Customer Reviews

First Songs

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Laura Nyro's debut album for Verve in 1966 entitled "More Than A New Discovery" was acquired and re-released years later by CBS as "First Songs" after she had attained fame and established herself as the genius singer-songwriter of three devastatingly powerful and introspective soul albums in the late 60s/early 70s. Yet to those unfamiliar with Laura and her career defining works, she was simply the writer of some of the most definitive and joyously sung pop tunes of the late 60s era by artistes ranging from the Fifth Dimension to Barbra Streisand and Blood, Sweat and Tears. So, it is doubly ironical and galling to fans to find this debut album of Nyro's, which spawned many of her most famous songs, being constantly glossed over and consigned to the footnotes whenever pop historians consider Laura's place in pop music history.

The fact that "First Songs" wasn't conceived as a concept album the way Laura's three masterpieces that followed obviously were should not detract from the fact that cut for cut, "First Songs" was equal to the best of the genre that was just beginning to emerge in the late 60s. If you loved the Fifth Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowing Away" or Streisand's "Stoney End" and "Flim Flam Man", - and I still do - you will find these originals by Nyro before they became pop fodder even more inspirational and stunning for the purity of their expression. Nyro literally gives me goosebumps when I hear her emotional and soulful soprano on songs like "Billy's Blues", "Goodbye Joe" and "Lazy Susan". Her "I Never Meant To Hurt You" and "He's A Runner", incidentally also covered by Streisand and the Fifth Dimension respectively, are two other highlights on this album. In fact, the album is so jam packed with Grade A songs with nary a filler it's not surprising that most of them were subsequently covered by artistes on the hunt for great material to record.

"First Songs" is such a mature piece of work, yet so fresh and gorgeous even today it's a wonder critics give it only a 3-star rating when they're obviously admirers of Nyro's music. I urge these and others who haven't discovered "First Songs" to put aside any preconceptions they may have that this is a lightweight album because it preceded Nyro's serious artiste phase to go check it out. I guarantee it will blow you away.

Jaw dropping is a more accurate description of Nyro's debut. It was 1966 when she recorded these songs,and the term singer-songwriter was still 3-4 years away.What other singer at that time was singing with this much personal involvement? Aretha hadn't been "born" yet, maybe Dusty Springfield , but you probably had to go to the jazz field to find someone else like her. An amazing album that was later, and wisely so, cannabilized by a wide array of singers who propelled half of these songs into million selling singles and albums. That almost all of hem stuck so closely to the original arrangements is a testament to Nyro and her arranger. Originally released on Verve/Forecast. the first, and only the first pressing titled More than a New Discovery" had a the songs lined up differently. Program your CD to play it out like this: 1.Goodbye Joe 2.Billy's Blues 3.And When I Die 4.Stoney End 5.Lazy Susan 6.Hands Off The Man(Flim Flam Man's-orignal title) - end of side 1 7.Wedding Bell Blues 8.Buy and Sell 9.He's A Runner 10.Blowin' Away 11.I Never Meant To Hurt You 12.California Shoe-Shine Boys

Laura Nyro has a lot of fans who probably don't know who she is. As many of the previous reviewers have noted, these songs were huge hits for a variety of artists who covered them, beginning in the mid to late 60s. Unlike the majority of other reviewers at Amazon, I tend to think Laura's latter works were often inaccessible or just lyrically convoluted...two descriptions that do not apply to "The First Songs." But rather than risk the ire of yet another rabid cult following, I'll just offer my opinions on this album.

In "The First Songs," memorable, hook-filled music and potent, heart-felt lyrics combine for a seamless and soul-intensive recording. Laura's original versions of the hits here are generally "definitive," though two of the four songs covered by the 5th Dimension ("Wedding Bell Blues," and "Blowin' Away", along with "He's A Runner" and "Stoney End") receive less flattering production and performance in this recording. Laura's versions of "Stoney End" and "Flim Flam Man" are infinitely superior to Streisand's overblown and wooden versions. Similarly, Laura's original of "And When I Die" is more than sufficient to erase the memory of Three Dog Night's goofy and gimmicky version of same.

