Eli And The Thirteenth Confession

Her voice could be good, but I kind of hate the backing music and often her vocals. And the songs. Bad show-tunes?

In 1970 played Miles Davis as support act for Laura Nyro at the Fillmore. Miles played music from Bitches Brew (my all time favourite album), which wasn’t even out on record yet. Must have been a culture shock, the electric jazz rock experiment of Miles Davis while waiting for the poppy jazz, or is it jazzy pop?, of Laura Nyro.

great production good vocals its an older album but doesn't always sound older just a nice album I think if I listen to this one more id probably rate it even higher

I had never heard of her before. Beautiful voice but the show-tunes vibe is not for me.

Surprised I'd never heard of Laura Nyro before. Before listening I thought she might be someone contemporary, nope. Anyway, it was very nice for what it was - it was like Joni Mitchell given a lot of horns at some points. Some tracks (including "Eli's Comin", probably the standout) even reminded me of Nick Cave in parts. Anyway, this isn't my favourite sort of music, but I really can't lump this with stuff I think is bland or OK but I don't hate, so it's definitely a low 4 not a 3.

I think I was going to give this a three but looking at it this morning I already don’t remember anything about it

This is weird one to review. The main takeaway from this is that I struggle to comprehend that it was 1968. Her name feels modern, the album title - modern, the album cove -, modern, the music could easily be a modern artist. It's like a weird timeless thing. This is all very impressive. Sadly, having said all that I just didn't really like it.

Laura's music is stuck between being really cool and innovative and dated ("Stoned Soul Picnic" sounds like a borderline parody with how late 60s it is) and uninteresting to me. I hear quite a bit of influence on Kate Bush here. Ultimately not really for me

This was an interesting listen. Her voice is excellent though I didn’t think many of the songs were amazing. The construction was just not good enough. Favorite tracks were Timer and Woman’s Blues. 3 stars

One of those albums I glad I got a chance to listen to, but not one I plan on ever revisiting Best Song: Stoned Soul Picnic Rating: 5/10 Stars: 3

they spam tf out of those tempo switches. i love this tho. this is such good jazz pop i'll def return to this really damn good

As a fan of the 5th dimension I recognized stoned soul picnic and really enjoyed the original version by Laura Nyro. At its best this is great blue eyed soul music that takes you all over the place with change of tempo in songs. Some compositions just don’t do it for me but I feel like this is an album that can grow on me with time. Fav tracks: Luckie, Lu, Sweet blindness, Elis coming, timer, stoned soul picnic, and Emmie

Byrjaði vel og fjaraði út. Textarnir beittir og flott verk. Fannst samt leiðinlegt í lokin því miður.

Wonderful album that needs to be brought out of obscurity. One of the most overlooked performers of all time.

Great voice. Classic sound. Sounds like a glass of wine in a dimly lit apartment high up in the city. Not exactly my favourite sound, but glad to listen. 3-4 rats

About as enjoyable for the ears as falling on a Q-tip.

Could be my compatriots just don't like women? Likely

This was a good album, not completely my style or what I would gravitate toward, but Laura's voice is very expressive, and passionate, jazzy, and airy all in one. I did not know who she was but it sounds like she, and a lot with this album, made quite the impact on future and other musicians of her time. Anyway, I won't ramble on and pretend I know what I am talking about, but give it a listen. Biggest Hit - Luckie Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - December's Boudoir Hidden Gem - The Confession

Day 2 of having no power in my house. Luckily, I was able to listen to this one a few times on repeat, but didn’t give it as much time as I usually give these albums unfortunately. I don’t know if my opinions on this album would be that much different had I been granted the luxury of listening to it a tad longer, but a 3 feels like a pretty safe bet for this one. From what I was able to listen to though, this is a delightfully weird album. Song to song, the vibes go from Pop, to Singer Songwriter, to damn near Hard Rock. I don’t know who Laura Nyro is, but I like her voice a lot. Occasionally. And that’s the weird thing about this album. She has a great voice, but sometimes it just sounds a little off on some of these songs when she’s hitting a high note. It’s very unique though, and even when she’s hitting a weird high note, I don’t actually mind it. Which is weird, because I feel like I should hate it?? But I don’t. Plenty of other artists who have the gimmick of random pitch shifts just end up sounding awful, but I don’t think I mind when Laura does it, even when it sounds off. I don’t really know why. Again, I wish I had some more time with this album because I’m sure on the 10th+ listen through I would end up either getting even more hooked on it or end up detesting it. Knowing me, probably the former. That pipeline usually only goes one direction. If I like it already, I’m typically going to keep liking it. If I don’t, then there’s a chance I end up liking it anyway, but very rarely will I decide I dislike something after initially enjoying it, so I think we’re fine on that front probably. Completely random explosion of conscience thought that has no place anywhere in this review so I’m just going to stick it here, I think she kind of looks like the actress that plays Jessica Jones, whose name is escaping me. I’d look it up, but again I have no power or internet access. I was lucky to be able to download this album to begin with. Back to the actual review, I would definitely return to this again. It’s weirdly up my alley, it’s unique, and it’s different enough from song to song that I don’t think I would even skip any of these songs. The biggest takeaway I got from this album though, was that this is the original version of one of my favorite songs, “Eli’s Comin’.” Something I’ve enjoyed playing while participating in this project, is a little game I like to call “Is this a cover, or is this the original!??”. In this case, it’s the original. While I think the Three Dog Night cover does it a bit better, it’s still really really great to hear the original, and my bias of already enjoying that song is going to have to force me to say it’s my favorite song on this album. To be fair, it probably would be my favorite song on the album anyway. It’s great. Going on day 3 without power and I wish I could have given this one some more time, I feel like I owe it that. There’s a lot more I think I can get out of this one. Maybe some other time. But for now, I’ll give it a 3 and move on to the next one. So long for now.

Not great. Would constantly fluctuate between “wow this is somewhat interesting” and “wow this is so annoying.” Overall felt really directionless and even the interesting moments weren’t stunning. I would probably rate this a 1.4/5 but cannot, so I will give it a 1. Favorite song: Once it Was Alright Now

Day949 - i was thinking all these songs sound like tv theme songs

ricorda un po’ joni mitchell, dovrei approfondirlo però

Her voice ranges from beautiful to really bloody annoying. Some good tunes though, and you can see the influence it had on Elton John

Fourteenth confession: didn’t know Laura!

This album was great. I thought the singing and songwriting was great. The music behind the singing was great as well. Every song felt different and flowed perfectly.

This was a pleasant listen but I don't think I'll be adding it to my playlist.

En del häftiga låtar men det är något med sångrösten som inte riktigt funkar för mig

Okänd artist sen innan för mig men kändes oväntat modernt på ett bra sätt.

Fint men inte så spännande.

It's cool. Definite Carole King vibes.

Album art looks like its from the late 2010s. Love the composition and vibe of the music. Laura’s headvoice is very frustratingly obnoxious though which takes away a lot of my enjoyment.

