Laura Nyro - Time and Love: The Essential Masters

5 years on since the first batch of remasters...

..im still wondering why SONY will not release the rest of Lauras Albums.
Or AT LEAST CHRISTMAS AND THE BEADS OF SWEAT...her masterwork
That would be a good choice for one of these 2 disc hoity-toity LEGACY sets...
are the geezers in the NY HQ getting to hard of hearing after listening to the likes of Journey
or too busy with the 137th reissued configuaration of Jefferson Airplane?
Or is all the spare cash going by the semi-trailer truck loads to keep Blu Ray afloat?

COME ON-SONY-get with the program!
at least remaster and bonus track Xmas... December 31, 2007

Sensational collection of the absolute best from this legendary singer-songwriter.

Being a huge fan of the Fifth Dimension I have been enjoying Laura Nyro tunes for decades. But incredibly I don't believe I had ever sampled any of Laura Nyro's work as a performer. Just the other day I came across this 2000 release "Time and Love: The Essential Masters". My curiosity got the best of me and I grabbed it. I must say that I really did not know just what to expect and I had the feeling that I might be wasting my hard earned money. As it turns out nothing could be further from the truth. "Time and Love: The Essential Masters features a total of 16 terrific tunes by this often overlooked singer-songwriter.
Now I have to admit that I was blown away by the fact the Laura Nyro penned 13 of the 16 tunes in this collection. These are songs that just about everyone would be familiar with. As I indicated earlier the Fifth Dimension were huge fans of Laura Nyro's work and had a number of big hits with songs like "Wedding Bell Blues", "Sweet Blindness", "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Save The Country". I found that Laura's original versions were just terrific and I seemed to enjoy them all just as much. Blood Sweat and Tears had a monster hit in 1969 with Laura's "And When I Die" and Three Dog Night scored with "Eli's Coming" just a year or two later. Once again Laura's take on these tunes are a bit different as you might expect but highly enjoyable nonetheless! I also enjoyed Laura's version of the Barbra Streisand hit "Stoney End". What a great tune!
"Time and Love: The Essential Masters" also features a handful of Laura's tunes you might not be familiar with. Of these I particularly enjoyed "Goodbye Joe" and the title tune "Time And Love" which is probably my favorite track on this collection. And if you are a chart buff you can sample the one and only Laura Nyro recording to hit the Billboard Hot 100. Laura's version of the Gerry Goffin-Carole King favorite "Up On The Roof" spent a total of 2 weeks on the charts and peaked at #92.
I was quite surprised to discover that Laura Nyro passed away from ovarian cancer in 1997 at the age of 49. That is really too bad because as I am just now learning this was one extremely talented lady. "Time And Love: The Essential Masters" has been a revelation to me. I enjoyed each and every one of the 16 tracks in this collection. The remastering job is first rate and I particularly enjoyed perusing the 12 page booklet that was included here. All in all this one is a most pleasant surprise. Highly recommended!
July 2, 2007

most of the best

if you love or even like laura nyro this concise collection has most of the best from the early years..if you must have only one album by this unbelievable writer,singer & performer you could not go wrong here!...(although i would not be content with one)..the next step of course would be "stoned soul picnic" the two disc anthology...& after that a live album!...here's hoping they'll put out that dvd documentary soon!!! February 16, 2007

Great Intro to Nyro!

I'm new to the music of Laura Nyro, but I've known some of these songs for years. This cd inlcudes many of Nyro's titles that were hits for other artists like the Fifth Dimension and Barbra Streisand, so they're familiar.
My first introduction to Nyro's voice was in the movie, "Home at the End of the World," where they're playing one of her records and she's singing "It's Gonna Take A Miracle." That song I have always associated with Deniece Williams, so I got curious to find out more about Laura Nyro and bought this cd.
Needless to say I was impressed. Nyro had a voice that sounded like a cross between Streisand and Karen Carpenter, so I don't know why most critics say her voice was less than average.
The cd has been remastered and includes a booklet with an introduction written by Stephen Holden. Lyrics to all of the songs are also inlcuded, and the album the song came from, which is a nice touch.
July 29, 2006

Nyro was a master singer/songwriter

Laura Nyro did not have the best voice but her song writing overcame any vocal deficiencies she may have had. Although not as comprehensive as the 2-disc set "Stoned Soul Picnic", in many ways this CD offers more insight of her more popular efforts. 'Wedding Bell Blues' and 'Stoned Soul Picnic' were remade by The 5th Dimension and became huge hits; 'And When I Die' was a heavy from Blood, Sweat and Tears; 'Stoney End' was a Barbra Steisand staple and 'Eli's Comin'' was one of Three Dog Night's biggest successes. Buy this CD if you are a newcomer to Laura's music then you may want to explore her artistry by purchasing some of her earlier works. 4.5 stars. March 12, 2006

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