After the hits are considered, there's still a wealth of great material to appreciate on this album. "Billy's Blues" and "Lazy Susan" are slow-burning delights, awash in bluesy reverie. "California Shoeshine Boys" and "Good By Joe" are uptempo gems to get your foot tapping. My personal favorites are "I Never Meant To Hurt You" and "Buy And Sell": the sincerity of her poetry/lyrics and bare-bones simplicity of her singing is riveting and unforgettable.

"The First Songs" should be an essential addition for collectors who love the hit covers of songs contained here. Music lovers who appreciate substance over style should already own it.

-Mic

When I first heard this recording, in the fall of 1969, I couldn't believe my ears. I had never heard such a brilliant combination of pop, rock, jazz and blues, and that voice! the voice of an angel, but a passionate angel. All of the songs on this recording have a deep meaning, and send a message to the listener. On so many recordings there are two or three tunes that sound the same, sort of blend together, because the artist doesn't have enough creative force to make each song completely original and fresh. Not so with this CD. Every tune is unique, and can stand on its own.
The lyrics are poetry, and fit perfectly with the music. Like many artists, their first recordings are an explosion of creative genius, and for Laura Nyro this is true also. I consider this to be her best recording. It is hard to believe she was just a kid when she made this album. The depth of her understanding of life, the passion she puts into every song, is unmatched in the history of popular music, any music.
I have been listening to all kinds of music for 40 years and I have to say that 'The First Songs' is a seminal recording, to my mind one of the most important musical events of the last half century in popular music. I know many -- including Nyro herself--think that New York Tendaberry is her finest album, but for me, 'First Songs' is her best and most important work. 'Tendaberry' is too arranged, too thought out, for my taste. 'First Songs' is more dynamic, more full of life force.
The music on this CD speaks for itself -- all of the arrangements on this album contain a beautiful blend of every element of modern music -- pop, rock, jazz, blues, and there are classical influences also. It's just brilliant.
Laura Nyro was one of the most original and brilliant artists in popular music. All you have to do is listen to this CD and it will be obvious that it is the work of a musical genius.

Like her contemporary Carole King, Laura Nyro had a knack for writing songs that hit big when interpreted by other artists--but unlike Carole King she herself never quite made the leap into personal stardom, and although both her songs and her recordings were enormously influential she is still largely unknown outside the core of fans that consistently responded to her work throughout her lifetime. THE FIRST SONGS gives us Nyro at her youthful best, and lets us hear her own interpretation of several pieces that would be smash hits for the likes of The 5th Dimension, Barbra Striesand, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

The arrangements are very much of their place and time: piano, harmonica solos, and the sort of polyharmonic brass and back-up vocals typical of late 1960s and early 1970s glossy pop. And the songs are an eccelectic lot: a touch of pop, a touch of blues, a sprinkling of folk, some of them tightly wound pop hits (such as "Wedding Bell Blues,") but most very free-style (such as "Lazy Susan.") And then there is Nyro's voice.

Nyro did not really have a uniquely memorable voice, but it was very strong, very clean, and very unpretentious, and therein lay its ultimate power: you feel that if the girl next door had the talent to lay bare her soul through writing and singing her own music, this is what it would sound like. Nyro easily bests the artists who covered her on "Wedding Bell Blues," "Stoney End," and "And When I Die," but perhaps her most uniquely personal work (and to my mind most satisfying on the recording) are the the spiraling, breezy "Blowing Away," touching "Billy's Blues," and sadder-but-wiser "He's a Runner."

Nyro eventually evolved into a truly remarkable artist who combined great delicacy of voice and lyric with unexpected melodies, in some ways anticipating such artists as Kate Bush and (in her vocal stylings) the currently popular Maria Carey, albeit without the latter singer's glossy-funk feel. And she did considerably more interesting work than this particular recording. But even so, THE FIRST SONGS is an enjoyable introduction to her work, and recommended to established and new fans alike.

