."[12]
Morag Reavley, from BBC Music, wrote that after a series of personal experiences, the songs seemed to have been endowed with new meaning,[13] and that Liza Minnelli's "performance is imbued with an infectious sense of joy in her newly textured and more vigorous vocal abilities, while her conversations with the audience alternate between cheeky and affectionate."[13]