Wow! I have never heard of Laura, but this was really fun and exciting. Joni Mitchel plus Motown plus late 60s sounds. Very cool.

Never hear of her before, but yeah this fits in nicely with other pop music of the era, in a good way.

60's pop! Interesting. I like some historical pop but I've legitimately never heard of her. This is exactly why I wanted to go through these albums. It's pretty catchy, but nothing is standing out to me as "OH MY GOD." I can respect the musicianship, and totally understand why there's a lot of musicians (Elton John primarily) that call her a massive influence.

i mean it's alright i guess

Wow - totally new to me, and it’s excellent. Tracks that move from bold to delicate in a breath, and Nyro had an amazing range. Favourite track: December’s Boudoir

Initial impression is that I really enjoyed it and would go back to listen to more from Laura Nyro

At times I thought I was getting into it and then not so much. 2.t

En mi vida había escuchado de Laura Nyro y me llevé una grata sorpresa.

Imagine the most irritating parts of Joni Mitchell's singing blended with Carole King's discarded lyrics, all performed like a Broadway show.

01/08/2026 The average vote is around 3 stars and I would have to agree with that. Nothing special here, move along. Spotify listeners: 63.8k

Una obra cumbre del pop barroco y la canción de autor que ha envejecido bien gracias a su audacia estructural e intensidad poética. En el plano de diseño formal, la producción teje una arquitectura sonora compleja: los arreglos orquestales y el percusivo piano de Nyro se articulan en un entretejido que da claridad a los constantes y dramáticos cambios de ritmo, permitiendo que la riqueza melódica fluya con absoluta nitidez. La entrega vocal e instrumental de Laura Nyro desborda una fuerza y calidez que transmiten una autenticidad desarmante, otorgándole una autoridad superior desde la pura vulnerabilidad. Piezas de una explosión contagiosa como "Eli's Comin'" y la luminosidad de "Stoned Soul Picnic" se entrelazan con confesiones íntimas para dar forma a un documento conmovedor, crudo y real que opera como un sutil llamado a la conciencia sobre las pasiones, los dilemas morales y la búsqueda de redención en la juventud. Un trabajo cuya cadencia envolvente y constante sensación de paz y fluidez lo convierten en un catalizador sumamente versátil para múltiples usos, siendo un acompañante extraordinario para potenciar el trabajo creativo, la conducción o la reflexión solitaria.

I did like it, but I couldn’t help thinking it didn’t have enough tunes

Voice is strained and sometimes sharp to my ears.

Laura Nyro is a rare entry into my personal canon of captivating singers including Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser and Scott Walker. I’m amazed I was not familiar with her before picking up this record because she is a sensation. It's not often that a genre completely clicks in your head for the first time but her take on vocal jazz did that for me through an elaborate vocal performance which bursts with vital feeling, flavour and a joy for life. It elevates a more familiar pop soul sound, which I usually find soothing but straightforward, into something wholly unpredictable and shaken up. She’s here for a party. She’s bringing the party!

Laura Nyro getting a low 4, not my genre but an undeniably great voice, interesting arrangements, and tunes

ok

I want to like this but the slow parts are killing me slowly

Here we have a humungously influential singer songwriter, recently name checked in an Elton/Brandi song, bisexual best mate of manger David Geffen, who's acrobatic voice would've influenced Joni Mitchell and changes of tempo would've attracted the attention of prog artists, especially Kate Bush. The term underrated gets bandied about and Laura Nyro fits that bill extremely well. Having said all this I did not warm to this stuff instantly, like Joni it will take numerous listens and I sense that this is now in a post Monterey pop time capsule, usurped by (pardon me) better writers. Better than yesterday's 1968 album though.......

Always kinda cool to see real niche stuff from the 60s I think when she’s on her vocals are great; it’s pretty cool to see what’s basically a really old pop album that has a pretty strong rock identity as well. Instrumentation is pretty solid and there’s some nice guitar parts on there. Don’t think any songs stood out a ton but none of them really stood out in a bad way either I do agree with the sentiment that her voice is pretty hit or miss; there’s some notes where it feels like she really didn’t hit em and even though it’s pretty momentary, it brings you out of it. Same problem as always where most of the album is very forgettable. Its unique for sure and I think it’s a cool album for its time so probably good it’s on this list, but there’s a ton of music that just does what this one does but better

I can appreciate a woman writing her weird tunes. I like how she's not afraid to shift genre and tempo in the same track. They're really unique, but it's not enough to fully grab me. Makes sense why the songs only really got liked when they got covered.

When I first saw the cover, my initial impressions were that this album was probably newer. I guess I didn’t pay attention to the date, because I was surprised to see 1968 as the year. My surprise was furthered after hearing it. There are a lot of genres blended in. Progressive pop and soul mixed with jazz isn’t necessarily anything I haven’t heard before. But I don’t think anybody had done it to this level of complexity and pulled it off as well up until this point. It’s not completely lifeless and sad. It’s actually kind of upbeat at some points. But it’s still very beautiful, serene and at many times solemn. This woman single-handedly reminds me of multiple other people. She’s like a 60s infused PJ Harvey combined with Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone backed by a jazz band. Her vocal variety especially makes me think about the latter two. The actual music here is pretty awesome though. This mix of jazz and pop kind of feels ahead of its time. Again, I can’t think of another artist that was pulling this off back then. Joni was around, but her career had literally just started. And I like the way this progresses and how the time signatures, rhythms, and melodies are constantly switching. Although the transition between said parts are a little too jarring and not as fluid as I would hope they’d be. But this is still an engaging album. It won me over very quickly, and was interesting from beginning to end.

Innovative for its time. Slight lack of variation as we move through the album. Stoned soul picnic is worth the price of admission alone.

Meh. I didn't particularly care for this. Wasn't bad or anything.

Never heard of this artist before and had no idea what to expect, and what a shame this is my first exposure because I was missing out! Every part of this was right up my alley. I didn’t look at the year at first, just the album cover, and expected this to be something much more recent. The album cover gives 90s/2000s but instead I got a wonderful 60s surprise! “Luckie,” “Lu,” “Eli’s Comin’,” and “Emmie” were my favorite tracks, but everything top to bottom was great. An absolute gem of an album and a wonderful surprise!

Fun & rollicking. Totally not my thing. A little too singy-songy for my taste, to be unfair and imprecise. I have a feeling I’ve heard this album playing in a vintage store with an intimidatingly cute clerk.

TV’s Frank Approved! Some great songwriting though sometimes I thought the arrangements were a bit busy. They should cancel a couple of those plans.

I hadn’t heard it. Started out really strong and got a bit boring by the end. Evened out to a 4.

This album is all over the place, and not in a way I like. Is it really one star? Maybe not, but that’s an overestimation of how often I would ever turn this on.

