Note from Scott
The new Liza CD set I produced -- Liza Minnelli: The COMPLETE A&M RECORDINGS -- is being featured as the CD PICK OF THE WEEK on WBAI-FM's (NYC) show hosted by Dave Kenny, "EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN," Sunday night, November 30th, 2008, 9-11 PM. You can hear it live at: <www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram> and then as an archive at :
<http://www.oldisnew.org/>
I am also currently scheduled to appear on the CELLULOID DREAMS Radio Show (see more below). It airs MONDAY, December 1st, at 5 PM on the West Coast (and online) -- (8 PM East Coast, etc) -- and the Liza A&M CD and myself are set for the first 30 minutes, should you care to listen (some tracks from the CD will be played -- and a copy will be given away! :)All Best,Scott****http://www.celluloiddreams.netCelluloid Dreams is a public affairs radio program celebrating the art of film and the moviegoing experience. We provide information on all aspects of movies through interviews, film/ book/ DVD/ soundtrack reviews, film quiz giveaways and special features. Celluloid Dreams serves the international community by conveying quality information, entertainment and the excitement of the movies!Celluloid Dreams can be heard every Monday at 5 PM (Pacific Time) on 90.5 FM, KSJS-San Jose.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
First Review for the new 2-CD Liza set, "The COMPLETE A&M RECORDINGS"
TIME OUT New York, November 27th, 2008:
Liza Minnelli ~ The Complete A&M Recordings (Collector’s Choice)Let’s face facts: In the four decades since the four LPs collected here were originally released, Liza Minnelli has done a fair amount of damage to her reputation as one of Broadway’s most formidable babies. Still, it’s a testament to her talent—not to mention her force of will—that despite tabloid headlines, Minnelli remains one of America’s most beloved entertainers.With its many examples of her appealing sass and indomitable charm, The Complete A&M Recordings demonstrates why. As Scott Schechter writes in a thoughtful liner-notes essay, these records—1968’s Liza Minnelli, 1969’s Come Saturday Morning, 1970’s New Feelin’ and 1972’s Live at the Olympia in Paris, plus a handful of singles and outtakes—captured the singer in an in-between phase, after she’d made a splash on the Great White Way but before she’d conquered the rest of showbiz. The music is similarly transitional, with Beatles ballads and Randy Newman numbers rubbing up against show tunes and standards. In Minnelli’s hands, a song is a story no matter where it came from, and her bold performances milk the material for all it’s worth (and occasionally a bit more—see Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wherefore and Why”). Trouble was on the way, but here pure pizzazz held it at bay.
Liza Minnelli ~ The Complete A&M Recordings (Collector’s Choice)Let’s face facts: In the four decades since the four LPs collected here were originally released, Liza Minnelli has done a fair amount of damage to her reputation as one of Broadway’s most formidable babies. Still, it’s a testament to her talent—not to mention her force of will—that despite tabloid headlines, Minnelli remains one of America’s most beloved entertainers.With its many examples of her appealing sass and indomitable charm, The Complete A&M Recordings demonstrates why. As Scott Schechter writes in a thoughtful liner-notes essay, these records—1968’s Liza Minnelli, 1969’s Come Saturday Morning, 1970’s New Feelin’ and 1972’s Live at the Olympia in Paris, plus a handful of singles and outtakes—captured the singer in an in-between phase, after she’d made a splash on the Great White Way but before she’d conquered the rest of showbiz. The music is similarly transitional, with Beatles ballads and Randy Newman numbers rubbing up against show tunes and standards. In Minnelli’s hands, a song is a story no matter where it came from, and her bold performances milk the material for all it’s worth (and occasionally a bit more—see Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wherefore and Why”). Trouble was on the way, but here pure pizzazz held it at bay.
Liza Minnelli plays the Palace Theatre Wed 3–Dec 28.Buy The Complete A&M Recordings now on BN.com— Mikael Wood
My Latest BIO
SCOTT SCHECHTER BIO
Scott Schechter has devoted over a quarter of a century to researching the lives and careers of both Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, earning his status as the premier Garland-Minnelli authority.
