Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laura At Her Best, January 22, 2005
I purchased Spread Your Wings And Fly five days ago and I can't stop playing it. I loved Laura Nyro in the late 1960's and early 1970's and still have my vinyl copies of Eli and The Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry. I had not listened to Laura in quite a few years, as I rarely play the old vinyl records anymore, which are tucked away in the basement. But, I started thinking about her for some reason, went to Amazon, and bought the NY Tendaberry CD and Spread Your Wings and Fly. I had not heard the latter before, but, after listening to samples, decided to try it. So far, it's the only one I have played.
This live performance is with just Laura and the piano. No band, no drummer or bass, just Laura. To me, it's the best way to hear her. It was recorded at the Fillmore East and apparently was one of the last shows held there. It must have been a doozie, and the audience sounds like it was totally awed by the performance, as well they should have been.
One should be advised that the recording quality leaves a bit to be desired. Apparently, the old tapes sat around for a long time and the CD does have a few distortions of Laura's voice, particularly when she hits the high notes. There is even an acknowledgement of this on the liner notes. Nonetheless, for the most part the sound quality is just fine, and I feel this live performance captures Laura at her best. There is a mix of covers -- such as Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, Natural Woman, Walk On By and Dancing In The Streets -- with her own songs, including American Dove, Emmie, Timer, Lu, Flim Flam Man, I Am The Blues, Map To The Treasure, Christmas In My Soul and Save The Country. The mood goes from happy and light on Dancing In The Streets and Emmie, to intense and moving on I Am The Blues and Map To The Treasure, the last being my personal favorite. And she does some amazing things with her voice on I Am The Blues. Her rendition of Natural Woman is excellent; her voice is absolutely beautiful and I think even Aretha would be proud!
Also, my favorite song by Laura has always been Save The Country. I like it even better on this CD than on New York Tendaberry, since there is no orchestra, which I thought was too strong on NY Tendaberry. The only minor negative is that the audience claps in rhythm throughout most of the song, but it is minimally distracting and does capture the spirit of the song, and, probably, the event.
I haven't heard all of her CDs, but, so far, this is my favorite and I strongly recommend it.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To Love Somebody, February 2, 2005
The legend of Laura Nyro is supported by her many recordings but very few have the immediacy and brilliance as this recording: "Spread Your Wings And Fly" recorded at the Fillmore West in 1971.
I was fortunate to have seen Nyro in the middle 1970's, at the release of "Smile" at the Santa Monica Civic. I was a mere pup but I knew that I was seeing genius nonetheless.
Laura's voice is at its best and purest here, abetted only by piano and her gorgeous phrasing and vocal timbre.
It is a surprise to me that this recording includes an early version of one of her classics: I Am The Blues, which she hones to perfection by the time it is included in the "Smile" album of 1976.
She includes versions of her songs from "Christmas and the Beads of Sweat": Map To The Treasure and Christmas In My Soul without the orchestrations of the album versions but they lose nothing in the translation to these Live versions.
To know Laura Nyro is to understand a little bit of what Heaven and Love is about. She is nothing if not about closeness, family and the vagaries of Love.
To know and understand Laura is to know what makes us as human beings tick: She is Love, She is Real, She is the embodiment of raw and transcendent Emotion.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Addition to the Legacy of Laura Nyro, August 18, 2004
It is amazing to me that this CD comes from a recording that was salvaged from a tape. Despite the slight tape hiss that runs throughout the CD the sound is good, and the performance - wonderful. Some Nyro classics ("Emmie", "Timer", "Flim Flam Man")to her soulful interpretations of oldies ("O-o-h Child", "Walk On By", "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman") and then onto songs even her greatest fans (like myself) have never heard ("American Dove" and "Mother Earth"), this is all classic Nyro. From someone who had the opportunity to see her live in the late '60s and early '70s, this sounds exactly like what I remember. Just Laura and her piano. This CD includes the only live recording I know of "Christmas In My Soul" and "Map To The Treasure" and they reminded me of what great songs they are, pretty much relevant to this day. And her piano playing is incredible. I could never comprehend how she manages to make her voice and piano lead together in the same song. Usually piano accompanies a singer but she does something else. They appear as equal partners in her songs. And she needs no other instrumentation. It's incredible to me and this CD is a wonderful addition to the legacy of Laura Nyro. Its a perfect example of what she was great at doing. I highly recommend this.
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by Laura Nyro 