Another discovery for me. Good, but not one I really get why it is on the list

very nice

So odd that this is almost 60 years old and I never heard of her. especially with such a voice! Nice find at 944/1001

Very catchy and pleasant album. Did not expect to enjoy this so much. My only complaint is that I've heard so much like this album, so it probably won't stay with me all that long. Still, I won't say that I didn't enjoy myself, as that'd be a lie. Favourite track: Woman's Blues Least favourite track: Poverty Train

First half was stronger than the second, but I love Nyo's voice/style

This album bookended an hours-long conversation with my roommate Eliana, as we chatted about everything from Spider-Man movies to Mark Z. Danielewski novels. Based on the cover and general vibe of the album, I had gone in expecting a low tempo, piano-driven singer-songwriter album, and that was not even close to the vibe. The album was immediately so much jazzier and more upbeat than I had been expecting, with Nyro's voice shifting between tones and ranges in a really captivating way. I had also assumed that this album was from somewhere around the 2000s, only to be completely floored when I learned it's actually from 1968! Over the course of this album, I went from having no idea who Laura Nyro was to being a die-hard fan of hers, coming to understand just how influential of a songwriter she was. Everyone from Alice Cooper to Elton John sang her praises, building her up as one of those "your favorite artist's favorite artist"-types of musicians who went underappreciated in her prime but is absolutely deserving of recognition and praise. The instrumentals she sings over on this album are so full of energy, and I love how loose the time signatures are speeding up and slowing down as they see fit. Her lyricism is also constantly witty, poetic, and insightful bringing these beautiful sentiments to life with a one-of-a-kind voice full of character and emotion. These are the kinds of albums which I'm most happy to see on this list: those which shine a light on underappreciated artists who deserve to be recognized. Highlights: Luckie, Sweet Blindness, Poverty Train, Lonely Women, Eli's Comin', Stoned Soul Picnic, Woman's Blues, Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe), December's Boudoir, The Confession

I don’t necessarily love the album, it’s a little grating and annoying. But it very much feels like a transition album between the old school 1950s/60s jazz style of pop music and the folk-inspired pop of the early 1970s. I can absolutely see how this would lead to the Joni Mitchell and Carole King styling that I love. Overall, an interesting find, that I’m glad I got to hear and learn about. 3/5.

I really liked this. She has elements that I love from Carol King, but also goes out of the norm for a bunch of her songs. It kept me engaged, and I would listen again. Rating: 8/10 Favorite Song: Emmie

Enjoyed it! Especially liked Lu and Emmie. Low 3.5/5

Laura Nyro has a good voice. But I don't like her music. It reminds me of a certain kind of bar music that I can rarely stand. 3/5

Ooh this was classy. Sultry voice, great contrast to Adele.

I did not know Laura Nyro. I enjoyed her soulful sound and the blend of jazz, folk and soul. Enjoyable enough but not an album I'll rush back to.

I had never heard of Laura Nyro. Thanks 1001, I will listen again.

Wait. What. 1968 ? Unbelievable. Stunning voice, fabulous soul/jazz compositions. Prefigures Joni's genius albums in the mid-70s.How have I managed to overlook this album all my life. 4*

6/10 - good vocals and surprisingly not a 60s sounding album

Un disco majestuoso, que me sorprendió para bien y que sin dudas me hizo valorar más la década de por si genial de los 60's. La voz de Laura es increíble y angelical

Vocally incredible

sounds like how I sing in the car when I'm delirious and trying to get it to go by faster

Had never heard of her and was convinced she was a late 90s alt girl (even after seeing the album cover and for some of the first song). Incredible voice it's crazy. Super jazzy in a way that means she is willing to hit a sour note sometimes which I could see being offputting. The songwriting is good but mostly feels like a loose structure for her to do crazy vocalizing over.

not bad

as an emily, hated this

This was enjoyable and very stylish.

I've heard about her before, always described as both hugely influential and hugely underappreciated. But I've never heard her music. Listening to this, it is quite clear she's influenced, like, everyone.

Great listening.

Not my cup of tea

I had a hard time getting through this one. It's kinda all over the place and stylistically I found it grating. She has talent as a performer, but I just couldn't get on board with the composition of most of these songs. Fiona Apple can go off the beaten path, too, but give me something like "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" over this all day. 1.8

Complete ass

Muy bueno, nunca había escuchado un disco completo de este género musical

At first I was a bit underwhelmed, but the album won me over. Particularly when Stoned Soul Picnic hit, but crazy that she wrote the album herself. Is this like proto-Tori Amos? Great songwriting, voice I'm up and down on, but songwriting overcomes a lot!

What the fuck this came out in 1968????

Vekslede meget mellem virkelig god og virkelig anstrengende, så det bliver en 3’er. Jeg ville aldrig have gættet at den var fra 60’erne ud fra coveret, hun ligner Alanis Morrisette

Hørte tilfældigvis en anden Laura Nyro plade for et par uger siden som jeg ikke var så vild med, men jeg var ret vild med den her! Sindssyg stemme, god fri energi

Great voice. Amazing that this was recorded in 68 - sounds way more modern production-wise

some of this was so good and some of this was so annoying

Tolle Stimme

Laura Nyrolla on hyvä lauluääni, mutta en kuitenkaan kauheasti innostunut tästä levystä. Biisit olivat liian teatraalisia.

stunning, evocative and beautiful

No way I would have discovered this myself. Sounds ok but not for me, I did not connect.

Rhythm and tempo changes for days! What an opener. Unfortunately, it gets a bit stale along the way. Actually can't believe this was released back in 1968. Could easily be released by some indie/jazzy/soul-ish artist today (*ahem*, Fiona Apple). The sound itself is really great, clean and expansive with the magnificently sounding grand piano especially. Enjoyed it 2.8

This album was ok. I was not blown away by her.

Why is this on here. 60% of the albums on the lisf are regrettable and makes me question the author

It's fine, she sounds pretty good, the lyrics are just whatever. This really did nothing for me. Sounds like nice restaurant music. Never going to seek out to listen to again.

Musically this was ok, but vocally it went from fine to annoying real quick. Felt like she was trying too hard to be soulful/karen carpenter/jazz/who knows

Another great discovery!

This was a bit of a vibe. Some songs were more enjoyably than others though.

Never heard of this before. Not bad pop album. Liked her voice

Why had I never heard of her? Part big band swing part jazz part pop part soul & moving seamlessly between them with her Carpenter voice (or did Karen have a Nyro voice?). Here’s the foundation of so much of the 70s.

The musicianship was good and all, but the songwriting and vocal performance felt a little like jingling keys in my face

Reminds me of Joni

Picture yourself wearing a white jacket tuxedo drinking a Negroni while smoking a pack of cigarettes at a booth table in a tacky gentleman's club adorned with the poor fashion sense of Donald Trump's gold obsession and dimly lit lights keeping everyone only visable from the nose on down. The grand piano centre stage has an extremely revealing sparkling red dressed lady jumping all over it's polished surface in her shiny spiked high heels with the microphone somehow both being gripped hard yet being on the verge of falling from her hand as she bounces from crooner to belting out that powerful voice. As she moves through the crowd with the elegance of silk in a breeze and blows a random kiss that just happens to motion in your general vicinity, your eye balls pop out of your head at a distance of 50cm and increase to the size of basketballs as your tongue rolls out like a firefighter unravels a fire hose like some 1940's cartoon wolf with a severe case of high blood pressure steam blowing out of your ears. You howl like that cartoon wolf, because you're a heckling perv... congrats, you've ruined the show for everyone else and you look like a drooling, twitching, sweating mess as you are about to receive your first of 4 fatal heart attacks due to your unhealthy lifestyle of smoking and drinking and womanizing. Thank the dashing Cuban cardiologist in the audience for saving your life. Or maybe this album is completely different than that?

