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51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Come Back to Me & Answer My Prayer, May 3, 2001
I have over 5,700 volumes in my music collection. So when I say that Laura Nyro is my VERY favorite, I hope you will realize it encompasses a broad scope. When she sings, she takes me to places no other singer has: from the abyss of despair to the ecstacy of bliss, and often within the same song. When she was with us, I would often pray for Laura that her muse would speak to her. The track "Serious Playground" with just piano and Laura's vocal addresses her attunement with the muse of the creative process. For her fans, this is a strong CD and certainly an answer for my prayers. In the title track, Laura's ethereal voice floats over the piano, "I can't live no more without an angel of love." Her original song "Triple Twilight Goddess" is part politics, part tears, the working woman's ballad. I think my very favorite of the new self-penned originals is "Sweet Dream Fade." This is Laura at the top of her game, equal parts pop, jazz and soul. Randy Brecker's trumpet and Freddie Washington's bass propel the tune with the refrain "Don't let this sweet dream face." Stunning. Bashiri Johnson's percussion pulses in Laura's "Gardenia Talk" and makes the cut a lot of fun. "Animal Grace" shows Laura's concern for the treatment of animals that surfaced so well in her "Light the Light" CD. The most empassioned vocal is near the close of the CD on Laura's "Don't Hurt Child." Her voice weaves over, through and under the rather laconic instrumentation, "May the love that you know get you by." The covers on the CD are real gifts. Laura who transformed Carole King's "Up On the Roof" on her "Christmas & the Beads of Sweat" album, makes Carole's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" build from a haunting refrain to desperate plee to the confident assurance of a mature love. Carol Steel contributes some sweet percussion on the track. Laura totally transforms the Richard Rogers' "He Was Too Good To Me" into an aching lament. Laura does two Burt Bacharach songs here. "Walk On By" has such a strong emotional melody and lyric that it seems tailor-made for Laura. But the real find is the gem "Be Aware." I couldn't find this on any of my old Dionne LP's or couldn't tell from the internet sites where it has previously been recorded; so I don't know where Laura found this treasure. It is about as brilliantly and sweetly stated a song of social consciousness as one is likely to find. The transition from piano to full band gives the arrangement strength as Laura sings, "When we have so much, should any child be homeless? Be aware." "Let It Be Me" is beautifully powerful; Laura doesn't so much sing it as embody it. Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Ooh Baby" takes the bare emotions of a soul song and exposes the raw nerve. When Laura sings, "I'm crying, baby, baby," you feel it to the bone. Why Laura chose the Gershwin tune "Embraceable You," I don't know. Like few other singers, she can transform even a standard as her own. In "La La Means I Love You," Laura's voice embraces the sweet soul and slides over the melody as if it were written just for her. The CD ends with "Coda" from the title track, "Come back to me, come back." And as much as anyone can, Laura has come back to us with this final studio disc. Don't miss the final chapter in this classic singer/songwriter's work. It is not to be missed!
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly one of the giants; couldn't imagine a better farewell, July 11, 2001
Laura Nyro is, in my humble opinion, the greatest combination we have ever had in a singer and songwriter. In terms of singing alone, she ranks near the top of my list with Ella, Billie, Sarah, and Aretha. In terms of songwriting, she ranks somewhere up there with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Does it sound too good to be true? Sometimes I think so. But this album (her final works recorded during her final days) reminds me that Laura is truly what I think she is--the best singer/songwriter that will ever inhabit this earth. You do not have to be a Laura Nyro fan to enjoy and appreciate this album. Laura's voice is so beautiful here; untouched by time, reaching the heights and depths it did in her earlier recordings 30 years before. She adds her own harmony vocals throughout, which is something she pretty much pioneered in the 60s on her triology of masterpieces "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession", "New York Tendaberry", and "Christmas and the Beads of Sweat". Those three albums broke new ground in so many ways, and even Laura seemed inspired by them when she made the recordings that appear on "Angel in the Dark". I think she made peace with the wild ramblings of her youth when she did these songs. Her 80s and 90s work showed a departure from the wild energy of her salad days, but she came full circle round with this soulful, energetic set (though a touch more subdued than her 60s/70s work, of course). Believe it or not, I'm trying not to gush uncritical praise here. I can truly say that this collection of songs is so unique and special, period. But it does make it even harder to accept Laura Nyro's death, because these songs are proof that her fires were still burning, and that there would have been many more albums and Bottom Line concerts to attend. If you are already a fan, you won't get through this with dry eyes. But even if you know nothing about Laura Nyro, I think this album will still send you through a gentle emotional wringer. "Come back to me, come back..."
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sha La La means I love you, July 31, 2001
When I first moved to NY with a fifty-dollar bill in my sneakers and a suitcase full of dreams stored in my room at the YMCA, the first evening I spent in the city was at a Laura Nyro concert in Central Park. On a balmy July evening she came out onto the stage in bare feet and a cocktail dress, sat down at her piano and played song after song for close to two hours, not once saying a word to the audience. After each song was finished she would smile out to the crowd and begin to serenade us with yet another musical gem. When the concert was over, Laura left the stage and we all sat mesmerized, shaken to our very core with the Manhattan skyline echoing with the strains of Laura's lovely voice. Listening to this CD reminded me that Laura's music touched you deep down inside. The music said it all. She bared her soul, told of her dreams, heartaches and joy in every chord and in every lyric. You truly were one with Laura when you listened to her music, so it is only fitting that the last recorded material that we have from Laura recreates this same intimacy. What a rare treat to have such a wonderful tribute to an angel that we all shall miss. This is a CD to treasure.
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by Laura Nyro 
