Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fans should get for the remastering; not good for newbies, May 17, 2001
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! :-)
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unbelievable Collection - Get Ready To Be Excited , August 1, 2004
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.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Time and Love" - Laura Nyro lives on!, October 10, 2000
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.
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by Laura Nyro 