I really enjoyed big chunks of this album, the lead singers voice is interesting and there's a decent variety within each song. The album also paces itself well, with arguably the most "upbeat" or "exciting" segment running slap bang through the middle. Despite that something just didnt quite hit for me, maybe it was the production, but i just found myself losing interest as the project went on. Defiantly worth a listen even if just for the once over.

I have no idea what to do with this one. She's talented as hell, but also sometimes annoying as hell. The entire album feels like it was improvised, possibly while on a lot of drugs. I'm calling it 3 stars, but I don't feel great about that.

Hard one here. Sometimes I think I hate it, other times I love it. Probably going to round it to a 3 to give a fair shake. Also, it looks like she was influential for later artists.

New artist for me. Mix of styles kept things . Certainly a smoke filled bar relaxing, enjoying the show type of vibe.

The first full Laura Nyro album I’ve heard. Clearly an impressive talent…but I found a lot of the songs repetitive. Even wondering sometimes what it would sound like if her frequent collaborators the 5th Dimension took on the same songs. Overall I think I’d prefer to listen to her contemporary Judee Sill. Album standouts: Sweet Blindness, Elis Coming, Timer, Stoned Soul Picnic, Emmie and Woman’s Blues. Loved the lyrics on Lonely Women, would be interested in hearing another artist’s interpretation.

Lot going on with this, constantly switching genres, very enjoyable and never boring, particularly liked Lonely Women. Voice is occasionally a little pitchy

4.5/10

This one is a swing and a miss for me. My wife was NOT a fan either. It was more annoyed by the weird skat stuff and it completely derailed me from the album.

She has a good voice, but the music is VERY annoying. She sounds like a hyper theatre kid performing for her grandparents at Thanksgiving.

I really liked this album. It has a unique blend of soul and folk that works really well. I've never heard of Laura Nyro, but I am a fan.

Shrill

She’s solid.

Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it

I had never heard of her. It feels very 60s, but it is enjoyable.

****a good easy listening album

Sounds like showtunes

I only had time for ine pass through this but thought it was good. The 60's soynd was very strong, im not sure if it was the songwriting, instumentation or production but it sounded good. The voice was strong bit not as smooth as other i associate with this era. A fun listen without being memorable.

A bit too easy listening for me. Lovely voice though.

Interesting music not my favorite

A great listen. I really enjoyed her vocal styles and the production and instrumentation was top. Lots of fun little tempo shifts throughout to keep things fresh.

nyro should have become more well-known than she was. this is some fantastic songwriting and singing

This was really nice. For some reason this older full band sound always works well with my brain.

Joyful

En realidad 2.75

Laura has a beautiful voice but this was kinda forgettable

Sounds like a carol king knockoff without the good songs

The voice of Laura is nice and it's a good album for working.

Hhmmm 2

Really enjoyable late 60’s soulful pop with shades of carol king nearly a 4 will listen again it was a surprise unknown

I'm sure it's great, just not for me

I don’t know much Laura Nyro. I know at one time she was supposed to be the next big thing. I know she was booed at the Monterey Pop Festival. Piano main instrument. Sounds like 50s Frank Sinatra music. Voice fine. Good songwriter. Stoned Soul Music: good song. It is an average album. Three stars.

Never heard of her. Maybe one of her tracks will sound familiar. Not for me. I respect it but nothing I'd go out of my way for

another new one there's some jams in here big sound, lots of funk feels very 60s 💥eli's comin' 💥stoned soul picnic 💥once it was alright now (farmer joe)

You can clearly see where she fits in the pantheon of popular music. Her influence is everywhere from Joni Mitchell to Patti Smith, Excene Cervenka and Donna Summer to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple. The music is well composed and the whole project is very well produced. It feels very much like a Broadway soundtrack. It’s not always easy to enjoy or listen to. But I can appreciate what’s happening. Stoned Soul Picnic is rad af. Get into it.

This is the second time this has come up for me and my multiple projects. I didn’t dig it the first time. But I listened a second time. Music can really change for me on the second time through and familiarity can improve my impression immensely. But that’s not the case here. What happened was that I became more aware of what was wrong. Laura has a fear of emptiness. She feels compelled to fill every moment, every instant with sound, with vocalization, with instrumentation. If she could have just let in a little room for breath, I believe there would have been a great improvement. But we’ll never know. And I am not sure I can withstand this a third time. 2 Boolean: true, so I could know

passt mir nicht

Not my type

Gran descubrimiento!

This gave me an opportunity to listen to an artist I’d heard a lot about. I suppose it is must listen. I liked it.

An odd song writer and a strange career. What's a teenager doing writing about getting blind on the booze, or And When I Die? The songs on this classic record are fantastic, she helped launch some pretty big careers with her tunes. Not so good as a performer though.

Laura Nyro is one of those songwriters whose songs had much more success with other artists almost immediately after release; Three Dog Night, 5th Dimension and Barbra Streisand all had hits with her songs, and the list of artists who have paid tribute to her in song or cited her influence in interview is almost endless. You can trace her ongoing influence particularly on piano-based singer songwriters who want to do their own thing. But you just don't hear her records played much these days, which mystifies me. Aspects of Laura Nyro I particularly enjoy; - She is a fluid and interesting song-writer who works a bit outside the usual rules of song-writing, but it doesn't come across as just clever-clogs. A really good example of this is the way her songs often shift tempo, but not in a prog-rock, show-off kind of way. The changes are much more natural and flow with the song. You can hear it clearly in the shifts in 'Stoned Soul Picnic'. It helps that she has a crack band of session musicians who can keep up with her. - I really like her voice. She is technically adept, but again, not showing-off. - She is clearly strongly influenced by soul and r'n'b, but doesn't slavishly imitate. She has a credible soul voice, but she is still doing her own thing. Truth be told, the Laura Nyro album I play most often is Gonna Take a Miracle, a collection of girl group and soul/r'n'b covers with backing vocals from Labelle, because that is just a helluva lot of fun to listen to. But Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is a masterpiece. Hard to believe this was recorded when she was only about 20 years old and in 1968 (not a friendly time in the music industry towards female solo artists). I can understand why she stepped back from her career (especially given that David Geffen managed to broker a multi-million-dollar sale for her publishing, which I am sure allowed a comfortable retirement at the age of 25). I wish this was played more but is a must-hear classic with a few classic songs (Eli's Comin' and Stone Soul Picnic being the most obvious classic tracks).

Idk why but I just did not vibe with this. I think it’s an average to below average record for this style.

..

Man, this was weird It had bits that I quite liked, but then it would switch and be absolutely horrific. There was no telling when the pain would come, but it was always round the corner It's a bit like being fed gummy bears but then randomly getting punched in the face while getting through the bag. An overall terrible experience.

Not my style, but good for what it is.

When Laura Nyro asks you to surry, you fucking surry! I just want to drown in her.

Unique and creative. No two songs sounded the same

I was expecting some softly sung, drippy folk album from the turn of the 1960s, and instead got a bright, tightly written set of pop and soul songs (and an experimental blues song!). I hadn’t heard of Nyro and went on a little research journey and learned that I should absolutely be aware of her. What a shame she died so young. What a voice. Warm and natural. Powerful but not overtrained, and she pushes it to its limit occasionally. The production is sometimes a little dated and the mixing could be finer (I could’ve told you this came out in ‘68 without seeing the date). Strikes a balance between bangers (“Eli’s Coming”) and introspective, considered slow burns (“Lonely Women”). It’s unexpected and eccentric. I’ll be checking out more of her work. Thanks list.

Genre bending and easy to listen to but also seems to be missing real value outside of historic influence

I'd heard of Laura Nyro but hadn't never listened to her before today. My main recollection of her was that many of the girls and women in my life, growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, swore by her and spoke of her being one of their favorite singer-songwriters. I was excited to jump into this today, and I absolutely loved it from the start. Just about all of the songs morphed into different things during their run times, and these were not necessarily long tracks. And her voice was just sublime. I kept thinking that there's a Carole King sound to her, but Nyro was a much better vocalist. I found myself smiling throughout, as each song brought some new thing-a turn of the phrase, a vocal change, and tempo change-to make me love it even if I hadn't from the start. Absolute standouts were Luckie, Lu, Eli's Comin', and Stoned Soul Picnic, but there wasn't a song I didn't enjoy. It's so cool to add another artist to my personal list of favorites.

Pretty good

Surprised I’ve never heard of her. Joyful.

The top review nails this for me, it veered between good and annoying, depending basically on the register of her voice. Teetering between a 2 and a 3

She keeps alternating between good and kinda annoying, as do the songs themselves. It feels a little halfbaked, like if someone tried to write an album that wasn't truly authentic to themselves to be more interesting.

Haven’t heard Laura Nyro before, and I can’t say i’m thrilled to have heard of her now

C'est la première fois que j'entends parler de cette chanteuse. J'ai un peu lu l'article de Wikipédia au sujet de cet album. Si j'ai bien compris, c'est un album qui a beaucoup influencé la pop de façon générale et notamment des chanteuses comme Kate Bush (en tout cas, c'est ce que dit l'article). Son influence fait que cet album a tout a fait sa place dans la liste. Cela dit, ça ne m'accroche pas plus que ça. Il faut bien dire qu'elle a une sacrée voix et y'a de jolis arrangements. Mais ça ne me suffit pas, je reste encore sur ma faim quand c'est terminé. Je crois que c'est tout simplement pas un album pour moi.

Just a lady singing nice songs. Her voice travels from beautiful to slightly annoying and back throughout.

Fantastic songwriting and a great voice.

Nice :) nice voice, songs don’t grab me too much.

2.5

I really really loved this. Her melodies and songwriting remind me so much of Carole King, but with a clearer more theatrical voice. She feels like a cross between Carole and Linda Ronstadt. Which is a compliment. Fav tracks: Lonely Women; Eli’s Comin’; Stoned Soul Picnic; Woman’s Blues

Not really for me - the songs were all a bit samey and her voice put me very slightly on edge

Amazing

y, no me gustó no se

A very good soul pop record that has a production value that is honestly timeless. I found most tracks to be pretty good no complaints.

What makes the album great is that Nyro does not write songs so much as she hurls them through different moods in real time. Soul, pop, gospel, jazz, Brill Building craft, and near-operatic drama all collide here. A lesser artist doing this much would sound undisciplined.

This was an unexpected jazzy delight. I'm not sure if I've ever heard an album with more time changes. Really nice bass lines

Listened to on my Apple EarPods. You know, something of a habit has formed when typing these reviews up the day after I listen, in which I listen back to tracks from said album that have stood out to me or to just grab a refresher on things I want to talk about. For this album, I truly feel no urge to do so, in fact I would be pleased not to hear from this album again. This is the first album from my project that I have felt totally disconnected with, whether it's Laura Nyro's voice which I find abrasive and grating, the instrumentation which felt totally standard and lacking in energy, or the shifts in mood which conveyed very little emotionally, whether that be the random pushes into a full time rhythm groove before sinking back into half time, or the very spacious moments throughout where Laura's vocals shrink to the minimum output and the bands takes off almost entirely. Unfortunately, my biggest disconnect with the album does lay with Laura Nyro's voice. I just don't like it at all, and it made it really hard to focus on the lyricism behind it, which I didn't really find compelling when I could focus in. There were very few moments I actually enjoyed the album, and enjoyed might not even be the right word for it. It was more like respected, or interested, rather than outright enjoyment. This came in the overt mentioning of cocaine at the ending of 'Poverty Train', which combined with the lyrics and the delivery, surprised me due to the time period. And immediately following that came the one track that I found reasonable, which was 'Lonely Women', which felt very emotionally honest and laden with lament. These small moments could not save the album from my overall impressions, however. I just wasn't convinced throughout the overwhelming whole of the album, whether it be the vibe switches that didn't add to the tracks or Nyro's voice which I am not a fan of. This album reminds me a lot of Court and Spark by Joni Mitchell which I just recently listened to for this project. Though I didn't quite enjoy that one either, I could at least give it props for it's musical exploration feeling backed by talent, Mitchell's voice being so graceful and wonderful as it is, and the couple of tracks that I did dig from it. Here, however, on 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession', I find very little I can actually take away from this album, not the voice, not the exploration, not the tracks. My least favorite album from this project thus far.

I have a hard time with deciding between a 4 and 4.5 for this album. It is very well done, and the songwriting is nice for the genre. It also has variety while still feeling cohesive. Therefore, I'm going to bump it up to 5 for this scale.

I had never heard of this but adored it. Literate, intelligent, creative, playful and clearly ahead of it's time.

It was pretty … awful. And I thought her name was spelled Nero??

I wouldn't want to listen to this all the time, but there was something charming about it?

No, thank you.

Fantastic songwriter. Album is a bit uneven but it establishes her sound and has three of her best songs.

I didn't mind this one. Lots of genre-mixing and her voice is decent.

Some of this borders on musical torture, "Surry! Surry! Surry! SURRY!" for example. I think Laura might have had undiagnosed Asperger's or similar, as she seems to fixate on repetitive and annoying noises at some points during this album. Other parts are quite pleasant, but not enough to make up for the bits that are anything but enjoyable. Overall I feel two stars is about right. One star for quality, plus a bonus star for enthusiasm in belting out some of these songs.

