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	Sample this album Artist (Sample)
1 30	Blackpatch Blackpatch	3:25	Play in Library $0.99
2 30	Sweet Blindness Sweet Blindness	4:06	Play in Library $0.99
3 30	Stoney End Stoney End	3:25	Play in Library $0.99
4 30	To A Child To A Child	3:26	Play in Library $0.99
5 30	California Shoeshine Boys California Shoeshine Boys	2:20	Play in Library $0.99
6 30	Stoned Soul Picnic Stoned Soul Picnic	3:21	Play in Library $0.99
7 30	Lonely Woman Lonely Woman	4:42	Play in Library $0.99
8 30	Been on a Train Been on a Train	5:09	Play in Library $0.99
9 30	Mother's Spiritual Mother's Spiritual	3:46	Play in Library $0.99
10 30	Luckie Luckie	2:48	Play in Library $0.99
11 30	Capt. St. Lucifer Capt. St. Lucifer	3:40	Play in Library $0.99
12 30	Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp	3:33	Play in Library $0.99
13 30	Buy and Sell Buy and Sell	3:54	Play in Library $0.99
14 30	Save the Country Save the Country	3:47	Play in Library $0.99

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Product Details

Audio CD (October 2, 2007)
Original Release Date: October 2, 2007
Number of Discs: 1
Label: GHOSTLIGHT.
Run Time: 51 minutes
ASIN: B000VBIEUQ
Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,666 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #2437 in Music > Broadway & Vocalists > Musicals
- #3301 in Music > Pop > Soft Rock
- #3439 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk

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Customer Reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		31%
4 star		25%
3 star		6%
2 star		19%
1 star		19%

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Top Customer Reviews

HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE I THINK IT'S DUE

By Tucson Damon on December 3, 2007

Format: Audio CD

There's no doubt this is a controversial CD/project. It seems that people come at it from two "camps" so to speak: those like myself who have known virtually nothing about Judy Kuhn but are great and long-time Laura Nyro fans, and vice versa, and that is going to color everything for us. In my personal, subjective opinion, it's virtually a given that no one can match Laura singing Laura, or even come close, but just the fact that Judy Kuhn is a very talented singer performer who loves Laura enough to record an entire CD of her music, including some very surprising and unexpected choices of material, such as Blackpatch, To A Child and Mother's Spiritual, rates very high in my book. I know I'll be giving it many more listens, and I think it's respectable. Like some other reviewers, my biggest hope, however, is that it will help give Laura's original music even a bit more exposure that is so lacking. For me it feels like there are literally generations of listeners now who would love to discover one of our era's most amazing talents (in my humble opinion!).

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Much better than I expected

By DVD buff on January 22, 2008

Format: Audio CD Verified Purchase

I'm one of those rare people who is a big fan of both Laura Nyro and Judy Kuhn. I saw Judy Kuhn in CHESS on Broadway 20 years ago and have been a fan ever since, and I've been a Laura Nyro fanatic for decades.

And, usually, I feel that no one can perform Laura Nyro's songs like Laura Nyro herself. Most artists who interpret the material seem to bleed all the energy out of it.

But this CD is a rare case of a great voice singing great songs with great production. After reading some of the online reviews, I was a bit apprehensive about what I would hear when I bought this CD. There was definitely no need for me to be apprehensive -- this CD is just plain good.

Judy Kuhn has the energy and passion in her voice to carry off this sometimes tricky material. The arrangements help keep that level of energy up, which is where this album really shines.

I hesitate to give this CD five stars, though, because I don't feel it's the greatest vocal performance of Ms. Kuhn's career, nor is it the best collection of Laura Nyro songs ever assembled. But it's awfully darned good and well worth a listen for any fan of Judy Kuhn or Laura Nyro.

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unfortunate

By Eileen C. Pearlman on October 21, 2007

Format: Audio CD

I agree with the previous reviewer about loving Judy Kuhn. She's really wonderful. I don't agree about the material, however. I have loved Laura Nyro for many years. I don't think anyone can do Laura, but the late, wonderful Laura. Her material is not dated, but needs to be listened to through Laura Nyro's own incredible voice. I think Judy Kuhn deserves a lot of credit for trying to keep Laura Nyro's music alive. It is so much better than a lot of music out there. Anybody who wants to hear really great music, written by a very young girl, should check out some of Laura Nyro's early recordings.

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a different perspective here....this CD is brilliant....

By Gregory Mitchell on November 2, 2007

Format: Audio CD

I coudn't disagree more with these other reviews; perhaps that's because I saw Kuhn do this set at Lincoln Center and then three times at Joe's Pub. Judy Kuhn and Laura Nyro are the perfect match between singer and songwriter, and I'm an enormous fan of both. After Kuhn's Lincoln Center set, I had put together (of Nyro singing) the lineup of Kuhn's set. I recently went back into that playlist, and (don't throw rocks at me) but Kuhn often surpasses the originals -- especially, with Stoney End and Been On A Train. I about fell off my chair when I first heard Kuhn sing Been On A Train, and on that big note (you know, or you'll know which one when you hear it), Nyro sounds, well, kinda meager by comparison. Kuhn totally rethinks Stoney End, and it's now actually about something rather than just an on-the-beat pop/rock song.