His research and devotion have led to his working with many of the companies that continue to release Garland-Minnelli material, including Capitol Records and Pioneer Entertainment/Classic World Productions, Inc. His expertise as a Garland-Minnelli historian has been acknowledged by his television and radio appearances; as a source in P.R. functions; and in dealing with media, including NY Post columnist Liz Smith.
Mr. Schechter is perhaps proudest of his role as archivist, which has led to the uncovering and releasing of rare or lost material.
Television programs on which Mr. Schechter has consulted and/or appeared as a Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli authority have included NBC's Dateline, ABC’s The View, 20/20, Good Morning, America, AMC’s Behind The Screen, A&E's Biography series, and E! Entertainment Television’s True Hollywood Story 2-hour special on Garland’s life and career -- which was critically acclaimed by TV Guide and USA Today. For this episode, which was one of the 15 highest-rated True Hollywood Story shows of that series' first 5 year and 200 episode run, Schechter served as Consulting Producer. The program and Schechter won a Gracie Award, and also a Prism Award nomination for best TV documentary. Schechter also contributed to E!'s 2 hour E! True Hollywood Story of the Year, 2002 on Minnelli, for which she videotaped a wraparound, giving the special her blessing. In addition, he contributed to A&E's 2 hour June 2004 Biography: Liza Minnelli, with which the star was involved, as well. Schechter also consulted on the 2006 Minnelli 2-hour Inside the Actor’s Studio.
For his marketing and P.R. efforts, Mr. Schechter has obtained the highest profile exposure for his clients. He has utilized media such as Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today, Fox News Channel, ABC Network, E! Entertainment, and TV Guide.
In 1998, Mr. Schechter co-produced what many consider the definitive audio overview of Garland’s career: the 4-CD box set entitled Judy, from 32 Records. The project spans the entire 40 years of her recorded legacy, from her earliest known recordings in 1929 at age 7, to one of her final appearances in 1969, just before her passing. Along with compiling the material for the compact discs from his archives of Garland’s work, he performed similar duties for the set’s 32-minute video and its 100-page book. This lavish set received rave reviews from the New York Times, People, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and the NY Post, which concluded its review by saying, “…music historian Scott Schechter’s essay is an excellent read and will earn him a nomination for the prestigious Grammy Award for best liner notes.”
Mr. Schechter’s liner notes on other Garland-Minnelli projects have been mentioned in USA Today, Billboard and the Los Angeles Times.
As a writer, his words on Garland and family have appeared in the Advocate, Show Music magazine, and three editorials printed in the New York Times (1994, 1998 and 2001).
In 2000, Mr. Schechter was instrumental in getting Garland's historic, Grammy Award winning Album Of The Year Judy at Carnegie Hall released complete and uncut – for the first time ever -- exactly as it happened on the night of April 23, 1961, as a deluxe 24-Karat Gold audiophile set.
Schechter’s other CD projects include Capitol Records’ Judy at Carnegie Hall: Fortieth Anniversary Edition, and that label’s 2-CD set of material he produced and compiled called Classic Judy Garland -- The Capitol Years (1955-1965); Collectables Records CDs (under license from Capitol) Miss Show Business/Judy, and Judy: That’s Entertainment!/I Could Go On Singing; S&P Records’ CD (under license from Capitol) : Judy in Love/Alone; Varese Saraband’s Engelebert Humperdinck: You Belong To My Heart; Hip-o Records / Universal Music’s Liza Minnelli: Ultimate Collection (which Miss Minnelli liked so much she mentioned it in her most recent concert souvenir program), and that label’s definitive audio compilation he produced and compiled of Garland’s TV series The Judy Garland Show: The Show That Got Away, which included legendary duets, plus solos and rare outtakes. For DRG Records/Koch Entertainment, he has produced and written the liner notes for the 2 CD set Liza Minnelli: The Complete Capitol Collection (released in July 2006, and containing all of Liza's 1963-1966 studio recordings for Capitol), the CD debut of Judy Garland: The Letter (released in March 2007), and the CD debut of Judy Garland at the Grove (released in March 2008, honoring the 50th Anniversary of the album's 1958 recording date) -- all licensed through Capitol Records. As such, aside from a few 1960s LP compilations, Schechter is responsible for the restoration and/or release of Garland's entire Capitol catalog that was not available on CD.