I must say that Laura Nyro was a powerful writer and performer. If you were fortunate to see her in concert, she had the power to enthrall an audience with just her voice and piano. She was a product of New York's High School Arts system, and unfortunately was dropped by Verve Records, and this album was from those Verve sessions. It seems that she was one of those artists that record company executives did not know how to categorize. Was she pop, folk, jazz, soul or, at times, broadway? She was all of these, plus she had a 5 octave vocal range. Too bad she was lost to ovarian cancer. All of her works are work investigating and investing in to your home audio collection.

Listening to this album, I find it almost impossible to believe that it was recorded in 1966, when Laura Nyro was only eighteen years old. Where in the world did a young woman barely out of high school acquire the wisdom reflected in the lyrics of many of these songs? Who taught her to sing from the bottom of her heart this way, at a time when no woman in pop music sang with that kind of soul? And how did she have the time, in eighteen years of life, to gain the depth and breadth of musical knowledge she demonstrates? Pop, blues, folk, jazz, r&b, gospel - Nyro doesn't just play with all of those genres, she knows each one of them as deeply as if she'd been performing in them for decades. It's just breathtaking.

This is Nyro's most accessible album, I think. She's not stretching herself musically as much as she would on her next album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, and that means that people who like pop music might prefer it to the more adventurous Eli, and certainly to her later work. But the truth is this album, Eli, and the later New York Tendaberry are all essential albums.

Most artists' early albums you buy just out of curiosity - to hear the beginnings they would develop in later work. Who would buy The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan if he hadn't later recorded Blonde on Blonde? Would anyone be interested in Meet the Beatles if they hadn't moved on to Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper? In First Songs you hear a lot of the strengths that would make Laura Nyro an even greater singer and composer in years to come. But even if Nyro had never recorded another note, this would be a great album. The variey of music here is astounding and there's not one song on it that is less than gorgeous.

My first exposure to Laura Nyro was in early 1967 when she appeared on Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is". There was this incredible young barefooted girl singing "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Goodbye Joe". I couldn't believe my ears, she was so good. I owned a copy of this album in vinyl when it was released by Verve/Forecast. I literally wore the album out listening to it over the years. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found that this album was again available.

Having said all that, why the low rating? Simply because of the incredibly bad sound quality of this cd. It sounds like Sony transferred it directly from a 30 year old worn out cassette. That an album of this quality could be so badly released on cd is absolutely criminal. I keep hoping for a remastered version, but I seriously doubt if that will ever happen. I will continue to listen to this audio travesty simply because the music is so good, but every time I listen I become angry at corporate America. There should be a law against such callous disregard for musical genius.

There can't be many artists with the confidence and ability to write and perform such a wonderful debut collection as this. Some of the less recognized songs are knockouts: "Billy's Blues", "Lazy Susan", "I Never Meant To Hurt You" for starters. Coming from the pen of a very young woman these songs display a maturity beyond the years as Laura's poignant lyrics and heartfelt delivery bring their stories to vivid life ("Buy and Sell" exemplifies these skills).

Blood Sweat and Tears, to their credit, recognised the richness of her writing, their superb arrangements of "And When I Die" and the sublime "He's A Runner" giving those songs full justice.

For sheer joy "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Flim Flam Man" are guaranteed to clear the cobwebs.

(One criticism: the mastering leaves a lot to be desired. The distortion on "Stoney End", and to a lesser extent on "Billy's Blues", is noticeable, and irritating).

I have been a Laura Nyro fan for years. I have claimed, rather boldly, that "Laura Nyro is the singular music talent of the last half of the twenty-first century." I have made this comment to people who are knowledgeable about music, some play music for a living, others listen to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Townes Van Zandt, and when I make this comment, they tend to look confused. If Laura Nyro is the talent that I say she is, she is also the best kept secret. Her songs covered by many, made the top ten list from the late sixties to the early seventies. Her music inspired Alvin Ailey to from a dance troup. Peter Buck (of REM fame) has listed "Eli and the Thirteenth Street Confession" as his favorita album of all time.
With the re-release of her albums as CD, and a new biography just released, I hope Laura finally gets the recognition that she deserves, and the music loving public will finally grasp the sweet grasp and scope of her work.