Laura Nyro | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Laura Nyro was one of pop musics true originals: A brilliant and innovative composer, her songs found greater commercial success in the hands of other performers, but her own records -- intricate, haunting works highlighting her singularly powerful vocal phrasing, evocative lyrics, and alchemical fusion of gospel, soul, folk, and jazz structures -- remain her definitive artistic legacy. The daughter of a jazz trumpeter, she was born Laura Nigro on October 18, 1947, and composed her first songs at the age of eight. After attending Manhattans famed High School of Music and Art, she began performing in area clubs, drawing on influences as diverse as Bob Dylan and John Coltrane. In 1967, Nyro issued her first LP, More Than a New Discovery; though commercially unsuccessful, the album was a treasure trove of material for other artists -- the Fifth Dimension scored with "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowin Away," Barbra Streisand covered "Stoney End," and Blood, Sweat & Tears tackled "And When I Die." In 1967, Nyro made just her second major live appearance to date at the Monterey Pop Festival, where her idiosyncratic performance baffled the crowd. However, David Geffen -- a music agent at the time -- caught her set and was so impressed that he quit his current position to become her manager. He also won Nyro a contract with Columbia, and in 1968 she returned with the extraordinary Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. While the album earned vast critical acclaim, she again found commercial success not with her own recordings, but with covers of Elis songs, as the Fifth Dimension reached the charts with renditions of "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness," while "Elis Comin" became a major hit for Three Dog Night. New York Tendaberry, released in 1969, fared better thanks to the strong word of mouth now trailing her work; the records "Time and Love" and "Save the Country" soon emerged as two of her most well-regarded and popular songs. With 1970s Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, she continued her exploration of soul music, enlisting Muscle Shoals staples like Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, and Eddie Hinton; "Beads of Sweat" also featured guitar work from Duane Allman. Gonna Take a Miracle, recorded with Labelle and the production team of Gamble & Huff, marked a dramatic left turn in 1971; Nyros lone album of non-original material, it featured her tributes to Motown ("Jimmy Mack," "Nowhere to Run"), doo wop ("The Bells," "Spanish Harlem"), and the girl group era ("I Met Him on a Sunday"). At the age of 24, Nyro announced her retirement; she married, severed her industry connections, and moved to a small community in New England. However, the marriage ended in divorce, and in 1976 she resurfaced with Smile; a subsequent tour yielded the 1977 live set Season of Lights. However, the long layoff derailed whatever chart momentum her music had accrued, and after the dismal sales of 1978s Nested, she again retreated from the music business. When Nyro finally returned from her self-imposed exile in 1984 with Mothers Spiritual, her music had grown more reserved and introspective; as the title indicated, her own motherhood provided considerable inspiration for her new work, as did her rustic New England lifestyle. While she did not make any overt declarations of retirement, Nyro waited another five years before issuing her next LP, Live at the Bottom Line, recorded at the legendary New York club; Walk the Dog & Light the Light, her first collection of new material in nearly a decade, followed in 1993. Four years later, Nyro died of ovarian cancer, on April 8, 1997. A posthumous album, Angel in the Dark, was issued in 2001, and several additional live recordings also surfaced. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 23 Title: Original Album Classics Released: Tracks: 60 Duration: 3:46:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Luckie (03:03) 2 Lu (02:47) 3 Sweet Blindness (02:42) 4 Poverty Train (04:17) 5 Lonely Women (03:36) 6 Elis Coming (03:58) 7 Timer (03:26) 8 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:49) 9 Emmie (04:24) 10 Womans Blues (03:48) 11 Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe) (03:01) 12 December’s Boudoir (05:10) 13 The Confession (02:50) 14 Lu (demo) (02:39) 15 Stoned Soul Picnic (demo) (03:39) 16 Emmie (demo) (04:25) 1 You Dont Love Me When I Cry (04:19) 2 Captain for Dark Mornings (04:33) 3 Tom Cat Goodby (05:26) 4 Mercy on Broadway (02:12) 5 Save the Country (04:32) 6 Gibsom Street (04:42) 7 Time and Love (04:19) 8 The Man Who Sends Me Home (02:47) 9 Sweet Lovin Baby (03:50) 10 Captain Saint Lucifer (03:13) 11 New York Tendaberry (05:33) 12 Save the Country (single version) (02:26) 13 In the Country Way (02:10) 1 Brown Earth (04:11) 2 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (02:44) 3 Blackpatch (03:36) 4 Been on a Train (05:51) 5 Up on the Roof (03:15) 6 Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp (05:34) 7 Map to the Treasure (08:10) 8 Beads of Sweat (04:49) 9 Christmas in My Soul (06:59) 1 I Met Him on a Sunday (01:50) 2 The Bells (02:59) 3 Monkey Time / Dancing in the Street (04:57) 4 Desiree (01:52) 5 You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me (04:07) 6 Spanish Harlem (02:52) 7 Jimmy Mack (02:56) 8 The Wind (02:58) 9 Nowhere to Run (05:08) 10 It’s Gonna Take a Miracle (03:24) 11 Aint Nothing Like the Real Thing (00:59) 12 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (03:01) 13 O-o-h Child (01:30) 14 Up on the Roof (03:11) 1 Sexy Mama (02:42) 2 Children of the Junks (02:50) 3 Money (04:59) 4 I Am the Blues (05:45) 5 Stormy Love (04:32) 6 The Cat-Song (02:35) 7 Midnite Blue (03:07) 8 Smile (05:36) |