Mr. Schechter recently completed work on the project of which (along with the Judy box and the Carnegie reissues) he is proudest -- getting Garland’s long-lost 1963-64 TV series released to the public, in their entirety, for the first time. The Judy Garland Show DVDs have been an astounding success for Pioneer Entertainment and Classic World Productions. As well as being instrumental in getting the project green lighted by both companies, he has served as a consultant on the creative end (compiling the acclaimed Just Judy DVD of solo moments), and with the products marketing and P.R. -- which included crafting the advertising slogan The Show That Got Away. The 1999 holiday season release of The Judy Garland Show Collection DVD box set was honored with the Best Overall Presentation Award (non-theatrical) by the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). The latest DVDs from “the series of the series” include: The Judy Garland Show - Just Judy, The Judy Garland Show: Legends, and Judy Garland: Songs for America, from which the proceeds benefit the American Red Cross. Mr. Schechter conceived and compiled this project -- and supplied liner notes and consulting on the final five individual Judy Garland Show DVDs that were released from January through May 2006.
In June 2002, his book on Garland was published by Cooper Square Press / Rowman-Littlefield Publishing, to coincide with the icon’s 80th Birthday: Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend presents the world’s first and only chronicle of her life, with an emphasis on her career and legacy. Featured on the CBS-TV series The Late, Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and in Entertainment Weekly magazine, the reviews for Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend have been raves. Liz Smith called the book “impressive … a paean to Garland's professionalism and talents. It is beautifully produced and sure to thrill Judy's evergreen fans.” The LA Times stated, “…Scott Schechter's book proves how hard she (Garland) worked to overcome obstacles” ... Exhaustively researched.” Publisher’s Weekly noted, “…it is sure to have enormous appeal as a reference tome and have multiple uses for trivia buffs…,” and Robert Osborne of the Hollywood Reporter devoted his entire column to the book, raving “almost overwhelming in its detail, Schechter's research is as thorough as a Nobel scientist...It's the most complete retrospective yet published on a celebrity.” While the hardcover version remains in print, the soft cover edition was released in November 2006 by Taylor Trade Publishing.
Mr. Schechter's latest book was published in November 2004 by Citadel Press / Kensington Publishing Corp: The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is a full-color book containing well over 200 rare images, and is the first time a book has focused exclusively on Minnelli's career, not her personal life. The book has been critically acclaimed and featured in Liz Smith’s column, in the Hollywood Reporter, Page Six in the NY Post, and on Playbill online. Schechter and the book were also included on the NBC network TV series Dateline NBC. The book has been sold alongside Liza’s CDs and DVDs at various concerts, such as her Las Vegas engagements. Liza's own musical arranger Billy Stritch supplied the book's foreword, and Minnelli herself praised it as “the only official one, the only one that counts.” (Minnelli allowed Schechter to announce her return to films with her appearance in The OH in Ohio at his book party for Scrapbook, resulting in his appearance on Page Six in the NY Post.)
In June 2005, Schechter made his second appearance at the annual Judy Garland Festival in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where he became the first and only Garland-Minnelli authority to receive the Judy Garland Museum’s Achievement Award for all he has done to restore and release Judy Garland's body of work.
Schechter’s latest project is the November 25th, 2008 release of the 2-CD set Liza Minnelli: The COMPLETE A&M RECORDINGS (Collector’s Choice Music, licensed through Universal Music, owners of the A&M catalog). This is the CD debut of Liza’s entire A&M output – including the stereo debut of her one single for the label (“Frank Mills”), and seven never-before-heard outtakes. Schechter produced, conceived, compiled, supervised the mastering in 24-bit, and wrote the liners for this release. On its street date, the set appeared on the CBS Early Show.
In March 2006, on Liza Minnelli's 60th Birthday, Schechter launched her official U.S. website, at the icon's request. OfficialLizaMinnelli.com features all the latest news on Liza's legendary career, as well as personal messages from the superstar. The site has been featured in many media outlets, including Entertainment Tonight.
Schechter is honored to be the managing director of Liza Minnelli's official site, as he continues to work on preserving and presenting the vast catalogs of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.
(November 2008)
Scott Schechter has devoted over a quarter of a century to researching the lives and careers of both Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, earning his status as the premier Garland-Minnelli authority.