This was a nice find, some talented soulful pop from the Class of ‘68. Favorites: “Poverty Train” and “Eli’s Coming.”

Laura Nyro has a great voice, however, I believe she is custom made for singles played on soft rock/easy listening stations rather than in album doses.

I didn't know much about Laura Nyro before this, but man, I was totally blown away. This 1968 album sounds way ahead of its time, mixing soul, jazz, gospel, and pop into its own unique vibe. You can really hear how she paved the way for legends like Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Kate Bush. The song structures are wild and unpredictable, but instead of feeling messy, it’s just a super fun, creative rush. Her voice is unreal, so powerful and full of raw emotion. Whether she's going all in on the theatrical, frantic parts of "Eli's Comin'" or chilling out with the groove on "Stoned Soul Picnic", she’s in total control. I can see why her big, Broadway style energy might be a lot for some people, but I loved it. It’s an absolute hidden gem and a total blast to listen to.

This is what I signed up for. The first five tracks go by and you're thinking "this is nice.". Then Eli's Comin' comes in and all I can think is "this is a great cover." But then we hit "Stoned Soul Picnic" and I have to think "how many covers are on this album?" because a bit of a pet peeve that we just get covers. So one goes to Wikipedia and learns - wait, no. Really? She wrote Eli's Comin' and Stoned Soul Picnic? Well that sets this album in a completely different light. Woman's Blues is a great song too. So is Once It Was Alright Now. I didn't even recognize Sweet Blindness (not a 5th Dimension song I really know). A complete surprise from a complete unknown to me artist. I love Three Dog Night's version of Eli's Comin'. But the original is a whole different level of haunting and beautiful.

I wanted to love this but I kind of drifted off while I was listening

You can hear Nyro's influence on others, but a lot of sameness.

I like her voice. It's a nice album to listen to in the background.

Good jazz R n B crossover singer songwriter of 60’s 70’s who didn’t get the recognition she deserved

Strange mix…some nice some irritating

Weird

Listening without reading a bio, I think I initially confused her with Laura Marling, and assumed it was a 60s pastiche - but no, original 60s with what now feels a very modern production. Its a bit music hall / cabaret - the vocals are a bit rough in places and the regular tempo shifts throw me off a little, but I enjoyed it. Can see a through line to something like the Dresden Dolls. A decent 3.

I was actually surprised by this one, really enjoyed it. Her vocals and the melodies are Jeff Buckley-esqe. There wasn’t a track on this album I didn’t enjoy

Meh 🫤 not my cup of tea

Lovely voice Thumbs Up Emoji

Schön zu hören, wirkt zeitlos. Angenehme Stimme. 4/5

Un disco un poco aburrido, la cantante tiene muy buena voz pero las canciones me aburrieron

I don’t like all the songs on this album but ‘Eli’s Coming’ and ‘Stoned Soul Picnic’ are great. In my mind I’m always strolling down a street in Manhattan, wearing long hair, a baker boy hat over long hair, A-line skirt and stacked heel leather boots.

This was a wild one. When she gets swinging it’s really good. When she goes high it can get shrill and almost alarming. Songs often build slowly and then take an interesting turn. I started off thinking this is a 1, then it gradually won me over with its idiosyncratic charms, then it lost me for a bit. It was a fun ride and I’m glad I listened to it, and it’s certainly a compelling historical document of 70s feminist art, but I’m not sure I’d come back to it. Ultimately a 2.5 but I’m trying to stick to the rating system I set earlier.

You know what? Hell yeah. This is not my kind of music, but it sounds cool as hell and is made by a woman, a category of album that is egregiously underrepresented on this damn list. 3.5

Love love love her voice.

meh

Yet another 5/5 rating (am I being too much generous with my ratings? Or am I being so lucky with the albums the generator is throwing at me?!?!) But seriously, when I hear something that could have been produced 2, 3, or 10 years ago and it captivates me, and then I look it up and realize it was produced 40, 50, or 70 years ago, that’s how you know something has aged well. With this album, I felt exactly that! Although it’s not my favorite genre, this lady’s jazzy voice and the beautiful melodies were a wonderful experience.

Kept feeling like I should be enjoying this, but I really couldn't...

The music is like Amy Winehouse if she was happy. The vocals are that of someone you think could have a really nice voice if they only took singing lessons. But they never do and you’re left with occasional notes of nails on the chalkboard.

Amazing

Is the 13th confession that Laura Nylon is God awful at writing and performing music?

Gorgeous

I can’t really discern how I feel about this album. In one hand I feel like she’s a very talented vocalist, but on the other hand I felt like I was getting sick of her vocal style by the time I got to side B of the album. On one hand I feel like she’s doing too much with her exaggerated show tune style of music, but on the other hand I feel like she’s not doing enough, and there’s no real memorable songs on this album. This album is really just the middle of the road for me. 5/10.

Good album. Not really my style or something I see as very interesting. But it's a good listen. Nice voice and great musicians. I particularly liked "Poverty Train", "Lonely Women", or "Stoned Soul Picnic" or "Woman's Blues". Between 3 and 4 stars.

This is very elegant! So classy! The kind of voice that wears a ball gown all by itself! So exuberant that if you don't pay close attention, you won't notice the excellent arrangements that build all the songs. I'd be crazy if I didn't give it 5 stars.

Nope

My son's highly successful High School show choir has been practicing & performing Eli's Comin' this school year. This morning, I told him my Album of the Day was the songwriter for Eli's Comin'. He replied Three Dog Night. I said, No, Laura Nyro. Which is sad because this is a lovely, pleasant album to listen to. I know nothing about Nyro before listening, in reading about her career. Other people seem to have more success with her songs than her. Not every song is a winner, so it's not perfect. There's lots of odd changes in the songs. It's still good. Her voice reminds of Carole King with snippets of Tori Amos. 3 She looks like Krysten Ritter on the album cover.

3. Love her voice.

This is the first one I couldn’t finish. It was making me sick.

Die New Yorkerin Laura Nyro war gerade zwanzig Jahre alt, als sie im Januar und Februar 1968 im Columbia 30th Street Studio in Manhattan ihr zweites Album einspielte. Gemeinsam mit Arrangeur und Co-Produzent Charlie Calello verschmolz sie dort Soul, Jazz, Gospel und Folk-Pop zu einer Klangsprache, die für die Popmusik der Epoche beispiellos war. Columbia Records veröffentlichte das Ergebnis im März 1968 – und druckte auf Nyros Betreiben hin sogar Liedtexte auf einem parfümierten Beilagebogen mit: ein Symbol für die ungewöhnliche künstlerische Autonomie, die die Songwriterin von Beginn an für sich beanspruchte. Das Album ist vollständig von Nyro selbst geschrieben und enthält Songs, die als eigenständige Kompositionen bestehen, zugleich aber einem übergeordneten Erzählbogen folgen. Tracks wie „Stoned Soul Picnic", „Sweet Blindness" und „Eli's Comin'" wurden rasch von anderen Künstlerinnen gecovert und zu Hit-Singles verwertet – während die Originale selbst eher als Insider-Empfehlung kursierten. „Emmie" gilt rückblickend als eines der frühesten lesbisch codierten Lieder im Mainstream-Pop. Was Nyro von einer bloßen Songlieferantin unterschied, war die Art, wie sie ihre Stimme über drei Oktaven selbst vervielfachte, jeden Hintergrundgesang allein einsprach und damit die konventionelle Studioroutine der Zeit brach. Eli and the Thirteenth Confession scheiterte kommerziell, blieb aber im Bewusstsein von Musikerinnen und Kritikern als Referenzpunkt haften. Todd Rundgren nannte es eine Oper; Alvin Ailey choreografierte eine Ballettperformance zu sechs seiner Tracks. Nyros Einfluss auf Kate Bush, Tori Amos und die gesamte Welle introspektiver Songwriterinnen der 1970er-Jahre lässt sich kaum überschätzen. Ein Album, das seiner Zeit so weit vorausgriff, dass es die Gegenwart noch immer berührt.

