Customer Reviews

Time and Love: The Essential Masters

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is still very worthwhile for fans because the remastering of the tracks makes for a somewhat new listening experience. This remastered collection shows that Laura's albums are in dire need of remastering (and are overdue for remastered reissues).

For LN newbies, I guess this is a decent collection of songs. My fear is that they won't make you much of a fan. Without intention on Laura's behalf (I'm guessing), Laura Nyro albums each work together as a whole. They are each something of a rock opera, though not really rock or operatic (or like, for example, "Tommy"). Laura Nyro really defies definition or comparison. But once you get to know her songs in the context of their original albums, you will have a hard time separating each song from the songs that surround it. That might seem to be the case for most albums, or might sound pretentious, but it's something that amazingly seems to happen for most LN fans much more so than for other artists' albums. So if you want to get introduced to Laura Nyro, you should start with "New York Tendaberry". That album is timeless, thrilling, and simply breathtaking. "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession" is also a great start, but its production is more representative of its time (though not dated; you just need to be comfortable with the late 60s sound--it turned me off at first, but I sure got over it). "Christmas and the Beads of Sweat" is also an excellent start.

But no matter what, get something by Laura Nyro!! She's the closest thing I've ever had in my life to a religious experience. A collection like this won't be enough to "convert" you, but it's a start! :-)

Beyond the liner notes of Linda Ronstadt's DIFFERENT DRUM CD, I first heard Laura Nyro mentioned a few years ago in a conversation. When I decided to buy the album, I had absolutely no idea I would be mesmorized by it in about two listens, and then walk around with each of the songs playing in my head for the next three weeks. I love this album. Included in this collection are sixteen of the most unique and intense songs and performances that I've heard in a long time. It isn't surprising that most of this songs became hits for other artists, in versions that can't hold a candle to the energy and passion of these original recordings. To those willing to listen and be fascinated, Laura Nyro's music is a truely special experience, she didn't merge genres - she removed them, jazz meets pop meets country meets Broadway meets gospel (a statement made nearly a hundred times), but these recordings are impressive beyond belief. "Sweet Blindness" may be one of my favorites, the tempo varies throughout the song, but the performance radiates with kinetic energy. "Wedding Bell Blues," "And When I Die," "Blowin' Away," "Goodbye Joe," and "Stoney End" are featured on her first album THE FIRST SONGS, originally titled MORE THAN A NEW DISCOVERY. Again, many of these songs eventually became hits for other artists, and given the quality of them there's no surprise. "Wedding Bell Blues" is good beyond description, it adds an extra dimension to the teenage love song (She was about 19 at the time of the release). Get ready to be impressed by "Goodbye Joe," "And When I Die," "Stoney End," and "Blowin' Away." Laura Nyro has a gorgeous voice, and her ability with a song and with emotion connects like few artists ever do. The songs from ELI AND THE THIRTEENTH CONFESSION are even better than the ones from the first album, "Sweet Blindness," "Lu," "Eli's Comin'," and "Stoned Soul Picnic." "Eli's Comin" is truely an exciting listening experience. NEW YORK TENDABERRY features "Save The Country" and "Time And Love." "Time And Love" is another favorite, starting with a piano backing and building in intensity until the joyous chorus arrives. I'd love to just quote her incredible lyrics throughout the review because each of these songs is so well written, but the performance makes them truely extraordinary. "When I Was A Freeport And You Were The Main Drag" is a terrific song from CHRISTMAS AND THE BEADS OF SWEAT along with "Up On The Roof," an awesome cover of a Goffin/King classic, and "Blackpatch." The title track to her interpretive collection GONNA TAKE A MIRACLE is featured after "Stoney End," needless to say its an incredible performance. "Sexy Mama" is a cover from SMILE, the first album released after her break following GONNA TAKE A MIRACLE. Each listen to this CD still takes me by surprise, the mark of a great recording. This collection is definitely fascinating, and has started my interest in purchasing the original Laura Nyro albums. Longtime fans have noticed missing songs, which longtime fans do, I do it all the time on compilations by my favorite artists, but for someone interested in Laura Nyro's exceptional recordings and indescribable artistry, this collection will be perfect.

