Decca will release Liza Minnelli's new album, Confessions, on September 28th. Here are the details: A collection of American classics, Confessions features some of Minnelli's favorite songs of all time, arranged simply and elegantly, with accompaniment by her long-time pianist Billy Stritch. Though the album will surely stand as a landmark in her celebrated body of work, Minnelli maintains that the origins of Confessions were entirely organic, almost accidental. "It just sort of happened," she says. "I used to have these evenings at my house, usually on a weekend, and people like Tony Bennettor more surprising people like Janet Jacksonwould come by, and we would end up singing around the piano."
Inspired by the intimacy of those incredible evenings, Liza decided to start recording some of her favorite songs with Stritch, and producer Bruce Roberts. Excited by how effortless the process became, she decided to keep going, giving the listener an up close and personal glimpse into her musical world. Unlike so many of the "Songbook" albums that have come out in recent years full of over-familiar selections, Minnelli dug deeper into the catalogues of great writers, balancing beloved numbers like "All the Way" and "At Last" with such hidden gems as "You Fascinate Me So" and "Moments Like This." The timeless songs were written by the accomplished likes of Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Berlin and Sammy Cahn to name a few.
What could still represent a challenge for someone who grew up in the spotlight, and has continually explored new avenues for her work as a singer, dancer and actress (not to mention philanthropist and teacher)? The answer is a return to the most basic configuration of all a voice, a piano, and some magnificent songs all which are the ingredients for the extraordinary Confessions. Significantly, the disc is her first non-cast album studio recording in almost fifteen years.
