When songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb came to adapt their Broadway musical Cabaret to the screen, they interpolated into the score an old song of theirs called "Maybe This Time" that had long been a signature number for Liza Minnelli, the Kander and Ebb protegée who had been cast in the leading female role of Sally Bowles. Minnelli's performance of the song in the movie proved to be a showstopper, and Capitol Records, for which she had first recorded it on her debut album Liza! Liza! eight years earlier, took advantage of the situation by releasing this LP, which is nothing more than an abridged, re-sequenced version of Liza! Liza!, with the full title "Liza Minnelli Sings the Sensational Hit from the Film "Cabaret" Maybe This Time." Missing from the track list are "Blue Moon" and "I'm All I've Got," which reduces the collection to ten tracks in 33 minutes. What remains is still a charming collection of pop and show tunes with excellent arrangements by Peter Matz. Minnelli gives a strong reading to "Try to Remember" from The Fantasticks and, under Matz's baton, turns "Together Wherever We Go" from Gypsy into a ballad. In addition to "Maybe This Time," there is also another good Kander and Ebb song, "If I Were in Your Shoes." Of course, the album was better at its full length and with its original running order
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo