Time And Love: The Laura Nyro Album By Album Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mdekoning, Aug 12, 2009.

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  1. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

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    I read it a few years ago, been re-reading parts of it again.

    It's a very laudatory book,and I agree with what was posted above, recommended.

    My only complaint would be that at 274 pages, it gets a little too breezy sometimes. All the bases are covered, succinctly, but then you're moving on when you'd hoped you'd linger a little more in a certain phase or chapter.:shh:

    I doubt it'll be superceded any time soon, as far as I know it's still the only full length bio devoted to this artist.
     
  2. butch

    butch Senior Member

    Location:
    ny
    Kort captured Laura's life so wonderfully. Still remains my favorire biography about a musician......

    @TSPIT74 In some ways Tendaberry was weirder than Christmas was ! Some of the pieces on Tendaberry were a bit too much, BUT I still love that one in spite of that fact. Seasons of Light really was a tremendous live album. It gave you an insight into how great Laura was live.

    @ mde koning Thing about Todd is that Runt and the Ballad of Todd Rundgren sound like what would Laura would do if she were male! Both excellent albums, both influenced by Ms Nigro.
     
  3. Steve Litos

    Steve Litos Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    Eli & the 13th Confession

    It's a brilliant album. For better or worse Laura is allowed to use the full range of her talents vocally and instrumentally (is that a word?). Unlike the first album, the album explores "her style" regarding tempo shifts & using her voice more like a jazz instrument.

    The 3 bonus demo tracks show that her compositions work as solo pieces as well & that they were complete entities before a producer took a shot at it.

    All that said, I think Laura's voice was at it's best and most appealing when she sticks to her natural range.


    re: Wedding Bell Blues 45 rpm single - I just picked up an unplayed copy yesterday. It's a dedicated Mono mix that's different than the Mono mix from the album. The 45 is brighter, sped up, plastered in reverb, and compressed. The drums have enough "ooomph" to match the hits of the day. It sounds more like a Motown record rather than the "polite" mix from the Mono album. Very interesting to me.
     
  4. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

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    I don't mind her falsetto, except when she really overdoes it till it starts to resemble a shreik.:hide: Sometimes I wish she had reigned in that tendency.
     
  5. Steve Litos

    Steve Litos Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    Agreed 100%.

    Granted she only put out material sporatically from 1971 onwards...I think she may have generally reigned it in on the post 1971 material and albums.

    She was young, and in reality, died before she got old. Her vocals at age 48 sounded very much like they did at 19.
     
  6. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

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    Yes, I believe so, all the more surprising since she smoked cigarettes for quite a few years.
     
  7. peter

    peter Senior Member

    Location:
    Paradise
    I would love to see a scan of the STEREO Verve/Folkways cover and LP you have. I have NEVER seen one!
     
  8. Planbee

    Planbee Negative Nellie

    Location:
    Chicago
    I agree...

    Anyway, I still haven't picked up either of her first two records (though I have several of the songs on the Time and Love best-of. I'm sure I'll get the CDs eventually. In the meantime, I'm all set for when we get to Christmas and the Beads of Sweat...
     
  9. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    Here you are. It's a DJ promo, but the cover has Stereo on the front and the seller claims it to be 1966 Verve/Folkways:

    http://www.audiophileusa.com/item.cfm?record=52931&c=1&kw=Pop
     
  10. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Yes, the Kort book is my favorite music bio as well. One of the few books where I came away actually wishing I'd have known the subject.
     
  11. Steve Litos

    Steve Litos Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    That's a Verve/Forecast cover. Who knows what's on the record.

    Here's a weird one - Folkways cover - Forecast record called MTAND http://cgi.ebay.com/Laura-Nyro-More-Than-A-New-Discovery-FTS-3020-Lp-RARE_W0QQitemZ250454147250QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item3a503b00b2&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116:

    Peter - I'll post a photo of the front cover/back cover/album tomorrow.
     
  12. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    A stereo Verve/Forecast pressing, check the LP's label on the right. The seller only claims that the 1st pressing was on Verve/Folkways and indeed claims this is a 2nd pressing, I misunderstood that the first time round.
     
  13. peter

    peter Senior Member

    Location:
    Paradise
    So far, it seems I am correct that a STEREO LP of the Verve/Folkways edition does not exist. I would love to be proven wrong on this.....
     
  14. Steve Litos

    Steve Litos Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago IL
    I didn't get a chance to take the photos. :)

    Likewise, it still exists. I have two copies of it at home.
     
  15. ronton99

    ronton99 Forum Resident

    If Eli came out in '68 I was 12 - scary.