His research and devotion have led to his working with many of the companies that continue to release Garland-Minnelli material, including Capitol Records and Pioneer Entertainment/Classic World Productions, Inc. His expertise as a Garland-Minnelli historian has been acknowledged by his television and radio appearances; as a source in P.R. functions; and in dealing with media, including NY Post columnist Liz Smith.
Mr. Schechter is perhaps proudest of his role as archivist, which has led to the uncovering and releasing of rare or lost material.
Television programs on which Mr. Schechter has consulted and/or appeared as a Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli authority have included NBC's Dateline, ABC’s The View, 20/20, Good Morning, America, AMC’s Behind The Screen, A&E's Biography series, and E! Entertainment Television’s True Hollywood Story 2-hour special on Garland’s life and career -- which was critically acclaimed by TV Guide and USA Today. For this episode, which was one of the 15 highest-rated True Hollywood Story shows of that series' first 5 year and 200 episode run, Schechter served as Consulting Producer. The program and Schechter won a Gracie Award, and also a Prism Award nomination for best TV documentary. Schechter also contributed to E!'s 2 hour E! True Hollywood Story of the Year, 2002 on Minnelli, for which she videotaped a wraparound, giving the special her blessing. In addition, he contributed to A&E's 2 hour June 2004 Biography: Liza Minnelli, with which the star was involved, as well. Schechter also consulted on the 2006 Minnelli 2-hour Inside the Actor’s Studio.
For his marketing and P.R. efforts, Mr. Schechter has obtained the highest profile exposure for his clients. He has utilized media such as Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today, Fox News Channel, ABC Network, E! Entertainment, and TV Guide.
In 1998, Mr. Schechter co-produced what many consider the definitive audio overview of Garland’s career: the 4-CD box set entitled Judy, from 32 Records. The project spans the entire 40 years of her recorded legacy, from her earliest known recordings in 1929 at age 7, to one of her final appearances in 1969, just before her passing. Along with compiling the material for the compact discs from his archives of Garland’s work, he performed similar duties for the set’s 32-minute video and its 100-page book. This lavish set received rave reviews from the New York Times, People, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and the NY Post, which concluded its review by saying, “…music historian Scott Schechter’s essay is an excellent read and will earn him a nomination for the prestigious Grammy Award for best liner notes.”
Mr. Schechter’s liner notes on other Garland-Minnelli projects have been mentioned in USA Today, Billboard and the Los Angeles Times.
As a writer, his words on Garland and family have appeared in the Advocate, Show Music magazine, and three editorials printed in the New York Times (1994, 1998 and 2001).
In 2000, Mr. Schechter was instrumental in getting Garland's historic, Grammy Award winning Album Of The Year Judy at Carnegie Hall released complete and uncut – for the first time ever -- exactly as it happened on the night of April 23, 1961, as a deluxe 24-Karat Gold audiophile set.
Schechter’s other CD projects include Capitol Records’ Judy at Carnegie Hall: Fortieth Anniversary Edition, and that label’s 2-CD set of material he produced and compiled called Classic Judy Garland -- The Capitol Years (1955-1965); Collectables Records CDs (under license from Capitol) Miss Show Business/Judy, and Judy: That’s Entertainment!/I Could Go On Singing; S&P Records’ CD (under license from Capitol) : Judy in Love/Alone; Varese Saraband’s Engelebert Humperdinck: You Belong To My Heart; Hip-o Records / Universal Music’s Liza Minnelli: Ultimate Collection (which Miss Minnelli liked so much she mentioned it in her most recent concert souvenir program), and that label’s definitive audio compilation he produced and compiled of Garland’s TV series The Judy Garland Show: The Show That Got Away, which included legendary duets, plus solos and rare outtakes. For DRG Records/Koch Entertainment, he has produced and written the liner notes for the 2 CD set Liza Minnelli: The Complete Capitol Collection (released in July 2006, and containing all of Liza's 1963-1966 studio recordings for Capitol), the CD debut of Judy Garland: The Letter (released in March 2007), and the CD debut of Judy Garland at the Grove (released in March 2008, honoring the 50th Anniversary of the album's 1958 recording date) -- all licensed through Capitol Records. As such, aside from a few 1960s LP compilations, Schechter is responsible for the restoration and/or release of Garland's entire Capitol catalog that was not available on CD.
