I have been interested in Laura Nyro, knowing that she's a contemporary for
Joni Mitchell and that Joni has spoken highly of her, especially of New York
Tendaberry. Well I was browsing on Amazon and I come across the page for
Tendaberry. I see the song title CFDM and I'm thinking, oh this sounds like
a Joni title. So I listen to the sample and it sounds intriguing and
haunting. I then go to audiogalaxy.com and download the song. OH MY
GOD!!!!! This song is soo gooood!!!!! And then I scan the article page at
jmdl.com where I come upon a child of god-jk- but seriously a transcript of a
radio show Joni did in England in 1983. She brings with her 12 songs she
likes and they are played and commenting on them. Well what do I find but
this:
AP: The next choice is from Laura Nyro, desperately underplayed on the radio
in this country. Really is.
JM: Another great artist.
AP: But why great to you? What is it that particularly appeals about her
work?
JM: Well, when I was first starting out, there weren't that many women that
were writing, and I was pitted in the press in various combinations. You
know, they try to put you into groups and schools, like to put you in some
kind of neat filing system. Of all of the filing systems that I went into,
she was one of the rare ones whose company I enjoyed. She's a great artist,
you know, a complete original. You see a lot of her influence coming down now
through the pop charts. Rickie Lee Jones has borrowed a lot from her, but
somehow or other the way she put it together was all her own.
AP: And this is "Captain for a Dark Morning."
(Plays "Captain for a Dark Morning.")
AP: The haunting voice of Laura Nyro. She really is a superb vocalist, isn't
she?
JM: Oh, yeah. She's got so much dynamic range and sense of theatre and
composition. She's a great one.
Let's just say I have sooo much more respect for Joni now. Conceding that
she is not the queen of all female singer-songwriters!!!
I'm going to get Tendaberry as soon as I can. What of Nyro's should I get
after that?