 | Album: 2 of 23 Title: The First Songs Released: 1966 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wedding Bell Blues (02:44) 2 Billys Blues (03:20) 3 California Shoeshine Boys (02:45) 4 Blowing Away (02:23) 5 Lazy Susan (03:53) 6 Good by Joe (02:38) 7 Flim Flam Man (02:29) 8 Stoney End (02:46) 9 I Never Meant to Hurt You (02:52) 10 Hes a Runner (03:40) 11 Buy and Sell (03:38) 12 And When I Die (02:40) |
| The First Songs : Allmusic album Review : This disc contains a dozen of the first songs that singer/songwriter Laura Nyro ever recorded. They were issued originally as More Than a New Discovery (1967) for the folkie Forecast division of the primarily jazz-oriented Verve Records label. When Columbia Records bought Nyros back catalog, they reissued the material under the title The First Songs in 1973 as a stopgap release during her self-imposed exile from 1971 until 1976. Pop music enthusiasts will recognize many of the songs, as they became international hits for other artists. "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowing Away" are signature tunes for the Fifth Dimension. "And When I Die" likewise became best known by Blood, Sweat & Tears. "Stoney End" and "I Never Meant to Hurt You" both are notable from Barbra Streisands respective cover versions. For The First Songs, Nyro is accompanied by a small pop combo. Her duality as composer and performer demonstrate her influence from pop musics golden Tin Pan Alley to the more modern Brill Building style. Nyros ability to synthesize the introspection of a classic torch ballad with an undeniable intimacy inherent in her lyrics is evident on "Buy and Sell," as well as "Billys Blues" -- which both exemplify her uncanny marriage of jazz within a uniquely pop music structure. Also immediately discernable is that these tunes were far from simplistic, dealing with the organic elements that tether all of humanity, such as love, death, loss, and even redemption. While artists such as Tim Buckley and Joni Mitchell were attempting to do the same, much of their early catalog is considerably less focused in comparison. For example, "Lazy Susan" incorporates the same acoustic noir that would become the centerpiece of her future epics "Gibsom Street" and the title track to New York Tendaberry. There are a few differences between this release and More Than a New Discovery. In addition to altering the title and cover art, The First Songs revises the running order and renames "Hands Off the Man" to "Flim Flam Man." Beginning in 2002, Sony/Legacy commenced an exhaustive overhaul of Nyros classic 70s albums. In addition to remastered sound, newly incorporated artwork, and liner notes, the series also boasts "bonus tracks" where applicable. Both casual listeners, as well as seasoned connoisseurs, can find much to discover and rediscover on these seminal sides from Laura Nyro. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 23 Title: More Than a New Discovery Released: 1967-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Goodbye Joe (02:38) 2 Billys Blues (03:20) 3 And When I Die (02:40) 4 Stoney End (02:46) 5 Lazy Susan (03:53) 6 Hands Off the Man (02:29) 7 Wedding Bell Blues (02:44) 8 Buy and Sell (03:38) 9 Hes a Runner (03:40) 10 Blowin Away (02:23) 11 I Never Meant to Hurt You (02:52) 12 California Shoeshine Boys (02:45) |
| More Than a New Discovery : Allmusic album Review : These 12 sides represent singer/songwriter Laura Nyros earliest professional recordings. More Than a New Discovery was originally issued on the Folkways label in conjunction with Verve Records in early 1967. The contents were subsequently reissued as The First Songs in 1969 after she began to garner national exposure with her first two LPs for Columbia -- Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), respectively. Many of these titles became international hits for some of the early 70s most prominent pop music vocalists and bands. Among them, "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowing Away" were covered by the Fifth Dimension. "And When I Die" became one of Blood, Sweat & Tears signature pieces. Likewise, "Stoney End," as well as "I Never Meant to Hurt You," are both arguably best known via Barbra Streisands renditions. Accompanied by a small pop combo, Nyros prowess as both composer and performer are evidence that she was a disciple of both Tin Pan Alley as well as the Brill Building writers. Additionally, Nyro was able to blend the introspection of a classic torch ballad with an undeniable intimacy inherent in her lyrics. "Buy and Sell," as well as "Billys Blues," exemplify her marriage of jazz motifs within a uniquely pop music structure. Also immediately discernible is that these were far from simplistic, dealing with the organic elements that tether all of humanity, such as love, death, loss, and even redemption. While artists such as Tim Buckley and Joni Mitchell were attempting to do the same, much of their early catalog is considerably less focused in comparison. For example, "Lazy Susan" incorporates the same acoustic noir that would become the centerpiece of her future epics "Gibsom Street" and the title track to New York Tendaberry. There are a few differences worth noting when comparing More Than a New Discovery and First Songs. After Columbia Records bought Nyro out of her contract with Verve/Forecast, they also issued this collection in 1973 as First Songs, boasting a revised running order, as well as a title change from "Hands Off the Man" -- as listed here -- to "Flim Flam Man." Beginning in 2002, Sony/Legacy began an exhaustive overhaul of Nyros classic 70s albums. In addition to remastered sound and newly incorporated artwork and liner notes, the series also boasts "bonus tracks" where applicable. Both casual listeners, as well as seasoned connoisseurs, can find much to discover and rediscover on these seminal sides from Laura Nyro. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 23 Title: Eli and the Thirteenth Confession Released: 1968 Tracks: 13 Duration: 47:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Luckie (03:03) 2 Lu (02:47) 3 Sweet Blindness (02:42) 4 Poverty Train (04:21) 5 Lonely Women (03:36) 6 Elis Comin (04:00) 7 Timer (03:26) 8 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:50) 9 Emmie (04:24) 10 Womans Blues (03:48) 11 Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe) (03:01) 12 Decembers Boudoir (05:10) 13 The Confession (02:49) |
