Laura Nyro - The First Songs

David Geffen gave up his day job to manage Laura Nyro after he heard these songs. Artists then knocked on his door begging to record them. But no one sang them sweeter than Nyro herself; not Blood, Sweat & Tears with "And When I Die," The Fifth Dimension with "Wedding Bell Blues," or even Barbra Streisand with "Stoney End." This is a remarkable collection of mature songs for anyone, much less the 20-year-old Brooklyn girl who penned them. Nyro, of course, would go on to make ever deeper, richer, sweeter soul-inflected music; but she would never be as shyly innocent or as patently joyful as on First Songs. --Michael Ruby Amazon.com

Two pennies will buy a rose, three pennies and who can tell

1966, pop utopia - and here's a major entry. Fusing Brill Building sugar, gospel thunder piano, beatnik ruminations, noir orchestrations and nightingale soul vocals, Laura Nyro described the incandescent flashes and umbrageous bummers of love better than anyone else operating in this era. Never ever compare her to Carole King! Lots of gorgeous hits ("He's A Runner," "And When I Die," etc.), albeit without the fancy Roy Halee productions or the artsong eccentricies of the following two LPs - transmissions that jumped outta dashboards straight into the vortex hearts of young Sixties women. Also two classics left off the comps: "California Shoeshine Boys" and "Buy and Sell" (the latter covered admirably by Suzanne Vega). There's higher calorie versions strewn throughout pop history (Streisand, 5th Dimension, BS&T) but no one delivers like the gal who wrote 'em: flesh intense. Her time was short, but it was atomic. January 31, 2008

Those were the days!

I first heard Laura Nyro when I was fourteen years old and I was really taken with her unique voice and wonderful song stylings. The first Laura Nyro song I ever heard was the bouncy and well-written Wedding Bell Blues - how ironic that although that was a looong time ago, that song conveys the same thoughts that are still on every single woman's mind today! For me, every song on this cd is a winner. Like Jazz & Blues? Not a problem... Billy's Blues, Lazy Susan, He's a Runner, I Never Meant to Hurt You and Buy and Sell fit the bill nicely. A touch of Gospel? Stonely End and And When I Die are great. And for just plain fun, California Shoeshine Boys, Blowin' Away and Flim Flam Man. Lauran Nyro is especially near and dear to me as she became a major influence in my life since I loved to sing. I almost wore out the album (we were listening to vinyl back then )trying to learn the words to every song. Although it is so sad she is no longer with us, it is a comfort to know that she is among the greats like Sarah Vaughn & Ella. November 24, 2007

Someone Sleeping in the control room

My first exposure to Laura Nyro was in early 1967 when she appeared on Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is". There was this incredible young barefooted girl singing "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Goodbye Joe". I couldn't believe my ears, she was so good. I owned a copy of this album in vinyl when it was released by Verve/Forecast. I literally wore the album out listening to it over the years. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found that this album was again available.

Having said all that, why the low rating? Simply because of the incredibly bad sound quality of this cd. It sounds like Sony transferred it directly from a 30 year old worn out cassette. That an album of this quality could be so badly released on cd is absolutely criminal. I keep hoping for a remastered version, but I seriouly doubt if that will ever happen. I will continue to listen to this audio travesty simply because the music is so good, but every time I listen I become angry at corporate America. There should be a law against such callous disregard for musical genius. January 2, 2007

Absolutely wonderful

Before Joni Mitchell, before Sarah McLachlan, there was Laura Nyro. This album was her first, and remains her most compelling and polished album in terms of writing, performing, arranging and producing. It's simply excellent in every respect. It sounds as beautiful, sophisticated and modern as it did nearly 40 years ago, much like Sinatra's Reprise archive. In this album, Laura shows off her awesome talent, whether it be pop, ballads, or upbeat rhythm and blues. There will only ever be one Laura Nyro, and if you are one of the lucky and the few, you will come to know and love this extraordinary and soul-inspiring singer and songwriter. December 4, 2006

An unfairly forgotten early masterpiece by Nyro

Laura Nyro's debut album for Verve in 1966 entitled "More Than A New Discovery" was acquired and re-released years later by CBS as "First Songs" after she had attained fame and established herself as the genius singer-songwriter of three devastatingly powerful and introspective soul albums in the late 60s/early 70s. Yet to those unfamiliar with Laura and her career defining works, she was simply the writer of some of the most definitive and joyously sung pop tunes of the late 60s era by artistes ranging from the Fifth Dimension to Barbra Streisand and Blood, Sweat and Tears. So, it is doubly ironical and galling to fans to find this debut album of Nyro's, which spawned many of her most famous songs, being constantly glossed over and consigned to the footnotes whenever pop historians consider Laura's place in pop music history.

The fact that "First Songs" wasn't conceived as a concept album the way Laura's three masterpieces that followed obviously were should not detract from the fact that cut for cut, "First Songs" was equal to the best of the genre that was just beginning to emerge in the late 60s. If you loved the Fifth Dimension's "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowing Away" or Streisand's "Stoney End" and "Flim Flam Man", - and I still do - you will find these originals by Nyro before they became pop fodder even more inspirational and stunning for the purity of their expression. Nyro literally gives me goosebumps when I hear her emotional and soulful soprano on songs like "Billy's Blues", "Goodbye Joe" and "Lazy Susan". Her "I Never Meant To Hurt You" and "He's A Runner", incidentally also covered by Streisand and the Fifth Dimension respectively, are two other highlights on this album. In fact, the album is so jam packed with Grade A songs with nary a filler it's not surprising that most of them were subsequently covered by artistes on the hunt for great material to record.

"First Songs" is such a mature piece of work, yet so fresh and gorgeous even today it's a wonder critics give it only a 3-star rating when they're obviously admirers of Nyro's music. I urge these and others who haven't discovered "First Songs" to put aside any preconceptions they may have that this is a lightweight album because it preceded Nyro's serious artiste phase to go check it out. I guarantee it will blow you away. March 16, 2003

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