Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: voyager
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 02:34 PM

When I saw Laura Nyro's show at the Troubadour (circa 1970) her fans brought her back on stage for 3 encores! I've never seen that much adoration for any performer in any venue (before or since).

There's quite a fine Google Book narration of that time and place in -
Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro By Michele Kort

voyager

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 04:27 AM

First fell in love with Laura Nyra when I was ten on a compilation with Moondog, who I also fell in love with. Laura's track (Gibsom Street) is still my favourite of her songs, whilst Moondog's (Stomping Grounds) belongs to his 'orchestral period' which is of less interest to me than his 'other' stuff. Gibsom Street is from New York Tendaberry which is my favourite of her albums, though (inspired by Jane Siberry) we took to buying them all a few years back & had a lot of fun in so doing - including a few bootleg solo live performances (Christmas in Your Soul) which take you a little closer to her genius. As amazing as Gibsom Street is on the album, it really comes alive when it's just Laura and her piano...

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: meself
Date: 10 Oct 11 - 12:55 AM

Okay, so I've been wondering for forty years: what DOES 'can you surrey' mean?

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,Nyrogrl
Date: 09 Oct 11 - 10:29 PM

There are so many of us everywhere. Japan as well. She was it.

www.lauranyro.com

www.lauranyro.net

there is a yahoo group, a few of them.

a bunch of songs on YouTube

and groups like this one.

www.cafeutne/music:nyro

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 07:40 PM

When people ask me why I never married, I always respond, "Because I never met anyone like Laura Nyro." I usually just get a puzzled look in return.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,Arty
Date: 08 Oct 11 - 07:19 PM

I sure am, I can't get enough of her. I'm either physically listening to her CDs, or I'm hearing her inside my head, and I mean ALL THE TIME. Laura rules my heart and soul!

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 13 Aug 05 - 02:09 PM

Love her, can you Surreeeee, can you picnic.........

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Aug 05 - 03:30 AM

Kirsten, protect yourself. LOG IN before you post.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Aug 05 - 12:20 AM

Sorry, I hit the submit button instead of the blue clicky. Meant to also add, that this unofficial site is a real gem. Legacy Recordings
(the division of Sony that put out the reissues of her three Columbia releases) has a website where you can hear samples from the CDs.

The reissues are great. Enjoy!

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 11:57 PM

Rattler, here is her official web site. You can search amazon.com for info on her albums.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,kirsten anderberg
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 10:47 PM

hey, here's some fun laura trivia...did you know that Wedding Bell Blues ("Bill, I love you so..") was written by Laura for BILL GRAHAM of the Grateful Dead and Filmore fame?!

I was at a Laura concert in San Fran in about 1985 and it was hot and she said on stage, "I wish I had a fan" and a guy yelled out "I'm a fan!" and it was just great, she loved it.

I got to see Laura play in san fran and also a few times in seattle and my goodness, I am just in awe of the woman. I would say she has got to be hands down my number one most influencial person in my music and voice and songwriting...I love the POWER of her voice. I love it.

I also love the labelle album, apparently Patti LaBelle made Laura her son's godmother...

I just love laura nyro's music SOO much...such great stuff.

I actually like Nested, and Smile is one of my favs too...

There is a great cut of Laura doing "Oooh ooh child, things are gonna get easier" on the new CD of the labelle collection one I think...

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Rattler
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 06:25 PM

I was first aware of her from 1 or 2 recordings by Blood, Sweat & Tears somewhere in the late 60's. One of those songwriters who you gradually discover by outstanding songs recorded by other artists that you trace back to the source. Those days of fusion between folk, jazz, gospel and blues impressed on me some of my favourite musical memories. Lost touch as my tastes moved into the tradition of the British Isles, but would like to re-discover. Is there a website with a discography, or other links to find her recordings?

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: number 6
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 04:10 PM

"Not much of that kind of talent and genuineness in music any more"

There is talent and genuiness around these days. Unfortunately it's the criteria the big record companies aren't looking for these days. The old days of being a songwriter and having your songs marketed by the big labels and played are over.

L.H. mentioned in one of his posts about community folk circles and such ... I agree with him ... there is talent out there in your own communites ... check out some independent record labels, surf the net you will be surprised. It just isn't getting mass recognition.

Laura was a hard one to match though.

sIx

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 01:18 PM

Mariah Carey is like a gnat buzzing around the head...damned annoying!

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 12:37 PM

Laura was a favorite of mine in the Day. I'm with sixtieschick on the Labelle album...sweet New York soul. I've heard that the story of Monterey Pop, and I ve heard the performance. You can hear a pin drop as she sings, someone cries out "BEAU-tiful". She apparently heard only "BOOO", and was traumatized into not performing live again. At least that's the story.
She had a passion and sensitivity in her voice that carried through every note, and that no Christine Aguillerra or Mariah Carey with their vocal calisthenics could ever accomplish. Not much of that kind of talent and genuineness in music any more.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: mooman
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 10:56 AM

Laura Nyro?

Wonderful!

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: sixtieschick
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 02:12 AM

Saw her at the Monterey Pop Festival, where she miscalculated the West Coast audience by doing a tightly choreographed New York nightclub act. However, looking at the footage of that performance today, she was actually quite wonderful that night.

She wrote and recorded so many powerful songs,

Poverty Train
Timer
Emily

to name a very few.

I also loved the album she did with Patti LaBelle of rock 'n roll and r & b songs, "Gonna Take a Miracle." Her version of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" is devastating.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: number 6
Date: 12 Aug 05 - 01:04 AM

Her last album .. Angel in the Dark .... I'm listening to this cd now ... absolutely elegant.