| Eli and the Thirteenth Confession : Allmusic album Review : Nyro peaked early, and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, just her second album, remains her best. Its not only because it contains the original versions of no less than three songs that were big hits for other artists: "Sweet Blindness" (covered by the 5th Dimension), "Stoned Soul Picnic" (also covered by the 5th Dimension), and "Elis Comin" (done by Three Dog Night). Its not even just because those three songs are so outstanding. Its because the album as a whole is so outstanding, with its invigorating blend of blue-eyed soul, New York pop, and early confessional singer/songwriting. Nyro sang of love, inscrutably enigmatic romantic daredevils, getting drunk, lonely women, and sensual desire with an infectious joie de vivre. The arrangements superbly complemented the material with lively brass, wailing counterpoint backup vocals, and Nyros own ebullient piano. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 23 Title: New York Tendaberry Released: 1969 Tracks: 11 Duration: 46:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 You Dont Love Me When I Cry (04:24) 2 Captain for Dark Mornings (04:38) 3 Tom Cat Goodby (05:32) 4 Mercy on Broadway (02:18) 5 Save the Country (04:36) 6 Gibsom Street (04:47) 7 Time and Love (04:24) 8 The Man Who Sends Me Home (02:52) 9 Sweet Lovin Baby (03:55) 10 Captain Saint Lucifer (03:17) 11 New York Tendaberry (05:33) |
| New York Tendaberry : Allmusic album Review : Although New York Tendaberry was nearly as strong a record as its predecessor, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, it wasnt as accessible. In large part thats because, unlike her first two albums, it didnt have three or four songs that would become instantly recognizable hits in the hands of other artists. But it was also because the mood of the record was considerably darker and the production quite a bit starker. It was hardly a gloomy affair, but the emphasis was on soulful laments and arrangements that often featured, in part or whole, nothing but her voice and piano. Without at all sounding blatantly derived from gospel, it often sounded very much in the spirit of gospel in its fervid passion, though using melodies from a wide pop/blues-soul canvas and addressing concerns far more secular and personal. There were crafty, dramatic punctuations of orchestration, yet these were far more subdued than they had been on the more jubilant Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. "Save the Country" (along with the upbeat section of "Time and Love") is really the only song here that has the immediate uplifting impact of her most famous early tunes, and even that track could have benefited from a less-bare setting. Its a rewarding album, but one that takes some effort to fully appreciate. The 2002 CD reissue adds two bonus tracks: the mono single version of "Save the Country," which has a far fuller arrangement than the album take, and the jaunty, previously unreleased "In the Country Way." | ||
 | Album: 6 of 23 Title: Gonna Take a Miracle Released: 1971 Tracks: 14 Duration: 41:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Met Him on a Sunday (01:55) 2 The Bells (02:56) 3 Monkey Time / Dancing in the Street (04:57) 4 Desiree (01:52) 5 You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me (04:09) 6 Spanish Harlem (02:52) 7 Jimmy Mack (02:57) 8 The Wind (02:59) 9 Nowhere to Run (05:09) 10 It’s Gonna Take a Miracle (03:24) 11 Aint Nothing Like the Real Thing (00:59) 12 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (03:01) 13 O-o-h Child (01:30) 14 Up on the Roof (03:11) |
| Gonna Take a Miracle : Allmusic album Review : With the 1971 release Gonna Take a Miracle, pop composer and vocalist Laura Nyro completed her four-album/four-year deal for Columbia. Nyros passion for R&B; can be traced back to some of her earliest compositions, such as "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" -- both of which were covered by the R&B; vocal quintet the Fifth Dimension. More recently, her version of "Up on the Roof" was one of the highlights of Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. So, enthusiasts who had paid any attention at all to the course of Nyros career would not have been surprised by her direction on this project. As much as Gonna Take a Miracle is indeed a Laura Nyro album, it could likewise, and perhaps more accurately, be described as a collaborative effort between Nyro and the female soul trio LaBelle -- featuring Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash -- as well as producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It is ultimately this team that is responsible for the albums overwhelmingly solid results. Leading off in an apropos style is a succulent cover of the Shirelles hit "I Met Him on a Sunday." The vocal performance is structured as a round -- with each woman singing a consecutive line. The song is rightfully returned to the street corner doo wop tradition from which it originated with the simplicity of unadorned vocals creating an inconspicuous a cappella symphony. Nyro has never sounded so comfortable, easy, or "in her element" than she does backed by an all-star Philly soul ensemble that Gamble and Huff assembled for these sessions. The material reaches beyond just the sounds of Philadelphia, with Motown ("Youve Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Nowhere to Run") and Brill Building ("Spanish Harlem"), as well as lesser-known covers of the Charts "Desiree" and the Baltimore-based Royalettes "Its Gonna Take a Miracle." | ||