Female singer-songwriters are everywhere these days. From Alainis Morrissette and Sheryl Crow to Jane Siberry and Lisa Geronimo.Each and every time they take to the airwaves a little bit of Laura Nyro echoes from the stage."Time and Love", the latest collection of Nyro's greatest hits from Sony-Legacy celebrates the life that gave us "Wedding Bell Blues","Stoney End","And When I Die","Eli's Comin", the title track and countless other "hits" for other people. But that's the rub, these were hits for others not herself. But it's also the cause for the celebration. Displayed so brilliantly on "Time & Love" is the soulful way in which Ms. Nyro sings from so deep a place in her heart. The delivery is intense, showing the wide range of emotion with which she penned the songs in the first place. From the first chords of "Sweet Blindness" you can see what makes Laura Nyro so special and why her 4 decade career has tugged at the heartstrings of everyone lucky enough to be within earshot of her. She takes the listener along for a magical ride. She lets you board the train and sends you on a cataclysmic journey through every raw emotion you've ever sensed. And then takes you leaping over New York City towers to emotional peaks that you had never before imagined, then lowers you sweetly to the ground. Laura Nyro's vision was bright and positive. Her music believed in the power of love. She sang "Save the Country" with the gritty determinedness of hope that screamed out through the depths of despair of Vietnam and fallen heroes. This compilation proves that in Time and Love, Laura Nyro lives on.

Take all of these reviews with a grain of salt. Yes,it's not complete. Yes,it focuses a bit too much on "First Songs"(which was originally a Verve/Forcast LP). Yes,"Emmie" should be here. Yes,the first three Columbia albums should be taken in their whole-eventually. But if you want to know how the female singer/songwriter movement started and who was decades ahead of everyone-(even Joni Mitchell notes her influence),plunk down your twelve bucks and start here. This comp includes the album version of "Save the Country",so you know it ain't just the words and the voice-while the double "Best of" has the single version. And how about that cover of "Up On The Roof"? The best! Great photos,nice liner notes and lyrics to boot! Laura's stuff means more today than ever and instead of getting two CDs the way Amazon likes to pair things,try her biog with this-now available in trade softbound. Imperfect?Yes-that's the point.

I'm new to the music of Laura Nyro, but I've known some of these songs for years. This cd inlcudes many of Nyro's titles that were hits for other artists like the Fifth Dimension and Barbra Streisand, so they're familiar.
My first introduction to Nyro's voice was in the movie, "Home at the End of the World," where they're playing one of her records and she's singing "It's Gonna Take A Miracle." That song I have always associated with Deniece Williams, so I got curious to find out more about Laura Nyro and bought this cd.
Needless to say I was impressed. Nyro had a voice that sounded like a cross between Streisand and Karen Carpenter, so I don't know why most critics say her voice was less than average.
The cd has been remastered and includes a booklet with an introduction written by Stephen Holden. Lyrics to all of the songs are also inlcuded, and the album the song came from, which is a nice touch.

I have to add my voice to those who praise the work of this remarkable artist who, before she was 25, had already written big hits for The Fifth Dimension, Barbra Streisand, 3 Dog Night, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Thelma Houston. All of those songs are included in this collection. In her songwriting, Laura took the Goffin-King/Brill Building style and morphed it into something with more soul, and more of an "edge". Her lyrics abound with references to religion and nature, making them seem at the same time both spiritual and paganistic. She sings of Thunder, Lightning, Sun, Wind, Time, Love - elemental things. Her vocal style varies from song to song, but generally it is straight from the gut, with a fervor bordering on ecstasy. I saw her on TV only once. I believe it was in 1969, and I believe it was on The Andy Williams Show. She walked out calmly, sat down at the piano, and proceeded to give those ivories quite a licking as she sang "Save The Country". I never lost the image of that performance. She was so REAL, just her intense and beautiful self. My favorite cuts on this CD are her compositions "Blowin' Away", "Eli's Comin' ", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Save The Country" and "Blackpatch". As for covers, she's in appropriate despair in her cover of "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", and, in an odd coincidence (Or is it?) her string-laden version of Goffin-King's "Up On The Roof" is slowed down, to excellent effect, just as Carole King slowed down her own song "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" on her album "Tapestry". Laura, wherever you are, I hope it makes you smile when I say that I appreciate your gifts, and I thank you for being you.

