Laura Nyro - Eli And The Thirteenth Confession - Audio Fidelity 4.0 SACD (June 2016)

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Well, I'll be damned....I've never heard of her. What? I thought I knew everybody....just listened to all the songs and I don't know any of them either...
OK, I know Stoned Soul Picnic....but not her version. I only know the 5th Dimension version. Let me get this right...this album is from 1968...and I've never heard of her or it??
 
Well, I'll be damned....I've never heard of her. What? I thought I knew everybody....just listened to all the songs and I don't know any of them either...
OK, I know Stoned Soul Picnic....but not her version. I only know the 5th Dimension version. Let me get this right...this album is from 1968...and I've never heard of her or it??

Actually she wrote Stoned Soul Picnic as well as other 5th dimension hits...Blowing Away...Wedding Bell Blues..Sweet Blindness..Save The Country..and Black Patch...and one of my favorite Blood Sweat And Tears songs..And When I die...also covered by Peter Paul And Mary...and another song I know you are familiar with...3 Dog Night's ..Eli's Comin...also covered by Maynard Ferguson...she wrote songs for Barbara Streisand and her biggest hit was Carole King's...Up on the roof...

She died at the age of 49 from ovarian cancer..in 1997...in 2012 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame...
 
A while back I investigated her catalog after hearing Rundgren say what an influence she had been on him. She was a first-rate songwriter.

From the Wikipedia page on Laura:

Nyro's influence on popular musicians has also been acknowledged by such artists as Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Bette Midler, Rickie Lee Jones, Elton John, Cyndi Lauper, Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan and Melissa Manchester. Todd Rundgren stated that once he heard her, he "stopped writing songs like The Who and started writing songs like Laura." Cyndi Lauper acknowledged that her rendition of the song "Walk On By", on her Grammy Award-nominated 2003 cover album At Last, was inspired by Nyro. Elton John and Elvis Costello discussed Nyro's influence on both of them during the premiere episode of Costello's interview show Spectacle on the Sundance channel. When asked by the host if he could name three great performer/songwriters who have largely been ignored, he cited Nyro as one of his choices. John also addressed Nyro's influence on his 1970 song "Burn Down the Mission", from Tumbleweed Connection, in particular. “I idolized her," he concluded. "The soul, the passion, just the out and out audacity of the way her rhythmic and melody changes came was like nothing I’ve heard before.”
 
Laura suffered from terrible stage fright. Despite the efforts of her then manager David Geffen and future label boss Clive Davis, she never really took hold as a solo artist - she retired at age 24 until a brief resurgence before her death. She settled here in Danbury, CT and raised her family quietly - performing and recording sporadically. Her two most popular albums, "Eli.." & "New York Tendaberry" are both worth seeking out - quad or otherwise. She also made a great cover album "Gonna Take A Miracle with Labelle as her backup vocalists.
 
Steve Hoffman tweeted that he is mastering the original 1968 stereo mix and that the SACD includes the original quad mix! :wave

An original previously unissued quad mix if I have my facts correct.
 
Maybe not previously unissued quad mix. But this is a unique title, and one out of left field which is a good thing even if it's not hard rock like I am waiting for.
 
Actually, there were TWO unissued Quad mixes of Eli & the Thirteenth Confession. One is missing the last couple tracks of the album. Both good Quad mixes.

As to Laura herself, I've been a mega fan since the 60's. Saw/listened to her live in '88 & '89 at the Vic in Chicago. IMHO, perhaps the most underrated person in rock.

Although not in Quad, check out her later Smile and Mother's Spiritual albums.

An original previously unissued quad mix if I have my facts correct.
 
Well, this is quite a good news.
That was a Mike Robin - only release until now, glad it finally made it official.
Not to say that AF is really diggin' the vaults for quad stuff and finding out the true gems. This is more than promising.
 
Actually, there were TWO unissued Quad mixes of Eli & the Thirteenth Confession. One is missing the last couple tracks of the album. Both good Quad mixes.

As to Laura herself, I've been a mega fan since the 60's. Saw/listened to her live in '88 & '89 at the Vic in Chicago. IMHO, perhaps the most underrated person in rock.

Although not in Quad, check out her later Smile and Mother's Spiritual albums.

yup..when I saw this thread I said.."Mamita Linda is gonna be VERY HAPPY!"

And so am I..great album!!!! wish I had the original LP pressing with the scented jacket!!!!
 
Always happy to hear when new quad material is being released. While I had heard of Laura, I am not very familiar with her body of work. I went to Amazon to check out the audio clips from the cuts on this album. To me, she has kind of a Carol King vibe. Certainly something I'd be interested in enough to spring for the AF SACD when it is released. It's always a fun surprise to see what they keep coming up with! Exciting times!
 
Neat! This is good news. The copy of the reel(s) I have are, a little bit on the hissy side, probably due to the lack of Dolby on the Master. Hope they can clean that up. "Eli" is a great track, though I'm curious which mix they'll use? The mix from the abridged reel has a logical mix, while the completed reel seems to be of the "over here/over there" type of mix with no real regard for instrument placement.
 
Steve Hoffman tweeted that he is mastering the original 1968 stereo mix and that the SACD includes the original quad mix! :wave

I was always a HUGE Laura Nyro Fan. For anyone who watched Elvis Costello's "Spectacle" on cable TV, he and Elton John [his guest that evening] were HUGE Laura Nyro fans, as well, citing her as a major influence on their music. Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is a bona fide masterpiece and truth be told it never sounded great on vinyl so hopefully this latest AF Quad remastering will do FULL justice to her brilliant artistry.

Thanks for literally MAKING MY DAY, Adam.:banana::banana::banana:

A listing of Laura Nyro's discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/laura-nyro-mn0000137474/discography

"Gonna Take A Miracle" with the great Patti LaBelle is another HIGH recommendation.

Her only SACD (Stereo) worth checking out: http://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=567#tracks
 
She is somebody I'd heard of but don't remember ever hearing. She has written some good songs so I'll get it when it is released. I've enjoyed all the AF releases so far and they've opened my ears to music I've not heard before.
 
A few songs in on el YouTubo. I think this album may be a bit too happy for me...

EB, she was a bona fide superstar back in the day but her fear of touring severely limited her exposure to the public at large. If ELI doesn't get your toes to tapping...nothing will. Every major artist covered her songs and as Elton John pointed out in his "Spectacle" interview with Elvis Costello....she was also one of the MOST surprising talents around with her eclectic chord changes and brilliant sense of melody and passionate soul.
 
A few songs in on el YouTubo. I think this album may be a bit too happy for me...
Happy could be the last word I think of when I think of this LP. Wait until you hear Poverty Train, or Lonely Woman. Laura could go to some pretty dark places.
 
EB, she was a bona fide superstar back in the day but her fear of touring severely limited her exposure to the public at large. If ELI doesn't get your toes to tapping...nothing will. Every major artist covered her songs and as Elton John pointed out in his "Spectacle" interview with Elvis Costello....she was also one of the MOST surprising talents around with her electic chord changes and brilliant sense of melody and passionate soul.

Toe-tapping isn't the issue. Not sure I can put my finger on it, but some tunes are too upbeat for me. Maybe "manic" is a good word. My guess is it's either the key, the percussion or both.
Lonely Women is cool for a while, but then the percussion comes in and kinda ruins the vibe for me.
I'm only half-way through. Maybe there is something here for everybody, eventually.
 
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