 | Album: 7 of 23 Title: Smile Released: 1976-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sexy Mama (02:42) 2 Children of the Junks (02:50) 3 Money (05:00) 4 I Am the Blues (05:45) 5 Stormy Love (04:32) 6 Cat-Song, The (02:35) 7 Midnite Blue (03:07) 8 Smile (With Mars at the End) (05:38) 9 Someone Loves You (Unreleased demo version) (01:59) 10 Get Me My Cap (Unreleased demo version) (02:54) 11 Coffee Morning (Unreleased demo version) (03:49) |
| Smile : Allmusic album Review : After a five-year hiatus, singer/songwriter Laura Nyro returned in 1976 with Smile. On this disc, Nyros somewhat idiosyncratic writing and performance style is decidedly subdued. In its stead is a light pop and jazz feel similar to that of Maria Muldaurs mid-70s recordings. Supporting Nyro instrumentally is virtually a whos-who of New York and Los Angeles studio stalwarts. While the prowess of folks like Will Lee (bass), brothers Randy Brecker (trumpet) and Michael Brecker (flute/sax), Hugh McCracken (guitar), and Rick Marotta (drums) certainly strengthens Nyros already laid-back material, it likewise reduces her to sounding like a Joni Mitchell ripoff. The undeniable highlight of Smile is the maturity in the songwriting. It becomes obvious that the half-decade away has done some significant good in revealing a decidedly positive evolution in Nyros approach to her own life. Whats more is that the material on this album seems to come from a place of contentment. The influence of her work with the female soul vocal trio LaBelle on Gonna Take a Miracle -- prior to her mini-retirement -- also seems to be a source of inspiration throughout this disc. The high and tight vocal harmonies (all of which are credited to Nyro) are wholly rewarding and hark back to her R&B-induced; "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic." This is most evident on the opening track, "Sexy Mama" (penned by Harry Ray, Joe Robinson, and Al Goodman), which was also a hit for the R&B; vocal group the Moments. The intimate nature of "I Am the Blues" and "Midnite Blue" are reminiscent of older Nyro favorites such as "Emmie" and "Captain St. Lucifer." In all, Smile is much like a musical letter from an old acquaintance and casts a direct light onto the next phase in Laura Nyros recording career. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 23 Title: Nested Released: 1978-06 Tracks: 10 Duration: 37:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Mr. Blue (The Song of Communications) (05:01) 2 Rhythm and Blues (02:57) 3 My Innocence (03:24) 4 Crazy Love (04:18) 5 American Dreamer (04:08) 6 Springblown (04:24) 7 The Sweet Sky (03:32) 8 Light (02:53) 9 Child in a Universe (04:09) 10 The Nest (02:27) |
| Nested : Allmusic album Review : Nested was Laura Nyros second studio album of new original material to be released after her career hiatus of the first half of the 1970s, following 1976s Smile. Like that predecessor, it was a more restrained affair, musically and lyrically, than some of her more intense efforts of the late 60s, such as New York Tendaberry. In fact, such catchy soul-pop songs as "Rhythm & Blues" and "The Sweet Sky" sounded almost as if they could have appeared on her 1967 debut album More Than a New Discovery and been covered for hits. But Nyros highly personal perspective was also on display on the record, starting with the lead-off track, "Mr. Blue (The Song of Communications)," an account of an attempt to re-establish relations with a lover, in which she paused to speak quoted dialogue from him to her: "Ive heard of liberation but sweetheart -- youre in outer space," and "you can be so arrogant, and you dont know anything about being cool." In "American Dreamer," she turned from her personal life to her professional life, apparently recalling the early business deal that resulted in a former manager ending up with half the proceeds from her song publishing royalties. The chorus, another quoted passage, goes "Theres nothing we can do/we could not get there in time/Its too late -- /she signed on the dotted line." But the overwhelming theme of the album, as its title suggested, concerned Nyros pregnancy. In "Crazy Love," sung with only her own piano accompaniment, she first referred to her "unborn star," and by the albums close with "Child in a Universe" and "The Nest," impending childbirth had become a major concern. As such, Nested could be viewed as the next installment in Nyros allusive musical autobiography. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 23 Title: Mothers Spiritual Released: 1984 Tracks: 15 Duration: 48:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 To a Child (03:53) 2 The Right to Vote (03:02) 3 A Wilderness (02:56) 4 Melody in the Sky (03:45) 5 Late for Love (02:57) 6 A Free Thinker (03:15) 7 Man in the Moon (02:55) 8 Talk to a Green Tree (03:44) 9 Trees of the Ages (03:39) 10 The Brighter Song (02:30) 11 Roadnotes (03:18) 12 Sophia (04:39) 13 Mothers Spiritual (03:12) 14 Refrain (01:08) 15 Man in the Moon (live) (03:28) |
