Cabaret - SOUNDTRACK****

Wilkommen/Mein Herr/Two Ladies/Maybe This Time/Sitting Pretty/Tiller Girls/Money Money/Heiraten/If You Could See Her/Tomorrow Belongs To Me/Cabaret/Finale

Cabaret was set in a Berlin nightclub during the Weimar republic and reflects the decadence of the period. Based on the Broadway musical it stars Liza Minnelli with support from Joel Grey and Michael York. Music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb. (US:25 UK:13)

“The performances here are ever so grand. Joel Grey, the wisecracking master of ceremonies with the over-the-top and put-on German accent, sings the majority of the songs here, my favourite of which is If You Could See Her. Oddly, it's the most romantic song on the whole album and it really pulls on your heart strings.”

“Whoever said this album had a sinister tone is surely correct. Every song on here has a certain mocking edge to it, and all you really want is for Joel and Liza to leave you alone, but they insult you with every mock-German accented word that comes out of their mouths, and the band teases you with every blow of the horns.”

“Probably my all-time favourite musical. Liza Minelli is amazing and should have gone on to much greater things. There is hardly anything but good tunes on it and Joel Gray is something else again.”

“There's something sinister about this album. Its songs scare me while I listen, then taunt me for hours afterwards. I'm not sure the album merits excellence for this, but its production values certainly do.”

“Never have I listened to one LP in which every song is utterly brilliant, enjoyable and wonderfully crafted, performed by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, whose talent I commend. Liza sings with emotion and energy that she is a joy to listen to. If I had to choose the two best songs, I would say Cabaret and Tomorrow Belongs To Me.

“Liza is fantastic, the music is fun and energy packed, as it builds up towards the end where she is utterly explosive, as in Mein Herr and Maybe This Time.”

“This soundtrack is absolutely perfect. I consider the movie the highlight of Liza Minnelli's career. It starts with Joel Grey's Wilkommen, after which Sally Bowles is introduced and lets rip with Mein Herr. Two Ladies is risqué and very funny, while Maybe This Time is a sad love song. Money Money is energetic and very funny while Heiraten sounds like a real period piece, a German love song from the 1930s