So many other delights to be found here as well -- Blackpatch, Captain St. Lucifer, Mother's Spiritual, Lonely Women, Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp, and Buy and Sell, in particular. While Luckie doesn't begin to match Nyro's original (and Luckie was the one song which Kuhn and her crackerjack musicians had some trouble with -- that tempo change on "dig those potatoes" is a hard one....), it's perfectly respectable. I'm not super-crazy about Save The Country (save the message of it).

The vast majority of the arrangements are respectful of Nyro, and gorgeous in their own way (and I'm not a kneejerk Kuhn recording lover as the frequently bizarre arrangements on her Jule Styne/Just In Time CD just jettison that whole project). The trumpeter on Stoned Soul Picnic just nails it, and the cellist offer superb support on many tracks.Read more ›

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The Lord & the Lightning

By Lee Armstrong HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on February 16, 2008

Format: Audio CD Verified Purchase

Laura Nyro's music has been so much a part of my life that I wondered if I would enjoy hearing another sing her work. This is my introduction to Judy Kuhn. Judy does a great job on "Sweet Blindness" with a jazzy arrangement, giving the song a unique treatment, "A little magic, a little kindness." "To A Child" is one of my favorite Nyro songs with its obvious maternal feelings. Judy does a great job with it, "Is there hope for a mother and an elf on speed?" "California Shoeshine Boys" boogies delightfully with sass, "John can make sweet Cindy cry, but Joe can make her crawl." "Stoned Soul Picnic" boasts a rawness in Kuhn's vocals with a lovely arrangement, "And from the sky come the Lord & the lightning." Aaron Heick's sax solo on "Lonely Women" is pure ambrosia, although Kuhn's vocal vibrato is a bit distracting for me. "Mother's Spiritual" is one of the most beautiful songs for me; so I'm thrilled to hear Judy's excellent cover, "Feel this love, my brothers & sisters, feel the seasons turn; She is the mother of time; Light & darkness come to her kiss, that's where mother's spiritual lives." "Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp" is such a lovely song. I loved Leni Stern's instrumental version on the tribute CD Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro. Kuhn's version blooms. On "Buy & Sell" from Laura Nyro's The First Songs, Kuhn's version is worth it's weight in gold. She nails the lovely melody and the moody ache of Nyro's music, "Coc*ine and quiet beers, sweet candy & caramel, pass the time and dry the tears on a street called Buy & Sell." While no one will replace Laura Nyro as a singer for me, Judy Kuhn's excellent CD polishes some excellent material delightfully. Enjoy!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

a little magic and kindness; a little sassafras and moonshine

I am both a Laura Nyro and Judy Kuhn fan. I heard Nyro's emotionally-charged voice way back and I thought it was a sound unlike one I've heard before with its almost-feral... Read more

Published 24 days ago by groucho

no soul

To even attempt something like this, you'd need not only your own natural soul, but a ton more to try to approximate Laura's. Read more

Published on March 23, 2010 by Gary E. Morlock

This CD grew on me ...

I have been waiting and waiting for Ms.Kuhn's new CD and I was excited that she was doing Laura Nyro. Read more

Published on February 18, 2008 by Marcel Sebald

Enthusiastic, but a shaky match of singer and songwriter

Judy Kuhn
Serious Playground
(Ghostlight Records)
US release date: 2 October 2007
UK release date: Available as import

by Tony Sclafani... Read more

Published on January 29, 2008 by Tony Sclafani

Oh dear Judy, I love you, but, just No...

JudyJudyJudy...Tain't personal, Judy, but I had high hopes for this (I love your voice and I loved your Jule Styne CD and your performance in "Passions"! Read more

Published on January 11, 2008 by Sally Stang

Good, Good

In spite of the fact that I am not much of a Laura Nyro fan, I really love this album. Judy Kuhn could record herself singing the phone book and it would be emotional and good. Read more

Published on January 3, 2008 by bethany

Color the Album GREAT

I have always been a kind of stand-off Judy Kuhn fan and I stumbled over this and started playing the samples. Read more

Published on November 30, 2007 by FlashWriter

right music, wrong singer

Just not in her element here. Didn't know that there was a need for a fantastic Bway singer to record Nyro songs. Not much more to say.

Published on November 9, 2007 by J. A. Kawarsky

I love this album

I have to admit I wasn't too familiar with Laura Nyro's songs before hearing Judy Kuhn sing at the Kaplan Penthouse as part of the American Songbook series at Lincoln Center in... Read more

Published on November 1, 2007 by Dante

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