| Mother's Spiritual : Allmusic album Review : Laura Nyro was the prototypical confessional singer/songwriter, beginning her career with craftsmanlike compositions that could be and were covered for hits by other artists, but turning, by the time of her third album, New York Tendaberry, to work that was too personal and idiosyncratic to be performed effectively by anybody but her. Her studio albums of new original material began to come less frequently after her fourth, Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, appeared in 1970, and Mothers Spiritual was only her third such LP in over 13 years and her first in five and a half when it appeared initially in January 1984. Confessional singer/songwriters present a certain challenge to their loyal listeners (and the listeners they retain tend to be very loyal). Since they are writing out of intimate, autobiographical concerns, their writing tends to change over the years as their lives change, and listeners may or may not continue to identify with them. Nyros early confessional work was romantic and dramatic, but by the time of her previous album, Nested, in 1978, she had become more comfortable and was anticipating the birth of a child, all of which was reflected in the album, naturally. Mothers Spiritual picked up the story from there, as she presented her toddler, whose voice was actually heard on the disc. And the songs were very much those of a thirtysomething single mother of a small child living in American suburbia in the early 1980s. This was a woman who was devoted to her child and concerned about the world that child was going to grow up in, a world she found still dominated by war and other negative aspects of civilization. She looked at politics, for example ("The Right to Vote"), and saw no one worth supporting. She worried about consumer culture ("A Free Thinker"). She supported environmental awareness to the point of name-checking Greenpeace ("The Brighter Song"). As a feminist, she expected a male partner to share domestic duties ("Talk to a Green Tree"), but while she still wanted "everything" from a relationship ("Roadnotes"), she was no longer sure that romantic love was as transcendent as she had thought previously, or even if it should be heterosexual. ("Im not waiting/for Miss or Mr. Right," she sang in "Melody in the Sky.") At very least, all of this represented a development from the way she had looked at things 15 years before, and while many of her early fans may have made similar journeys through life, they may not have been in as complete agreement with her as they had been before, especially because she was spelling things out so directly. Their adjustment might have been made easier if Nyro had been more musically accessible, but her record label, Columbia, seemed to have long since given up any idea (if it ever had one) of participating creatively in her work, contenting itself merely to release albums of music she wrote, recorded, and produced on her own in her home studio. Mothers Spiritual may have pleased the artist herself, but, with its loosely structured jazz-pop arrangements, seemingly written (or improvised) around her highly individual piano playing and singing, it was the sort of disc that demanded close and repeated listening to appreciate, listening that already devoted fans might be expected to do, but not others, which may help explain why the album turned out to be commercially negligible. Nevertheless, it stands up as another chapter in Nyros ongoing musical autobiography, and the 2009 reissue on the Iconoclassic label increases its value by adding a live take of the song "Man in the Moon" as a bonus track and informative liner notes by Nyro biographer Michele Kort. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 23 Title: Laura Nyro Live at the Bottom Line Released: 1989 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:01:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Confession / High Heeled Sneakers (05:51) 2 Roll of the Ocean (04:32) 3 Companion (05:23) 4 The Wild World (03:38) 5 My Innocence / Sophia (03:13) 6 To a Child (03:57) 7 And When I Die (03:17) 8 Park Song (03:10) 9 Broken Rainbow (04:19) 10 Women of the One World (01:45) 11 Emmie (03:44) 12 Wedding Bell Blues (03:48) 13 The Japanese Restaurant Song (05:54) 14 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:40) 15 La La Means I Love You / Trees of the Ages / Up on the Roof (05:42) |
 | Album: 11 of 23 Title: Classics Released: 1991 Tracks: 20 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wedding Bell Blues (?) 2 Stoned Soul Picnic (?) 3 And When I Die (?) 4 Save the Country (?) 5 New York Tendaberry (?) 6 Youve Really Got a Hold on Me (?) 7 Gibson Street (?) 8 Its Gonna Take a Miracle (?) 9 I Never Meant to Hurt You (?) 10 Jimmy Mack (?) 11 Elis Comin (?) 12 Time and Love (?) 13 Up on the Roof (?) 14 Nowhere to Run (?) 15 Lazy Susan (?) 16 Blackpatch (?) 17 Monkey Time / Dancing in the Street (?) 18 Flim Flam Man (?) 19 Spanish Harlem (?) 20 Stoney End (?) |
 | Album: 12 of 23 Title: Walk the Dog & Light the Light Released: 1993-08-17 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies) (03:18) 2 A Woman of the World (04:12) 3 The Descent of Luna Rosi (03:37) 4 Art of Love (03:41) 5 Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song) (03:22) 6 Louise’s Church (03:36) 7 Broken Rainbow (03:54) 8 Walk the Dog & Light the Light (Song of the Road) (03:48) 9 To a Child (03:32) 10 Im So Proud/Dedicated to the One I Love (03:40) |
| Walk the Dog & Light the Light : Allmusic album Review : Laura Nyro effectively recreates her emotional, piano-based sound on her first new studio album in nine years. By now, the political stands are a part of her persona, expressed as directly as her emotional ones, and this is a well-rounded portrait of a mature artist. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 23 Title: Season of Lights: Laura Nyro in Concert Released: 1995-09-08 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:09:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Money (06:04) 2 Sweet Lovin Baby (02:20) 3 And When I Die (04:03) 4 The Morning News (02:32) 5 Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp (04:56) 6 I Am the Blues (07:00) 7 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (03:42) 8 Captain St. Lucifer (05:55) 9 Smile (04:07) 10 Mars (03:24) 11 Sweet Blindness (03:47) 12 The Cat Song (04:22) 13 Emmie (03:56) 14 The Confession (03:11) 15 Timer (06:15) 16 Midnight Blue (04:05) |
