Laura Nyro - Profile

  by Eoghan Lyng

published: 1 / 2 / 2025

intro

With the release of a new box set that collects together all ten of her albums plus extras, Eoghan Lyng assesses the career of still under-rated American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.

During her brief time on this planet, Laura Nyro compiled a catalogue that rocked, stunned and swung as eagerly as they gently moved people. With her impassioned vocals and Italian brown hair, Nyro was an act that impressed Elton John, who recalled decades later that her work was as impressive in the 2020s as it was during the 1960s. Of her works, ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ sounds the most vital: playful bouncy piano riffs cementing jazz inflected percussive instruments. ‘Laura Nyro HEAR MY SONG: THE COLLECTION, 1966 – 1995’ includes all ten of her studio albums, but more interestingly the set also boasts ‘Go Find The Moon’ (1966); an audition tape showcasing the youthful singer sketching out her ideas over a tape machine. In this version of 'Lazy Susan', Nyro submerges herself headfirst into the topic of the tune, drawing on her guts and nerve to hit the devastating conclusion. 'LuckieStudio' pivots to more balletic terrains, fingers flashing across the board. A voice enters from a booth: "Do you know any other songs?" The embarrassment is palpable. Some of her later works had splashier production values; ‘Walk the Dog and Light the Light’ luxuriates under Gary Katz's glittering soundscapes. Recorded in 1993, the record is awash with polemical imprints, as Nyro plays voice to the voiceless, most notably on the fiery 'Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)'. Besides animal abuse, the work tipped its hat at feminism and Native American rights. "It's like prejudice for the colour of your skin," she sings; "Prejudice for a woman/prejudice for an animal." Few artists had shown such conviction since the days John Lennon disavowed religion on his sparse, bare-back debut. This was a passion that went beyond solipsism, beyond soul. It was an unvarnished conviction, set to a smooth sound design. ‘Walk the Dog and Light the Light’ was her penultimate record, although it was a finer curtain call than ‘Angel in The Dark’ (released after her death.) True, it had the title track, but this was overshadowed by a pointless cover of 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' and a rushed, rancid 'Let It Be Me'. It featured virtually none of her unique idiosyncrasies. "She was really unusual in so many ways," Jackson Browne remembers. "She had some very,very eccentric behaviour and some eccentric responses to things that were just very charming and just unbelievable." Her carefree nature can be heard on ‘Christmas and the Beads of Sweat’, a work that benefitted from Duane Allman's choppy guitar hooks. Singing with wilful abandon, 'When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag' soaks up the atmosphere, creating a place where singer and listener are one. ‘Nested’ sounds spotty, ‘Angel in The Dark’ is negligible, but ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ and ‘Christmas and the Beads of Sweat’ stand up with the best of 20th century pop. This collection also holds ‘The Loom's Desire’, a double live package that is perhaps most noteworthy for the sparky Nyro original, 'And When I Die.' ‘Laura Nyro HEAR MY SONG: THE COLLECTION, 1966 – 1995’ comes attached with testimonials from Charlie Calello, Will Lee, John Sebastian,Jackson Browne, Clive Davis, Lou Adler, Randy Brecker, Bernard Purdie, Scott Billington, John Sebastian and Gary Burden; intimate family photos dot the book. In some ways, this collection is as much a celebration as it is a collation; a melting pot of hooks, passion and piano licks. It's the sound of an artist fine tuning her work; it's the commemoration of a singer pushing herself to the limits. Nyro was one in a million. Elton John is right about her!

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