Really good production, what a gem

This album is kind of all over the place. I didn't hate it, but didn't really like it that much either.

60s female vocalist wailing, but even less actual music structure than others. No thanks.

This is great. Great voice and lyrics. Song structures were cool.

It's alright. She has a nice voice and the songs are grand but just nothing here of interest to revisit.

Kinda boring. I have never been a big fan of jazzy crooners and she was no exception

Ho-ly shit, that was a fucking surprise! Great mix of jazz, funk and soul, with rhythm changes that made my heart melt, just 👌!

1.5

Awful

Muito gostoso de ouvir, tem destaque e tem inovação. A voz dela fica as vezes um pouco chatinho, e os instrumentos foram mt bem gravados!

É tipo a avó da amy winehouse né

Vibe indescritível meu

a patti Smith do bem

I mean with lyrics like: Let's go down by the grapevine Drink my daddy's wine, get happy How could we go wrong?

ouf.

On dit que la coriandre, tu aimes ou tu détestes. Avec Laura Nyro, tu n'as même pas deux options.

Nyro a le range dynamique d'un marteau piqueur. Y'a quelque chose qui marche pas. Pour moi, ça frise l'incitation à la violence. 1.49 étoiles

? Wow, so I never heard anything about Laura Nyro or this album before. Immediately I was struck by the thought that she’s a soul sister of Carole King, let loose on broadway? I mean there’s a lot here. But I don’t particularly want to listen to it. Right when she has me, she brings in the brass. Or the full orchestra. Not my bag. 3 stars for obvious talent. Boolean rating: yes, I do suppose I am glad to have heard this before I die.

Classic sounding, just don't love the melodies

Laura Nyro has been revered as a songwriter for decades now. Her song interpreted by many genres of performers. I love this album because I am from that time but don't want to hear it often.

Big composition, big sound. Almost has a Broadway feel to it.

Erg vervelend, ik kan best tegen wat minder gebruikelijk stemgeluid, dat is het probleem niet. Het is niet het geluid maar de manier waarop ze zingt, een hele domme musical. Man wat haat ik dit. De bigband doet hier ook jolig aan mee. Theatraal is niet altijd erg maar dit wel

Toch wel vervelend om luisteren en ik vind het vervelend dat ik het vervelend vind aangezien dit echt wel goede muziek is. Er zit namelijk heel veel in, tekstueel en muzikaal. het jammere is dat ik het niet verder wil onderzoeken omdat ik haar stem niet zo goed trek. Haar stemgeluid heeft wat weg van Joni Mitchell, maar dat trek ik veel beter. Ik denk dat dat komt doordat Laura Nyro het meer theatraal gebruikt en wat explosiever is. Ik voel hierdoor een bepaalde onrust in mijn lijf. Al met al wel goede muziek maar zeker niet mijn smaak. daarom 2,5 sterren.

Can hear the Joni Mitchell in here, but with a massive production. Not what I was expecting. I enjoyed it. Where do I know Once I Was Alright from? Ah... The 1975.

This was much better than expected. As someone who loves Joni Mitchell I could hear influences on her here. Interesting. Would likely give it another listen.

Pretty good even though I likely won’t revisit.

3 stars

There were definite cringe moments, but also some bangers. Especially for 1968. 3.2.

Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession brought a lot of different music to mind for me. the harmonic schemes feel like a cross-pollination of Romanticism, Tin Pan Alley and Broadway; the symphonic arrangements paired with a pop rhythm section call Carole King to mind; and the progressive song structures immediately made me think of Elton John. what blew my mind was realizing that Laura Nyro was already on LP #2 here, while King, John et al. had yet to even release their first! this album is worth a listen just to witness the ripple effect it clearly had on the Weirdo Pop of the future. Laura Nyro's voice will no doubt be an acquired taste—especially her high-range belting and the way she'll sometimes land on dissonant blue notes and even quarter-tones—but there's too many strange idiosyncrasies in her music to properly ignore it. strong 7/10.

Yes, this is a classic; but somehow Nyro's voice starts to grate after a while.

This was a surprise, not sure about the 1st 2 tracks, but then, omg I loved it, I looked her up as I’d never heard of her, and watched some on UT, reminded me of Carole King, writing some really great songs - and songs sung with passion, 🙌

Ikke vet æ koffor æ aldri har hørt på Laura Nyro før, men det e ganske rart, for æ likte det godt. Særlig poeng til «Lonely Women» som går rett inn på en eller flere spillelister.

How the hell did she write and record this at 18??? She's a bloody genius man

Huh

I’ve always loved the music press. When I was younger I voraciously consumed NME and melody maker, as I grew older it was the monthlies like UNCUT. And my god they loved this album, I tried it and…. It wasn’t for me… move forward 20 years and I listened to it as I worked through the Rolling Stone 500. And I got it, theatre school Amy Winehouse with a huge dollop of Joni Mitchell’s experimentalism. Third time I was keen to listen to it again, and all the high points remain. Yeah it does slip into musical theatre a bit more than I’m comfortable with but her voice is genuinely astonishing

Kind of a rollercoaster of an album. Parts I really enjoyed, parts made me cringe a bit with the singing, but overall I thought it was an enjoyable listen.

Hadn’t heard of her before, started strong with the show tune aspect but was a bit samey, I liked the jazz vocal style but there were times when I felt she was struggling to hit notes.

This record is a hidden gem. I was not expecting this record at all. Absolutely amazing vocal and instrumental performances. Favourite Track(s): Sweet Blindness, Lonely Women, Stoned Soul Picnic, Woman's Blues Least Favourite Track(s): Timer

This is OK without particularly moving me. Doesn't sound particularly 60s style, which is a bonus.

What a weird and fun pop album. I can see how this influenced others. I don't know if I'll listen again but I definitely enjoyed the experience of it. People who say the phrase "this could never be made today" always mean because something is so offensive, and they're almost always wrong. That phrase should be reserved for things like this album, which certainly wouldn't be allowed to be both weird and mainstream if it were made today.