 | Album: 14 of 23 Title: Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro Released: 1997-02-18 Tracks: 34 Duration: 2:03:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wedding Bell Blues (02:55) 2 Blowin’ Away (02:21) 3 Billy’s Blues (03:20) 4 Stoney End (02:46) 5 And When I Die (02:40) 6 Lu (02:47) 7 Eli’s Comin’ (03:57) 8 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:50) 9 Timer (03:25) 10 Emmie (04:21) 11 The Confession (02:49) 12 Capt. St. Lucifer (03:15) 13 Gibson Street (04:44) 14 New York Tendaberry (05:38) 15 Save the Country (02:27) 16 Blackpatch (03:37) 17 Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp (05:33) 18 Beads of Sweat (04:49) 19 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (02:41) 1 I Met Him on a Sunday (01:50) 2 The Bells (03:01) 3 Smile (05:37) 4 Sweet Blindness (live) (03:53) 5 Money (05:54) 6 Mr. Blue (05:03) 7 A Wilderness (02:56) 8 Mother’s Spiritual (03:19) 9 A Woman of the World (04:12) 10 Louise’s Church (03:36) 11 Broken Rainbow (03:54) 12 To a Child (03:35) 13 Lite a Flame (03:21) 14 And When I Die (live) (02:50) 15 Save the Country (live) (02:42) |
| Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro : Allmusic album Review : A double-CD, career-spanning retrospective that offers little in the way of surprises: its a tastefully selected overview of her career highlights, heaviest (and justifiably so) on her late 60s albums. Theres the inevitable feeling of letdown as disc two progresses; her post-early 70s material is far less interesting than her earliest work, even if its inoffensive. All of the first five albums (through 1971s Gonna Take a Miracle) are now on CD, so this is most suitable for the fan who isnt passionate enough to be a completist. Includes a couple of previously unreleased live tracks from the 1990s; the version of "Sweet Blindness," unfortunately, is not the original late-60s recording, but from a late-70s live album. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 23 Title: Live From Mountain Stage Released: 2000 Tracks: 10 Duration: 29:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies) (02:26) 2 My Innocence (02:16) 3 To A Child (03:18) 4 And When I Die (02:46) 5 Let It Be Me/ The Christmas Song (02:43) 6 Roll Of The Ocean (02:52) 7 Lite A Flame (03:12) 8 Emmie (03:12) 9 Japanese Restaurant (04:05) 10 Im So Proud / Dedicated To The One I Love (03:03) |
| Live From Mountain Stage : Allmusic album Review : Laura Nyros career became difficult to follow in the late 80s and early 90s. In 1984, she emerged with Mothers Spiritual, her first album in six years, on Columbia Records, the label she had joined in 1968. She returned to occasional performances a few years later, and in 1989, Cypress Records, a short-lived label, issued Live at the Bottom Line, which featured several new songs, even though Columbia continued to claim her as an exclusive recording artist. She returned to Columbia four years later with what turned out to be her final studio album, Walk the Dog & Light the Light. The archival Live From Mountain Stage, drawn from a performance recorded for the radio series on November 11, 1990, and released a decade later, comes from in the midst of this period. Nyro repeats "Roll of the Ocean" and "Japanese Restaurant" (aka "The Japanese Restaurant Song"), two of the new songs from Live at the Bottom Line, and she previews three numbers that will appear on Walk the Dog & Light the Light: the covers "Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies)" and "Im So Proud/Dedicated to the One I Love," and the new original "Lite the Flame," an animal rights song. She also plays her seasonal medley "Let It Be Me/The Christmas Song," then just-released on the various artists album Acoustic Christmas, and selects four songs from her catalog: "And When I Die" from More Than a New Discovery, "Emmie" from Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, "My Innocence" from Nested, and "To a Child" from Mothers Spiritual. She accompanies herself on electric piano and sings powerfully, if without the dramatic style of her early work. The disc runs less than 30 minutes, but it provides a well-rounded sampling of Nyros career, and the performances have an intimate directness. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 23 Title: Time and Love: The Essential Masters Released: 2000 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sweet Blindness (02:38) 2 Wedding Bell Blues (02:55) 3 And When I Die (02:40) 4 Blowin Away (02:20) 5 Elis Comin (03:59) 6 Goodbye Joe (02:42) 7 Stoney End (02:46) 8 Its Gonna Take a Miracle (03:24) 9 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:49) 10 Lu (02:46) 11 Save the Country (04:32) 12 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (02:48) 13 Blackpatch (03:37) 14 Time and Love (04:20) 15 Sexy Mama (02:43) 16 Up on the Roof (03:15) |
| Time and Love: The Essential Masters : Allmusic album Review : As a 16-song, single-disc best-of, this does the job very nicely for those who want Nyros best and most famous songs in one place. Only nine tracks into the CD youve already heard "Sweet Blindness," "Wedding Bell Blues," "And When I Die," "Blowin Away," "Elis Comin," "Stoney End," and "Stoned Soul Picnic," which should be enough to convince anyone that Nyro was a major singer/songwriter. An argument could be made that, as an album-oriented performer whose career spanned about three decades, this is too brief a sampling of her discography, and too lopsided, as just one of the songs was recorded after 1970 (at which point she had yet to reach her 25th birthday). Still, the hard facts are that Nyros best recordings and compositions were those from the beginning of her career. If you want greater breadth, theres the two-CD Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro compilation. But if a best-ofs all you want, you dont lose much by springing for Time and Love instead, as disc two of Stoned Soul Picnic really isnt that good. Another good reason to consider this the first choice: Time and Love uses the original 1968 studio version of "Sweet Blindness" (a 1976 live rendition was used on Stoned Soul Picnic). | ||
