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Avg: 4.0 (80 ratings)
- Date Released: June 11, 2002
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Pop
- Label: Columbia/Legacy
- Copyright: Originally Recorded 1967 & Released 2002, Originally Released 1968, (P) 2002 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Catchy, embraceable music, plus Nyro's signature strangeness
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We Say...
What kind of music did Laura Nyro make?
Listening to the strange keys and sudden tempo shifts on her seminal albums like Eli and the Thirteen Confession argues for jazz, but the theatrical melodies scream Broadway; the gravity and introspection of her delivery suggest a singer-songwriter's art, but the tunes' blissful soul play straight to the heart of Berry Gordy.
Small wonder a daunting range of artists clamored to cover Nyro's compositions in her '60s and '70s prime. They included Barbra Streisand, The Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night and Blood Sweat and Tears. If that list sounds too loungey or corny for your taste, don't fret. While those artists recognized the terrific craft of Nyro's work, they planed down the glorious strangeness she reveals in on her own recordings.
When you listen to Eli (Nyro's breakthrough album on Columbia Records, following a more obscure debut on Verve) you'll hear a full menagerie of eccentricities. As Nyro runs through her undulating piano changes, and howls out wild lines in a key you can't name, you'll recognize sounds that later inspired artists as out-there as Tori Amos and Sufjan Stevens.
Eli includes several songs that became giant hits for others ("Eli's Comin'" for Three Dog Night, "Stoned Soul Picnic" for The Fifth Dimension), as well as the well-known "Sweet Blindness." Yet only Nyro's versions bring out their wilder side, as well as a sense of drama worthy of Broadway (if only that world were hip enough to admit her). It's catchy and embraceable music, but of a breed impulsive and furious enough to make Eli entirely Nyro's own. -
They Say...
Nyro peaked early, and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, just her second album, remains her best. It's 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 "Eli's Comin'" (done by Three Dog Night). It's not even just because those three songs are so outstanding. It's 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 Nyro's own ebullient piano. The 2002 CD reissue adds three previously unreleased demos, with no instrumental accompaniment save piano, of "Lu," "Stoned Soul Picnic," and "Emmie."
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| 01. |  |
Luckie |
3:00 |
|
| 02. | |
Lu |
2:45 |
|
| 03. | |
Sweet Blindness |
2:36 |
|
| 04. | |
Poverty Train |
4:16 |
|
| 05. | |
Lonely Women |
3:31 |
|
| 06. | |
Eli's Comin' |
3:56 |
|
| 07. | |
Timer |
3:23 |
|
| 08. | |
Stoned Soul Picnic |
3:47 |
|
| 09. | |
Emmie |
4:20 |
|
| 10. | |
Woman's Blues |
3:46 |
|
| 11. | |
Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe) |
2:56 |
|
| 12. | |
December's Boudoir |
5:05 |
|
| 13. | |
The Confession |
2:48 |
|
| 14. | |
Lu |
2:37 |
|
| 15. | |
Stoned Soul Picnic |
3:37 |
|
| 16. | |
Emmie |
4:25 |
|
16 Total Tracks, 56:48 Total Length
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Credits
- Laura Nyro - Piano // Laura Nyro - Piano // Laura Nyro - Vocals // Laura Nyro - Vocals // Laura Nyro - Producer // Laura Nyro - Producer // Laura Nyro - Main Performer // Laura Nyro - Main Performer // Phoebe Snow - Liner Notes // Steven Berkowitz - A&R // Charles Calello - Arranger // Charles Calello - Producer // Roy Segal - Engineer // Stan Tonkel - Engineer // Mark Wilder - Mastering // Al Quaglieri - Reissue Producer // David Gahr - Photography // Laura Grover - Project Director // Christine Wilson - Design // Christine Wilson - Reissue Art Director // Bob Cato - Photography // Chris Theis - Mixing // Patti Matheny - A&R // Seth Foster - Engineer // Darren Salmieri - A&R // Stephen Paley - Photography // Rick Petreycik - Liner Notes
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