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This page is devoted to Liza Minnelli's tenth studio album, Tropical Nights.
Tropical Nights was recorded during late January of 1977 at Hollywood Sound Recorders and Western Studio One. It was released by Columbia Records in July 1977 as LP #PC 34887. It was produced by Rik Pekkonen and Steve March for Waylentsote Productions. The album was also engineered and mixed by Rik Pekkonen, and was arranged by Jim Grady. Bernie Grundman mastered the album at A & M Studios. The album design was by Nancy Donald, and the photography was by Reid Miles. There was also a CD re-issue in February of 2002 by DRG Records under license from Sony and distributed by Koch International, #91469. The total runtime on the album is only 35:18.
The liner notes read as follows:
Drums: Denny Seiwell
Bass: Rex Robinson
Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano and Oberheim 4 voice synthesizer: Robbie Robinson
Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano: Jim Grady
Guitar: Caleb Quaye, Richie Zito, Steve Morse (Lead on "When It Comes Down To It")
Vibes and Marimba: Victor Feldman
Percussion: Paulinho da Costa
Harp: Gayle Levant
Background Vocals: "The Waters"
Thunder: Rik Pekkonen
The Steve March Band performed "I Love Every Little Thing About You"
Drums: Lynn Hammann
Bass: Rex Robinson
Percussion: Chuck Wilson
Saxes: Charlie Black, Tom Yaeh
Trumpet: Mark Hatch
Vocals: Steve March
Horns
Saxes
Paul Novros, Charlie Black, Plas Johnson, Jackie Kelso
Trombones
Lew McCreary, Slyde Hyde
Trumpets
Steve Madaio, Chuck Findley
The Sid Sharp Strings
The Steve March Chorus: "I'm Your New Best Friend"
Steve March, Tom Ruben, Rich Cassabone, Mark McKinniss, Chuck Wilson, Fuzzy Jacobs, Rex Robinson, Charlie Black, Jim Grady
String Arrangements: Jim Grady
Horn Arrangements: S. March, Robbie Robinson, C. Black
Contracting: Kathy Kasper
Inner Sleeve Photos: Steve March
Cover Concept: J. Grady, S. Marsh, R. Pekkonen
Special Thanks To:
Don Ellis, Deanna Wenble, Bruce Botnick, John McClure, Nancy Donald, Tony Zetland, Dave Miller, Bob Schreiner, Sidney Gellerott, Connie, Saul, Lisa, Martin and Jack.
Steve Morse appears courtesy of the Dixie Dregs and Capricorn Records.
Victor Feldman appears courtesy of the L.A. Express and Caribou Records.
Paulinho da Costa appears courtesy of Pablo Records.
34887 ©1977 CBS Inc.
(Photos from the liner notes sleeve. Click thumbnails to enlarge.)
Her first studio album in four years, by the time this album was released during the summer of 1977, Liza was a busy woman indeed. She'd just finished the film New York, New York (which hit theaters only a month before the release of Tropical Nights), and was preparing to debut in the Broadway show The Act that October. She had virtually no time whatsoever to promote the album herself, and Columbia had little to no incentive to do the job for her. As such, it essentially got swept under the rug and quickly forgotten. Which is a shame, because Liza had dared to venture once again into new genres on this album. This time, she explored disco and funk. Some fans loved this and still to this day consider this album to be amongst her best studio work; others hated it and wished she'd return to her usual showtune standards. One avertisement put it best:
"Tropical Nights. Liza, With A Difference. It's Liza all right. There's no doubt about that. But with a difference. On "Tropical Nights," her first studio album in over three years, she does what we expect from Liza. She's still the gutsiest interpreter of standards and classics there is. But she understands how to go other places. She's made some very new material hers and hers alone."
Variety wrote: "Liza Minnelli has a new sparkler. Most of the tunes are bright and uptempo, but she also has a way with a couple of gentle ones that wind the second side. Minnelli, who's at her peak, has a big one here."
However, the album sold so poorly in America that for decades afterwards, it was considered one of the largest embarassments of Liza's career and was only available in Japan until the 2002 CD re-release.
The following is an interview with Mark Winkler, composer of the title track from the album:
The first song I ever had recorded was a song I’d written called TROPICAL NIGHTS. I had originally written it as a little show biz shuffle- and it was by far the best song I had written up to that point. Well some of the other candidates were KING KONG and something called LOVE STAINS (hell, I was young!) so there wasn’t a lot of competition.
I was working as a waiter at this crazy restaurant in Beverly Hills and Steve March Torme would always be coming in- he was Mel Torme’s son and a very talented singer-songwriter. He knew that I sang and wrote songs too, so one day he informed me that he was producing an album for Liza Minnelli and did I have any songs she might like. Well, I thought my song sort of being an old fashioned ditty was just the ticket for Liza. I remember making him a cassette (remember those?) and then not hearing anything back from him. Nothing unusual about that, In those days, with my three or four songs I never heard anything back from anyone–-
Until one starry night this musician friend of mine called me up at midnight and said Liza Minnelli was doing my song TROPICAL NIGHTS right that minute with a 30 piece orchestra in Hollywood– and it was fabulous! So fabulous that it was going to be the title of her new album. Well, let me put this in context, Liza had just finished NEW YORK, NEW YORK and was one of the biggest stars on the planet and I’m living in a single apartment somewhere above the Capitol Records Bldg - my apartment was so small, everynight when I went to sleep my head was just inches from the front door. So I was pretty excited!
Later, from my friend I learned that they’d turned my little 3 minute shuffle into a 6 and a half minute disco extravaganza with a rainstorm, a conga line and the melody of BALI HAI opening it all up. The label read (Winkler/Rodgers/Hammerstein)– But in the tradition of Hollywood I didn’t hear anything back from Liza or Steve March Torme for two months. In the meantime, I had been working with this wonderful publisher who was starting up a new publishing company and was desperate for some credibility. So when I told him Liza had just recorded my tune, he plopped $500 on the desk in front of me, and he said that I could have the money if I gave him half the publishing. Well, remember at the time I was living on Tuna casseroles and diet cokes, so faster than you can say Bob Fosse I took him up on the offer. Good thing I did– because the record label tried to get my publishing saying they were “thinking” of putting my song on the album. We knew they’d already spent $65,000 hiring ace photographer Reid Miles to create the whole world of Tropical Nights for the album cover so were not dissuaded. But it was nice to have some Hollywood muscle backing me up.
Well, the album came out- it didn’t set the world on fire– but it was a smash at Studio 54 and because it was Liza for years afterwords it was sung by every drag queen from Studio City to Tokyo! And it was featured in an infamous Oscar Nite special with Cheryl Ladd and Ben Vereen- that is like some crazy out take from a Village People meets Bob Fosse video. Thru the years there was a revue that played in Australia that featured it, and it was even done as a ballet by a prestigious NY dance company! Wow!
(Follow the link to listen to Mark's original demo of the title track!)
1. Jimi Jimi (Jim Grady)
2. When It Comes Down To It (Minnie Riperton/Richard Rudolph)
3. I Love Every Little Thing About You (Stevie Wonder)
4. Easy (Jim Grady)
5. I'm Your New Best Friend (Jim Grady/Dave Miller)
1. Tropical Nights/Bali Ha'i (Oscar Hammerstein II/Richard Rodgers/Mark Winkler)
2. Take Me Through/I Could Come To Love You (Jim Grady)
3. Come Home Babe (Jim Grady)
4. A Beautiful Thing (Jim Grady)