 | Album: 17 of 23 Title: Angel in the Dark Released: 2001 Tracks: 16 Duration: 56:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Angel in the Dark (04:06) 2 Triple Goddess Twilight (03:58) 3 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (06:00) 4 He Was Too Good to Me (02:38) 5 Sweet Dream Fade (04:28) 6 Serious Playground (04:18) 7 Be Aware (03:03) 8 Let It Be Me (02:15) 9 Gardenia Talk (02:46) 10 Ooh Baby, Baby (03:26) 11 Embraceable You (02:08) 12 La La Means I Love You (04:20) 13 Walk On By (02:18) 14 Animal Grace (01:27) 15 Dont Hurt Child (03:22) 16 Coda (05:29) |
| Angel in the Dark : Allmusic album Review : Angel in the Dark is a lovely recording featuring the graceful vocals and finely crafted songs that everyone expects from Laura Nyro. These sessions were completed in the summer of 1995 and represent the last music Nyro recorded. The title cut and "Sweet Dream Fade" mine the same soul terrain as her late 60s recordings, featuring horns and underlined by heavy guitar riffs. These upbeat pieces perfectly integrate voice, arrangements, and lyrics to create an organic whole, and are two of the best cuts on the album. Slower, piano-based songs like "Triple Goddess Twilight," "He Was Too Good to Me," and "Serious Playground" are mixed in-between these songs. These pieces are quieter and introspective, with Nyros voice more intimate. It is almost as though she was sitting at the piano, late at night, and singing to herself. There are also several covers including "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "Let It Be Me." The first of these is over five minutes and has been slowed down so much that it drags. In fact, she slows down all of the covers as if to convert them into heartfelt ballads. This works best on "Ooh Baby, Baby," partly because the arrangement is fuller and more dynamic. One other standout is the upbeat "Gardenia Talk," filled with lively percussion and a sensual vocal. Angel in the Dark is a fine coda, perfect for late-night listening, and a perfect companion to Nyros other recordings. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 23 Title: Live: The Looms Desire Released: 2002-05-07 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:21:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby (03:08) 2 Dedicated to the One I Love (03:15) 3 Wind (02:10) 4 Light a Flame (03:31) 5 Walk the Dog and Light the Light (03:07) 6 To a Child (03:26) 7 And When I Die (02:49) 8 Japanese Restaurant Song (03:49) 9 My Innocence / Sophia (02:27) 10 Wedding Bell Blues (02:21) 11 Art of Love (03:35) 12 Emmie (04:29) 13 Let It Be Me (03:00) 1 Angel in the Dark (04:23) 2 Gardenia Talk (02:52) 3 Save the Country (02:39) 4 Louises Church (03:14) 5 Wild World (02:36) 6 A Woman of the World (04:16) 7 The Descent of Luna Rose (02:50) 8 Broken Rainbow (03:52) 9 Blowin Away / Wedding Bell Blues (03:29) 10 Trees of the Ages / Emmie (06:18) 11 Ooh Baby Baby (03:47) |
 | Album: 19 of 23 Title: Live In Japan Released: 2003 Tracks: 10 Duration: 30:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dedicated To The One I Love (03:28) 2 Ooh Baby Baby (02:16) 3 And When I Die (02:41) 4 Save The Country (02:53) 5 Wedding Bell Blues (02:17) 6 Walk On By (02:19) 7 Let It Be Me (02:55) 8 Light A Flame (The Animal Rights Song) (03:32) 9 Louisess Church (03:23) 10 Woman Of The World (04:33) |
 | Album: 20 of 23 Title: Spread Your Wings and Fly: Live at the Fillmore East May 30, 1971 Released: 2004 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:05:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 American Dove (05:03) 2 Medley: Aint Nothing Like the Real Thing / (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (04:10) 3 Spanish Harlem (03:18) 4 I Am the Blues (05:04) 5 Medley: Walk On By / Dancing in the Street (04:58) 6 Emmie (04:55) 7 Map to the Treasure (06:52) 8 Christmas in My Soul (05:38) 9 Save the Country (04:58) 10 Medley: Timer / O-o-h Child / Up on the Roof (08:40) 11 Medley: Lu / Flim Flam Man (03:41) 12 Mother Earth (07:57) |
 | Album: 21 of 23 Title: Christmas and the Beads of Sweat Released: 2008-09-24 Tracks: 9 Duration: 45:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Brown Earth (04:11) 2 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (02:44) 3 Blackpatch (03:36) 4 Been on a Train (05:51) 5 Up on the Roof (03:15) 6 Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp (05:34) 7 Map to the Treasure (08:10) 8 Beads of Sweat (04:49) 9 Christmas in My Soul (06:59) |
| Christmas and the Beads of Sweat : Allmusic album Review : Laura Nyros third Columbia effort is easily the equal of her previous two. The overwhelming strength of her song writing and distinctive arrangements fuel Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. Her unmistakable style of delivery maintains the continual examination of herself as a performer. The results are uniformly interesting and provocative as she continues to draw upon her love of jazz, folk, and R&B; -- which would inform Nyros next album ,Gonna Take a Miracle, featuring the soul vocal trio LaBelle. Conceptually, this album is as potent as her previous effort, New York Tendaberry, but in a much different way. Rather than hanging together thematically, Christmas and the Beads of Sweat features two inclusive and distinctive sides of music -- with different musicians and producers for each. The first five tracks feature Nyro backed by the Swampers from Muscle Shoals, AL, and include the talents of Roger Hawkins (drums), Eddie Hinton (guitar), Dave Hood (bass), Barry Becket (vibraphone), and Jack Jennings (percussion), with Arif Mardin producing. While this pairing might seem initially incongruous, the quintet had been concurrently working with