Music fans raised on the top 40 format that dominated radio stations in the Sixties may know Laura Nyro only as the composer behind hits for Three Dog Night ("Eli's Coming"), The Fifth Dimension ("Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," and "Sweet Blindness"), Blood, Sweat and Tears ("And When I Die"), and Barbra Streisand ("Stoney End"). Each of these performers put their own individual stamp on Nyro's compositions, but Nyro's distinctive signature remains. Unlike so many of today's modern songwriters, whose work reveals little more than a desire to reach the top of the charts by appealing to the lowest common denominator, Nyro wrote from her heart and soul. On her own recordings, she sang from there, too.

Nyro never had a major commercial hit of her own, and like other artists whose work reached the masses through the interpretations of others (Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen being notable examples), the purely commercial confines of a "best of" collection is an inappropriate showcase for her work. Even though "Time and Love: The Essential Masters" is just such a compilation, its weaknesses do not take away from its strengths. You get Nyro's distinctive renditions of her most famous songs, as well as some lesser known selections from her songbook. There's also a cover of "Up On the Roof" that shows she could take the work of others and make it her own.

As an introduction to Nyro's work, this is more a handshake than an embrace - and there are better collections available - but since this is the album through which I was introduced to this great artist, I recommend it.

I grew up with Laura Nyro songs. What is amazing to me now is the level of depth, insight, and intensity to emerge from a woman who was so young at the time. These attributes speak to her incredible talent. The current generation of young people would find her lyrics and music as meaningful today as did we back all those years ago. The cast has changed but the problems and the angst of a young generation doesn't. I am just sorry she was taken from us at such a young age. She had so much to offer.

It's hard to accept a Laura Nyro CD without "Emmie" as being "The Essential Masters." It is also true that if you are already a fan you probably have all these songs and will disagree about various omissions. If you want a better (or at least more comprehensive) introduction to Laura's music spanning more of her career, try the 2 CD collection "The Best of Laura Nyro: Stoned Soul Picnic." [Columbia/Legacy C2K 48880]. HOWEVER: If you are looking for a one volume introduction to Laura Nyro so that you'll see what all the shouting (praise and passion) is about, you'll find this CD to be a good selection of some of her best. None of these comments are directed at the music. As with any Laura Nyro collection, the music and lyrics are beautiful . . . and that may be reason enough to buy this CD.

As a "newbie" to Laura Nyro's music, all I can say is WOW! Thanks again to Amazon for pointing me in her direction and thanks to the reviewers of all of her albums for their honesty about Laura as an artist/musician. After reading reviews for all of her listed albums, I decided to get this greatest hits disc to simply get my own feel for her music.

I love the fact that she is a singer/songwriter and although she doesn't have the most powerful vocal skills, every song is sung with such pure joy, passion and pure belief which touched my heart. As you listen you can't help but notice that this woman sang because it was in her soul to do so, she HAD to be a singer and I for one am glad that she was given a chance to leave a musical legacy for the world to hear.

The tracks that I have grown to love are: Eli's Comin', Wedding Bell Blues, Blowin' Away, And When I Die, Sexy Mama, Time & Love and Up on the Roof.

I'm definitely glad that I purchased this disc and will be buying 2 or 3 of her other releases to get a more complete feel for her artistry.