Saturday, November 29, 2014

LAURA NYRO "THE FIRST SONGS"


Artist: Laura Nyro
Album: The First Songs
Label: Verve Forecast
Catalog: FTS 3020
Year: 1969

Genre: pop
Grading: VG+ cover / VG+ LP
Quantity: 1
Art Designer: Murray Laden
Photography:  Murray Laden
Grade: **** star


Is Laura Nyro one of America's most famous unknowns ?   She's been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Jackson Browne (whom she briefly dated), Alice Cooper, and Todd Rundgren are all massive fans.  She still has a legion of fans committed to spreading the word of Laura Nyro.  Sadly, only 49, she died of ovarian cancer in April 1997. 

I bought this album in high school; gave it a couple of spins and then filed it away thinking it wasn't particularly commercial, or enjoyable.   Shows you what a schmuck I was.  A rerelease of her 1967 debut "Laura Nyro More Than a New Discovery", the album's a classic (even if Nyro largely disowned it).   The cover is also stunning.   One of the best photos ever taken of Nyro.   She just beams happiness.

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