Wat nog wel aardig uit de startblokken schiet als een soort eenpersoons blanke versie van de Surpremes, wordt al snel langdradig. De matig interessante jaren-zestigsoul maakt plaats voor hippige-achtige vage uitstapjes met op de zenuwen werkende lange uithalen met die overslaande stem. Kate Bush deed dit beter, Diana Ross deed dit beter, Janis Joplin deed dit beter. Hier begin je op een gegeven moment op de klok te kijken van verveling.

Het eerste nummer is een soort radio-soul. Zeer toegankelijk. Het smaakt best naar meer. Het is blijkbaar slechts een opwarmertje. Laura heeft nog heel wat voor ons in petto. Ze gaat er vol voor. Maar tegelijk lijkt ze zichzelf wat te overschatten. Met name de uithalen zijn niet per se denderend. Af en toe komt er een erg geinig nummer voorbij, gewoon lekker swingend, zoals Eli's Coming' (al moet je even door een intro heen). Snap niet waarom dit in het boek moet, er zijn toch wel betere artiesten in het genre. Maar ach, het is best geinig eens te horen.

Ik zat vanmorgen toevallig weer eens in het grote boek te bladeren, om oa even te kijken waarom dat waanzinnige (in de negatieve zin van het woord) album van Kate Bush erin stond. Er stond helaas (wederom) niks zinnigs over in. Ook over dit album hadden ze weinig boeiends te melden en ik kreeg de indruk dat het vrij saaie en rustige muziek zou zijn. En als ik naar de albumhoes kijk, lijkt het me ook niet echt vrolijk te worden. Maar het blijkt best swingend en uptempo te zijn. En daar word ik wel vrolijk van. Je hoort wel dat het eind 60s is, en ik moet heel erg denken aan the supremes of dat soort vrouwengroepen uit die periode. Er zit af en toe wel een rustiger intermezzo in, zoals the poverty train. Ik moet wel zeggen dat ik niet per se een grote fan van haar stem ben. Ze zingt soms vooral heel erg hard, te hard voor de rest van de muziek. Het valt me op zich erg mee en als er af en toe een nummer van langskomt op een playlist of radio/stream, dan luister ik het wel uit. Een heel album is wat veel, maar er is verder weinig mis mee. Ik stoor me er althans niet aan. Lijkt me een degelijke 3 sterren waard.

Good not my cup of tea but worth a relisten

Found the voice really stressful and the music boring

no idea and tiny ass Wikipedia intro gives me nothing! But New York! I admittedly didn’t feel pulled in until Eli’s Coming and then I’m grinning. Really lovely. Insane voice. Poems. This rating may go up when I listen to the album in one sitting.

I really tried

Beautiful and deserves a re-listen or two. 7/10.

First listen

Stimme mir zu schrill. 2,4

Correcto

I see no reason for this to be here

classic pop from a very loud and dramatic female vocalist. i expected a very different sound when i turned it on. despite some genre descriptors, these songs sound like showtunes, mostly. this is the kind of loud, swinging pop music that liza minnelli might dig. it's outrageous, it's peppy... but a lot of it is kinda irritating. it's a... it's a lot. these songs would probably be a bit more interesting if she didn't hoot and holler all the damn time.

Musical talent aside, this is a hard pass. Some people should stick to writing I guess.

Het ene moment erg cool, dan weer kut, dus een prima 3 sterren

Leuke verrassing dit, want ik had nog nooit van Laura Nyro gehoord. Lekker theatraal af en toe. Productie klinkt best modern voor zo'n oude plaat.

A good album, I liked Luckie, Sweet Blindness and Lonely Women the most.

What a gorgeous voice. Huge influence on so many singers to come. Great blend of folk with lots of other styles

Her voice is incredible. This is a very jazzy album.

Carol King Lite Her voice is amazing when she is being soulful but grating when she is powering through notes . Stoned cold picnics is a stone cold classic but the rest are meh or annoying with the odd great bit

Torrada monumental, pero es buen album

Wow, what a surprise. I read Spotify's biography of her while listening to her tremendous voice. I had never hear of her and didn't realize that she wrote songs for a number of groups my mom was playing in the house in the 1970s when I was little. Those were formative bands for me--Three Dog Night, Barbra Streisand, Blood Sweat and Tears, Peter Paul and Mary--and as I listened to the album, I could hear the strains of her connection to them and to the broader era. There is a lot of soul in her voice and songs, an undercurrent of r & b, there are hints of the 60s girl groups, especially the Supremes. Great stuff.

it probably didn't seem this way in '68, but Nyro now sounds to me like a Carole King wannabe

This one is saccharine. Supposedly better than sugar, but is it? It can be tasted in the drink, a chemical, processed, engineered.

The song writing is incredible. As are the arrangements. I just don't connect with the voice on an emotional level. I can't fault her as an artist - her influence is undeniable. And maybe if I spend more time with this my feelings will change.

First of all, this album LOOKS so recent. I would have thought it was from 1998 based on the album cover and the name. This is theatrical, which I love, so I'm enjoying. I've actually never heard of Laura Nyro before. But she's reminiscent of Carole King and Joni Mitchell. I love the Jazz influence that you can readily hear in all the songs. It's like a jazz/pop/folk meld that is just delicious to me. She has a whimsy and a freeness that reminds me of my original favorite singer-songwriter: Melanie. So ethereal and dramatic and jazzy and just.... this is what it means to be effortless and yet so intentional. This sounds like what I feel like walking around a city in the summer wearing an outfit I KNOW looks good. or if I was a boy: shooting a 3 before the buzzer.

Listening session: april 7th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: some parts were enjoyable but quite frequently her voice became annoying and too theatrical for my liking Favourite tracks: Lu & Stoned Soul Picnic

No standouts

realmente fui nesse aqui esperando X e veio CZY consideravelmente melhor do que eu tava esperando mas ainda assim, não é tão interessante pro meu bico

ou pior que foi bem melhor do que achei que seria. mó vozerão com 21 anos que bizarro achei alguns instrumentais bem massa, na real. uma pegada mais blues/jazz, super bem produzido. bacana demais.

The longer I listened the less I enjoyed this.. Nyro has a great sounding voice but this was almost bordering on cabaret; I assume this is a product of its time but just not my thing. 2/5

Help! Carole King got replaced by an alien who sounds just like a cat in heat! What ever shall we do? (you could take a couple stars away from the rating) Okay we'll take a couple stars away from the rating!

Enjoyed this

Nope. Not for me.

6/10 I enjoyed the vibes quite a bit. May see myself coming back.

Guy who has only heard Carole King's Tapestry, listening to his second album: Getting a lot of Carole King's Tapestry vibes from this...

Does not sound like an album from the 60s at all, I had Jess guess what year she thought this came out in and she said 2008 I feel like this has a lot of things about it that should make me really like it but I just didn’t? It kind of has a similar vibe to like maybe the Joni Mitchell album, but a little more jazzy/soulful maybe, but none of the songs quite hit the same. 2.5

I like this

An interesting and captivating album from the late 60s.