There Is a Time
Studio album by Liza Minnelli
Released	November 21, 1966
Recorded	April–May 1966
Studio	Capitol, New York City
Genre	Pop,vocal,traditional
Label	Capitol
Producer	Marvin Holtzman
Liza Minnelli chronology
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (1965) There Is a Time (1966) Liza Minnelli (1968)
Singles from There Is a Time
"I Who Have Nothing" Released: October 24, 1966

There Is a Time is the third studio album byAmerican singer and actressLiza Minnelli, released byCapitol Records in November 1966. The album marked her final collaboration with the label and followed her growing success on Broadway and in television. Conceived during a period when Minnelli was establishing herself as both a stage and nightclub performer, the project reflected an effort to refine her musical direction within a shifting popular music landscape.

The album is notable for its focus on French repertoire, with selections fromCharles Aznavour,Jacques Brel, andMichel Legrand, complemented by other European songs and standards with French associations. Arranged and conducted byRay Ellis, the sessions took place at Capitol’s New York studio in the spring of 1966. Despite critical attention at the time of release, the album did not appear on any charts, though it received an "honorable mention" fromHiFi/Stereo Review in its 1967 Record of the Year Awards and has since been reissued in various formats, including remastered editions in the 2000s.

By the time she began work on her third album, Liza Minnelli's career had transformed dramatically since her debut. In the 21 months between albums, she had become a Broadway star, winning a Tony Award forFlora the Red Menace, launched a successful nightclub act, and starred in a television special. However, her recording career had not yet found commercial traction, with her previous albums performing moderately. Signed to Capitol Records, she was initially positioned as a successor to her mother,Judy Garland, and a rival toBarbra Streisand, but the mid-60s music landscape, dominated by the British Invasion, presented a significant challenge for a performer of her style.^[1]

ForThere Is a Time, Minnelli shifted her musical direction, creating what would be characterized as her "French album".^[2] She moved on from arrangerPeter Matz, who had worked on her first two albums, and hiredRay Ellis, who was concurrently Barbra Streisand's arranger. Together, they curated a repertoire focused predominantly on the works of seminal French songwriters likeCharles Aznavour,Jacques Brel, andMichel Legrand.^[2] The selection also included the Italian song "I (Who Have Nothing)" and standards with French connections, such as "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise".^[1]

The recordings took place at Capitol's studio in New York from April to May 2, 1966.^[3] The production is by Marvin Holtzman, and the arrangements and conducting are by Ray Ellis.^[4] Minnelli recorded songs by Jacques Brel years before the Off-Broadway revueJacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris would popularize his work in America. Furthermore, the song "M'Lord" was noted for sounding like a clear precursor to "Mein Herr," whichJohn Kander andFred Ebb would later write for her iconic role in the filmCabaret.^[1]

The release took place under the label ofCapitol Records in November 1966, being her last one to be released by the record company.^[5]

On November 5, 1966, theBillboard magazine included it in the list of releases for that month.^[6] As a form of promotion, asingle was sent to theradios. It included the songs "I Who Have Nothing" and "Middle Of The Street,"^[7] with the first song originally being recorded inItalian.^[1]

In 2006,DRG Records releasedThe Complete Capitol Collectioncompact disc (CD), which featured the album remixed and remastered in 24-bit from the original multi-track session tapes. According to producer Scott Schechter, this process removed a layer of reverb present on the original vinyl, resulting in a cleaner, warmer, and brighter sound that gives Liza's voice greater presence, as if she were singing directly to the listener in the same room.^[8]

In 2009, EMI Gold included the album in the double-CD compilation titledFinest (catalog no. 50999 6 98870 2 4). The tracks from this album were mastered from the original two-track stereo tapes used by Capitol to produce the vinyl records, with the goal of presenting the recordings in a digital format exactly as they were originally released.^[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]

Billboard magazine, in a contemporary review, highlighted the album as Minnelli's "most powerful album entry to date," noting that it signaled the artist had "come of age." The review praised the high quality of the vocal performances and arrangements, particularly citing the "exceptionally moving" rendition of "The Days of the Waltz" and the "rousing" "One of Those Songs." The publication concluded that the album was "definitely a winner—artistically and commercially."^[10]

Rex Reed ofHiFi/Stereo Review hailed it as the album where Liza Minnelli fully matured into "one of the most brilliant performers of the century." He praised her newfound vocal control and the emotional depth she brought to the material, noting that the heartbreak in her voice felt authentic, as she "brings a new balance and a new control that were sadly lacking before." Reed was profoundly moved by the album, stating that he played it "ten times before I was able to summon any kind of decorum that would allow me to write about it without total hysteria." He singled out her performances on "I Who Am Nothing" and "See the Old Man" as particularly heartbreaking, and described the arrangements by Ray Ellis as "stunningly brilliant." Ultimately, Reed concluded that "what Liza gives to her audience is the best in herself," calling the album a "colossal triumph."^[11]

In a review forHigh Fidelity, Morgan Ames conceded that Liza Minnelli appeared to be "singing a little better" on this album, with "a bit less gasping [and] grating than usual," a improvement possibly influenced by her association with Charles Aznavour. However, the critic contended that she still had not gotten "all the way through a song without giving it a punch in the belly" and expressed doubt that she understood what she was singing about. The review concluded with a skeptical, "But something's stirring. Let's see where she is five albums from now."^[12]

Record World noted the album's "très français" character, with its selections of songs by Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, and Michel Legrand, and wrote that Minnelli "gets her vowels and consonants in an uproar on this package," concluding that "Liza's fans are growing."^[13]

TheSt. Petersburg Times, in a review written by Chick Ober, praisedThere Is a Time as clear proof that Liza Minnelli was emerging as more than just Judy Garland's daughter, noting her fiery vocal talent and growing maturity as a performer. Ober emphasized that Minnelli was establishing herself as a star in her own right and highlighted several standout numbers from the album, particularly "Stairway to Paradise," "There Is a Time," "One of Those Songs," and "Watch What Happens."^[14]

In a retrospective review, William Ruhlmann of AllMusic consideredThere Is a Time a high-quality album, arguing that its "French" repertoire was perfectly suited to Minnelli's romantic and bravura style. He concluded that, the performance by the 20-year-old singer was that of an "old pro" on a well-chosen set of songs.^[1]

In its 1967 Record of the Year Awards,HiFi/Stereo Review granted an "Honorable Mention" to Liza Minnelli for her albumThere Is a Time in the popular category, which was awarded toMireille Mathieu'sThe Fabulous New French Singing Star album (Atlantic, catalog no. 8127). The prize recognized purely artistic achievements, selected by the magazine's critics based on the intrinsic merit of the works, independent of commercial success. The results were published in the February 1968 issue of the magazine.^[15]

The album did not appear on any charts, and contemporary sources have attributed this to the dominance of rock and roll among American record buyers at the time.^[2]

Credits adapted from liner notes ofThere Is a Time LP (Capitol, catalog no. ST-2448).

• Arranged By, Conductor – Ray Ellis
• Liner Notes – Charles Aznavour
• Producer – Marvin Holtzman

• Liza Minnelli albums
• 1966 albums
• Capitol Records albums
• Albums arranged by Ray Ellis
• Albums conducted by Ray Ellis

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