How well known is Laura Nyro in USA/Canada?

What a wonderful photo!

I've never heard a better version of Wedding Bell Blues or Stoney End, best heard on Laura's 45 single. It knocked me for six when I first heard it, as did Eli and the 13th Confession. It was her counterpoint harmonies that really got me, as well as the sheer emotion. There was very little written info available at the time (early '90s) but somehow a double page interview with her, from an old Melody Maker (about the time of Smile) ended up on our bathroom wall. I remember mentioning her to someone a lot older than I was who told me the only other person he knew, who'd heard of her was Alan Price, who had met her.

 

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I wonder which week in chart history, shows Top 40 radio playing the most hits composed by Laura Nyro.
I'm pretty sure that was my least favorite week as a teenager.

And, I'm pretty sure I had no idea whose songs they were; wouldn't have known why they rubbed me the wrong way;
only knew this or that band or artist surely had a much better song somewhere, the deejay could have picked.

 

second tire at best....never a headliner at a larger venue. a decent cult following though for sure.

 

Many teenagers are unhappy and dissatisfied, all the time.

 

Some fan sites disappeared because of lack of money, or changing interests, digital issues, etc. But you'd be surprised at how many received cease and desist letters.

 

Thanks to the wayback machine, that old Laura site can still be found here, and a mighty fine site it is, too:

Wayback Machine

Go crazy with it !!

 

Good thing I grew up then, and learned who it was that was the reason I had a sudden irritation with Blood, Sweat & Tears, the 5th Dimension, Three Dog Night and Babs all in the same year.

*whew* Good thing I didn't hate the musical Hair...!

 

Back of my neck too! So fine.

 

THANK YOU!!

 

On Nyro's shyness and stage fright...not so much it seems. From an old appreciation site at Wayback Machine.com. And her abilities to arrange and conduct and shape her music...

“I feel like I have a very soulful connection with my audience; it’s like an old friend. I think that a lot of what I’m singing about is universal—it reflects how a lot of people feel and reflects their experiences. I do not feel apart from my audience.”


A 21-year-old Laura Nyro conducts a group of session musicians during the recording of her irdalbum, New York Tendaberry (1969).
She used an analogy of colors to describe her musical moods to the players.

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Photo: ©Stephen Paley

Wayback Machine

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She’s outside my usual sphere of collecting, and when I grew up, the only person who I heard mention her was my mother, who is a huge fan, and often played Laura’s music. My mother is a few years younger than Ms Nyro, and would have been a similar age when her records were first coming out. The Ace compilation of Nyro compositions is about the only significant reference to her in the UK that I recall in the mainstream.

 

I'm a power pop, alternative rock kind of guy. My top ten favorite artists include the Beatles, Tom Petty, The Replacements, Mid 60's Beach Boys, The Jam, Big Star, XTC, Wilco etc... Laura Nyro is absolutely my favorite female songwriter coming in ahead of Joni, Carol King, Chrissy Hynde, and Aimee Mann and this is all because her first two albums are absolute masterpieces! "More than a New Discovery" from early 67 and "Eli & the Thirteenth Confessions" from 68. These two albums have some of the best songwriting of the 20th century! There's not a bad song on either album although a couple of the songs on Eli were a little to avant-garde for my tastes although I completely appreciate what she was trying to do. Her third album from 1969 "New York Tendaberry" is probably her most famous but that was even more experimental with shifting tempos and minimalist arrangements. Laura's own versions of her songs are so much superior then the numeruous cover versions that went top 10 in the late 60's and early 70's. Her songs are such an incredible combination of soul, jazz, rock and even show tunes that she was in a field all by herself. No other female songwriter could touch her in the late 60's. I highly recommend her first two albums if you've never experienced Laura Nyro!

 

I use to look at that site. That's a great find.

 

I just received the new Japanese CD releases of Laura's first two albums, on mini-LP. Both issues have both mono and stereo along with bonus tracks. The first record (More Than a New Discovery) most likely has a vastly upgraded stereo mastering. I have not compared the mono takes with those on the recent USA CD of Laura in mono. The second item has two CDs, as all tracks would not fit on a single CD

But these are essential in my opinion. Like all Japanese mini-LPs they will soon be out of print and going for two to four times the price.

I grabbed them from Amazon Japan, though other Japanese dealers might beat the price.

Get em now!

 

Who does the mastering?

 

I don't read Japanese. If you want her first album in stereo, this is your only real choice. The Columbia CD from years ago was butchered and the only other CD issue was a bootleg. My guess is that these will skyrocket in price within a year. The first pressings of the original vinyl issue on Verve Folkways are loaded with noise as they are fairly scarce and were much played.

 

I bet her popularity would have increased if she was not cut from the Monterey Pop movie.

 

Laura must be number one - you spelled her name right

(Just a little teasing. But seriously, it's Carole King and Chrissie Hynde.)

 

With my virtual worship of Laura Nyro's work, I just had to have the 2007 series of mini-LP CD editions that was issued in Japan for the 10th anniversary of her 1997 death. I had been picking them up one by one, but when the opportunity came to get the deluxe slipcased editions (extremely limited), I grabbed them. Some of these have never been issued in the USA on CD and many have rare bonus tracks

 

WWWWOW!

 

They certainly look deluxe. It is too bad that the rare extended version of Live in Japan 1994 was recorded for another corporation and is not included here. I have it in a plastic jewel box edition, but it would be nice to have a mini-LP edition, Was it ever released like that?

It has 21 tracks as opposed to the USA edition with only 10 tracks. It took me years to find a reasonably priced copy.

 

I think whether or not she's seen as 'cult' or 'popular' is irrelevant, what she brought to popular music composing is very considerable.
Most songs of the day generally had two variations, the verse/chorus/verse and middle eight. Laura would slow it way down, suddenly speed it up and then throw Broadway in. It was unique, thoughtful and way above most pop of the day, as far as conception. It's interesting that the pop groups tuned into that, and really made enduring classics out of them that a more broad audience could understand.

NY Tendaberry was the one for me that was such an incredible yet rewarding challenge...almost like a 3D view into emotion and music, with sales being the last consideration.

 

This dealer is meticulous. He actually sent a series of pictures showing how he packaged the Laura Nyro deluxe sets. He ain't no Amazon

 

It is nice when people take time to respect the product and the buyer by packing safely.