Guest ... 3 other songs worth mentioning from that cd 'Triple Goddess Twilight", "Gardenia Talk" and "Animal Grace"

Talk the talk, gardenia talk ...it must be spring ... gardenia talk melting everything.

sIx

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 11:38 PM

Oops, that should read "...thinks singer-songwriters AREN'T a talented bunch..."

My bad.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 11:30 PM

Save the people
Save the children
Save the country
Save the country now!

Come on people
Come on children
Come on down to the glory river...

The girl sure knew how to write a damn fine and catchy lyric, didn't she? Anybody who thinks singer-songwriters are a talented bunch (with a haughty sniff) obviously never heard Laura Nyro!

But the reason New York Tendaberry is currently my fave Laura Nyro album to listen to isn't her swoop and dive, jivey beebop songs. It's the darker and more contemptlative stuff like "New York Tendaberry" or the jazzy "Lonely Women" or "Poverty Train" or all the incredible songs on her last album like the absolutely stunning (in that "gives you shivers sort of way) version of "Walk on By" or "Don't Hurt Child".

Laura Nyro is one of the very few artists I ever actually cried for when I heard she died. What a force.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: number 6
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 11:18 PM

Yikes again ... double negatives .... Jeezuz, anyway you get what I'm saying.

Laura Nyro ... what more can be said.

sIx

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: number 6
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 10:35 PM

yikes !!

She certainly is not a songwriter that should not be forgotten.


my apologies

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: number 6
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 10:33 PM

Laura Nyro ... thanks for posting this kirsten.

'Wedding Bell Blues' ... so simple but so, so sweet

'And when I die' ... what more can be said about this song, my favourite of hers.

She certainly is not a songwriter that should be forgotten.

sIx

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Willie-O
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 10:06 PM

better hide your heart girl.

Great driving music and my daughter is very keen on her too.

Love the tempo changes.

W-O

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,kirsten
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 09:33 PM

I was THRILLED when my 21 year old son asked to borrow my Eli and the 13th Confession CD the other day!!!

I think Eli is one of the best albums ever recorded.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 07:34 PM

I've got all of her albums now on CD, and listen to her all the time. I love "NY Tendaberry" best right now, but it changes...

I also introduced my 20 year old to Laura, after she came home raving how great Joni is! Nobody could sing like Laura. One of the many things I loved best about her was her covers of the doo wop sorts of stuff, and her torch singer voice...

I just loved her. She died when I was living abroad, so I didn't hear about it right away. I really miss her music.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 06:47 PM

Yeah, Laura Nyro was pretty cool. Great singer.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: John Hardly
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 06:44 PM

funny, I was just listening to a buncha her stuff today as I drove.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: Willie-O
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 06:29 PM

don't let daddy hear it, he don't believe in the gin mill spirit
ain't that sweet old blindness good to me....
da da da da da, da da-da da da, da da-da da da DAH!

count me a recently re-converted Nyrite.

Subject: RE: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 06:14 PM

Yes, count me in for sure. Even when her lyrics didn't make much sense to me ("Can you surrey, can you picnic?" ~ ????), the sound of her voice and of her melodies was always just terrific. Too bad she died so young.

I always thought of her as a quintessential New Yorker, so I suppose that any urban port-city setting would resonate along with her songs, even one on the opposite coast.

Subject: Any Laura Nyro Fans Out There?
From: GUEST,kirsten
Date: 11 Aug 05 - 03:53 PM

Blackpatch: Laura Nyro and Street Performing
by Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com)

I first started playing music on the streets at the Pike Place Market, in downtown Seattle, on skid row in 1978, as an 18 year old...the Market is dirty, there are farmer tables, and fish sellers and bums, and seagulls, and the Puget Sound flanks the Western edge of the Market so we have spectacular golden sunsets over the water, and the rainy days also are beautiful, looking out towards the islands, with the ferry doing its lazy routine...and to the east of the Market are old hotels left over from the late 1800's, housing the regulars of the Market...developers have several times tried to tear down the Market to replace it with a mall, but the Seattle voters launched huge support campaigns to keep the public market the way it is and thus an old charm remains...The Market has everything from fresh juice stands, to fresh herb sellers, to exotic dried medicinal herb sellers, to makers of lavender jelly and fine wood products, to organic and not organic farmers, fine cheese counters, flowers, buses, bag ladies, old cane dancers from vaudeville who dance to street performer swing,..it is a varied and ever-changing landscape, daily, at the market...

One of my favorite things to sing at the Market is Laura Nyro. Every now and then someone will recognize it as Laura...but it fits so well downtown...with the gulls, and the buildings, the downtown feel...I remember singing Blackpatch back in 1978...Nancy who owns the Creamery gave me my first Nancy's Peach Kefir as a tip...as I played in the cold dark winter evening...

So I went down to the Market last week, 24 years after I first went down there, after what seems like a lifetime since I first began performing, and stood under a metal grate, next to vegetable vendors, and began with Buy and Sell...it fit so well...then a few songs later I threw in Blackpatch, and a woman came up to tip and said, "My god! I remember you singing that song, in this same spot, like 25 years ago!" I said "So do I! And I am having flashbacks NOW!" It was so weird singing Laura in the Market. Over the years I have become most well known for political comedy....rarely am I seen doing Laura tunes anywhere anymore...but last Saturday, the Market was like a romp back through the days when I was young, innocent and naive, in the city, playing music....saying things like... "I'll see you Sunday, cuz I'm working on Saturday...I'm playing on Saturday..."

To read the rest of this article, visit http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pagelauraatmarket.html