Artist: Laura Nyro
Album: Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
Year: 1968
Laura Nyro was a singer-songwriter who straddled the line between blue-eyed soul, sunshine pop, and old-timey Tin Pan Alley-style pop. She has a booming wail of a voice that I think is somewhat of an acquired taste. I can tell she may have been very influential upon the female singer-songwriters who followed within the next five to ten years (Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon to name a few). I also feel that a certain New York songwriter by the name of William Joel would also eventually incorporate the same kinds of sounds/influences as young Laura does here.
To me, this album is really somewhat of a guilty pleasure. This is not the kind of music a dude in his thirties readily admits to listening to very often. But this is an album I've listened to a number of times over the years. There's something about it I can't pin down. I don't even really like her voice that much, though I like it more on the softer songs like "Emmie" than on the showier numbers like "Luckie" and "Eli's Comin'." What brings me back to this album is that I really don't think there's a whole lot else out there like this. My guess is that I like it for the same reason I like that Phil Spector Christmas album. The production has that kitchen-sink density to it, double tracked vocals, big brassy horns, strings, xylophone, you name it. It's really catchy, really pretty at times, and Nyro sings her heart out here like none other.
I can see a lot of people absolutely hating this album--I do think the vocals are quite an acquired taste especially when she gets into her upper-most register, which she probably uses too often. But I do think its inclusion among these 1001 albums is warranted. A very unique singer-songwriter at the peak of her powers.
Rating: Worth repeated listens
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