the likes of Dusty Springfield and Cher and had gained a rightful reputation as a consummate backup band. The final four pieces are steeped in noir more atypical of her previous efforts. The all-star cast of New York City session heavyweights are led by Felix Cavaliere (producer) and features fellow Rascals member Dino Danelli (drums), Ralph McDonald (percussion), Chuck Rainey (bass), Cornell Dupree (guitar), Duane Allman (guitar), and Alice Coltrane (stringed harp), among others. As with all of Nyros recordings, at the heart of this effort are her ageless compositions and arrangements. A motif connecting such disparate tunes as the upbeat "When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag" to the hauntingly beautiful "Christmas in My Soul" and "Beads of Sweat" is the aching hollowness that came with the disillusionment that Vietnam, Kent State, and racial relations brought upon America in 1970. As she had done with "Save the Country" some four years earlier, Nyros cathartic expressionism is captured at its most fervent on this album. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 23 Title: Live at Carnegie Hall 1976 Released: 2012 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:03:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Stormy Love (04:08) 2 Money (05:43) 3 Sweet Lovin Baby (02:17) 4 And When I Die (04:49) 5 Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp (03:35) 6 The Confession (03:06) 7 I Am the Blues (06:11) 8 Sweet Blindness (04:21) 9 Smile / Mars (06:15) 10 Timer (06:58) 11 The Cat Song (05:13) 12 Emmie (03:29) 13 When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag (03:36) 14 Midnite Blue (03:50) |
 | Album: 23 of 23 Title: A Little Magic, A Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection Released: 2017-07-07 Tracks: 28 Duration: 1:31:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Goodbye Joe (02:39) 2 Billys Blues (03:20) 3 And When I Die (02:41) 4 Stoney End (02:48) 5 Lazy Susan (03:55) 6 Hands Off the Man (Flim Flam Man) (02:31) 7 Wedding Bell Blues (02:44) 8 Buy and Sell (03:37) 9 Hes a Runner (03:41) 10 Blowin Away (02:23) 11 I Never Meant to Hurt You (02:53) 12 California Shoeshine Boys (02:47) 13 Stoney End (02:42) 1 Luckie (03:02) 2 Lu (02:47) 3 Sweet Blindness (02:40) 4 Poverty Train (04:18) 5 Lonely Woman (03:35) 6 Elis Coming (04:00) 7 Timer (03:25) 8 Stoned Soul Picnic (03:49) 9 Emmie (04:23) 10 Womans Blues (03:48) 11 Once It Was Alright (Farmer Joe) (03:00) 12 Decembers Boudoir (05:08) 13 The Confession (02:52) 14 Elis Coming (03:16) 15 Save the Country (02:27) |
| A Little Magic, A Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection : Allmusic album Review : Laura Nyro was a pop original who seamlessly wove folk, Brill Building pop, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel into a sound and innovative rhythmic piano style that remains wholly her own. Many of her most iconic songs supplied hits to the 5th Dimension ("Stoned Soul Picnic," "Blowin Away," "Sweet Blindness," and, of course, "Wedding Bell Blues"), Barbra Streisand ("Stoney End"), Blood, Sweat & Tears ("And When I Die"), Frankie Valli ("Emmie"), and Three Dog Night ("Elis Coming"). Then theres her own monster hit: "Save the Country." Remarkably, all of the songwriters original versions of these songs appear on Real Gone Musics A Little Magic, a Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection, which contains her first two albums, More Than a New Discovery (1967) and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968), plus bonus material. Further, this package restores More Than a New Discovery -- cut when Nyro was only 19 -- to its original sequencing. (After her signing to Columbia, it was re-released years later as the budget First Songs with an inferior track restructuring.) This new set also contains the Bones Howe-produced pop single version of "Save the Country" (which was her most successful), restores the uncensored version of "Wedding Bell Blues," and includes the 45 mix of "Elis Coming." The mono version of Eli and the Thirteenth Confession was serviced only to DJs and other music-biz insiders -- at least in the United States. The commercially released stereo version climbed to number 32 on the charts and was Nyros most successful long-player, in no small part due to the success of "Save the Country," a song that is inarguably just as poignant in the 21st century. Some Nyro devotees swear by the mono mixes of the latter album, but thats mostly a point of argument among audiophiles. Ultimately, it hardly matters. Vic Anesinis painstaking remasters were done at Sonys Battery Studios. Theyre dynamic, immediate, and powerfully resonant in force and restraint. On More Than a New Discovery, Nyro didnt play piano. Producer Milt Okun convinced her -- perhaps rightfully -- that her rhythmically complex playing style might make it difficult for the session aces he employed (including Bucky Pizzarelli and Toots Thielemans) to follow his artfully rendered charts, and she fully agreed. One of her bona fide masterpieces (and one on which label boss Clive Davis gave her full creative control), the latter album for Columbia was produced by Charlie Calello, who used her piano and vocal demos as building blocks. The rhythm section and vocals were recorded live -- with piano right up-front -- and showcased her gorgeous syncopated style woven into songs supported by a righteous rhythm section that included Chuck Rainey, Hugh McCracken, and drummers Artie Schroeck and Buddy Salzman. (Zoot Sims and Joe Farrell were guest soloists on "Lonely Women" and "Poverty Train," respectively.) The package contains exhaustive, authoritative liner notes by Second Disc Records Joe Marchese; it is indispensable for Nyro fans, but just as importantly opens the door onto a world of sound and music that an entirely new generation would do well to discover. | ||