    At that time, I read a review of it in Newsweek. Besides the positive review, I remember her being quoted talking about working with studio musicians and how she described to them what she wanted to hear as colors, or Winter - impressionistic descriptions of how she wanted them to play. I was intrigued enough to save up my hard earned lawn mowing money and buy it. I was the only kid on the block, I'm sure.

    And, at first, it put me off. It was the sound. It didn't sound like a rock and roll record - it sounded "square". More like a Broadway soundtrack album or a jazz album. In other words, the instruments sounded like real instruments and the overall tone was not about the power of the overall sound. This was the days of the generation gap - and this sounded like old people music.

    Except for the content. The tempo changes were probably what caught my ear first. Lucky, Timer. No one else did that. And the soulfulness and abandon in her vocals. She totally threw herself into her performance. Her commitment to her musical muse was complete and total. The songs were so catchy and deep and fun and serious and great. All of the covers of her songs that I had heard on the radio had a new depth in her versions. So many hours were spent with this album, in my room, alone, with candles lit, just focusing in it and her and NYC and the whole dirty gritty world she portrayed. It was beautiful and savage and she made you feel every word. And those chord changes - like no one else. She had an amazing gift. I think of songwriters like Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, people whose musical vision was so totally theirs that the typical rules of songwriting didn't apply, but the result was so "right" that the songs enjoyed great popularity. She walked that walk during this time period.

    I saw her live a couple of times. Just her and solo piano. She was wonderful - the sexiest of performers - her voice, her music that she lived and breathed. It was awesome just to be in a room with her. She was a goddess.

    So anyway, this album is a desert island disc for me. Buy the original CDs if you can. I bought the remasters and sold the originals only to buy all of them back again. The extra tracks are nice, but the remasters are..... a shame. Just comparatively brittle and shrill. The original 1990 CDs can be had for a song, so to speak.
     
    Aftermath, Nick Dunning and bluesbro like this.
  16. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    When did you see her live? I'd love to hear some memories once we get to that period in her career.

    I have the first CD issue from Sony Japan (20DP) and the 2002 remaster. The Sony Japan disc is the clear winner. More dynamics and a much more natural sound. I'll post EAC levels tonight.
     
  17. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    Here are the 2 masterings I have:

    Mastering 1: 75.5/68.8/63.6/77.2/74.3/66.6/69.4/69.2/62.5/78.8/73.2/74.3/69.2
    Sony Japan 28DP 1082 Matrix: 28DP 1082 11 ++++
    Mastering 2: 99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.9/99.8/99.8
    Columbia Legacy 508068 2 (made in Austria) Matrix: S5080682000-0101 31 A1
     
  18. butch

    butch Senior Member

    Location:
    ny

    Tony Levin, well known bass man, worked with Nyro on Nested. According to TL, she described the music in terms of colors as well! Very strange BUT interesting....

    The remasters were dissapointing especially Tendaberry BUT the original ELI CD was nothing special to begin with...it was rather shrill. Thank God they never remastered Christmas, so I didn't get to hear that one ruined as well!
     
  19. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    Any more EAC levels for Eli?
     
  20. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

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    It doesn't surprise me that she ascribed colors to musical sounds. I do the same thing sometimes, and have known of others that do as well.
     
  21. ronton99

    ronton99 Forum Resident

    After writing my post I had to hear her, so got out the old vinyl I have played a bajillion times and compared to to the original US Columbia CD I re-bought and found the vinyl to be warmer and fuller (especially in the vocals) but not hugely so. The original CD is not bad and Eli is the place to start if you want to start a one sided love affair with her.

    I saw her after Tendaberry. I'll save it for later.
     
  22. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    If the vinyl is anything to go by, the Eli recordings may have some built in emphasis in the upper midrange. It's just got a peaky sound to it, without venturing into outright shrillness.
     
  23. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    Wow, I'm looking forward to reading your memories about seeing a New York Tendaberry era show. We'll get to that album on the 40th anniversary of its release date, which will be in 2 weeks.

    Could you post the EAC levels of the original US CD of Eli? I remember the unremastered US and Japanese CDs of the debut matched, but can you confirm that for this title?
     
  24. ronton99

    ronton99 Forum Resident

    Nope, sorry. I don't do that EAC stuff.
    I just listen to and enjoy what I can find that seems to be the best version. Clearly, after not enjoying the remasters very much it was obvious to go back to the original US CD.
    Even Eli on LP is not the smoothest listen as noted above....

    But it sounds like Japan matched the original US CD from what you say. The US's are grab-able for 3-4$.

    Thanks!
     
  25. mdekoning

    mdekoning Senior Member Thread Starter

    Can anybody else help with peak levels for unremastered US CDs of Eli?
     
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