One of my goals for this blog is to provide recent and relevant music recommendations. Well, sometimes music of the past is quite pertinent and too important to ignore. This week's artists all owe their success to a long-forgotten trailblazer and one hell of a singer-songwriter from the 1960s. That amazing musician is Laura Nyro, of course.
The following is an except from Nyro's biography on AMG:
Laura Nyro was one of pop music's 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.
Indeed, some of the most cherished songwriters in history achieved much more measured success in the performance arena (Jackson C. Frank, Nick Drake, Neil Diamond). Regardless, Nyro's songs -- and performances -- are worthy of incredible praise not only for their musical creativity, but originality as well. You may hear a little Carole King in the video below, but did you know that King's Tapestry wasn't even released until 1971? Nyro clearly paved the way for a generation of singer-songwriters and laid the necessary groundwork for the genre/style for many decades to come. Enjoy the vid!
Albums: More Than a New Discovery (1967), Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968), New York Tendaberry (1969), Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970)
Tracks: Stoney End, Stoned Soul Picnic, Sweet Blindness, Save the Country, Time and Love, Up on the Roof
Old Skool, Dave.
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