Mr. Schechter recently completed work on the project of which (along with the Judy box and the Carnegie reissues) he is proudest -- getting Garland’s long-lost 1963-64 TV series released to the public, in their entirety, for the first time. The Judy Garland Show DVDs have been an astounding success for Pioneer Entertainment and Classic World Productions. As well as being instrumental in getting the project green lighted by both companies, he has served as a consultant on the creative end (compiling the acclaimed Just Judy DVD of solo moments), and with the products marketing and P.R. -- which included crafting the advertising slogan The Show That Got Away. The 1999 holiday season release of The Judy Garland Show Collection DVD box set was honored with the Best Overall Presentation Award (non-theatrical) by the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). The latest DVDs from “the series of the series” include: The Judy Garland Show - Just Judy, The Judy Garland Show: Legends, and Judy Garland: Songs for America, from which the proceeds benefit the American Red Cross. Mr. Schechter conceived and compiled this project -- and supplied liner notes and consulting on the final five individual Judy Garland Show DVDs that were released from January through May 2006.
In June 2002, his book on Garland was published by Cooper Square Press / Rowman-Littlefield Publishing, to coincide with the icon’s 80th Birthday: Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend presents the world’s first and only chronicle of her life, with an emphasis on her career and legacy. Featured on the CBS-TV series The Late, Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and in Entertainment Weekly magazine, the reviews for Judy Garland: The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend have been raves. Liz Smith called the book “impressive … a paean to Garland's professionalism and talents. It is beautifully produced and sure to thrill Judy's evergreen fans.” The LA Times stated, “…Scott Schechter's book proves how hard she (Garland) worked to overcome obstacles” ... Exhaustively researched.” Publisher’s Weekly noted, “…it is sure to have enormous appeal as a reference tome and have multiple uses for trivia buffs…,” and Robert Osborne of the Hollywood Reporter devoted his entire column to the book, raving “almost overwhelming in its detail, Schechter's research is as thorough as a Nobel scientist...It's the most complete retrospective yet published on a celebrity.” While the hardcover version remains in print, the soft cover edition was released in November 2006 by Taylor Trade Publishing.
Mr. Schechter's latest book was published in November 2004 by Citadel Press / Kensington Publishing Corp: The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is a full-color book containing well over 200 rare images, and is the first time a book has focused exclusively on Minnelli's career, not her personal life. The book has been critically acclaimed and featured in Liz Smith’s column, in the Hollywood Reporter, Page Six in the NY Post, and on Playbill online. Schechter and the book were also included on the NBC network TV series Dateline NBC. The book has been sold alongside Liza’s CDs and DVDs at various concerts, such as her Las Vegas engagements. Liza's own musical arranger Billy Stritch supplied the book's foreword, and Minnelli herself praised it as “the only official one, the only one that counts.” (Minnelli allowed Schechter to announce her return to films with her appearance in The OH in Ohio at his book party for Scrapbook, resulting in his appearance on Page Six in the NY Post.)
In June 2005, Schechter made his second appearance at the annual Judy Garland Festival in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where he became the first and only Garland-Minnelli authority to receive the Judy Garland Museum’s Achievement Award for all he has done to restore and release Judy Garland's body of work.
Schechter’s latest project is the November 25th, 2008 release of the 2-CD set Liza Minnelli: The COMPLETE A&M RECORDINGS (Collector’s Choice Music, licensed through Universal Music, owners of the A&M catalog). This is the CD debut of Liza’s entire A&M output – including the stereo debut of her one single for the label (“Frank Mills”), and seven never-before-heard outtakes. Schechter produced, conceived, compiled, supervised the mastering in 24-bit, and wrote the liners for this release. On its street date, the set appeared on the CBS Early Show.
In March 2006, on Liza Minnelli's 60th Birthday, Schechter launched her official U.S. website, at the icon's request. OfficialLizaMinnelli.com features all the latest news on Liza's legendary career, as well as personal messages from the superstar. The site has been featured in many media outlets, including Entertainment Tonight.
Schechter is honored to be the managing director of Liza Minnelli's official site, as he continues to work on preserving and presenting the vast catalogs of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli.
(November 2008)
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