I became a fan of Laura Nyro from the moment I heard her songs in the late 1960s. Between 1968 and 1970, a number of artists and groups had hits with Laura Nyro songs: The 5th Dimension with “Blowing Away“, “Wedding Bell Blues“, “Stoned Soul Picnic“, “Sweet Blindness“, and “Save the Country“; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Peter, Paul and Mary with “And When I Die“; Three Dog Night and Maynard Ferguson with “Eli’s Comin’“; and Barbra Streisand with “Stoney End“, “Time and Love”, and “Hands off the Man (Flim Flam Man)”. Laura Nyro’s best-selling single was her version of Carole King‘s and Gerry Goffin‘s “Up on the Roof“.
Laura Nyro died of ovarian cancer in Danbury, Connecticut, on April 8, 1997. She was 49, the same age that her mother died from the same disease. In 2004, SONY released Spread Your Wings and Fly: Live at the Fillmore East May 30, 1971. The concert performance shows Nyro’s love of classic songs like “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, “Spanish Harlem,” “Walk On By,” “Dancing in the Street,” “O-o-h Child,” and “Up on the Roof.”
Laura Nyro was 24 at the time of this concert. She had a relationship with singer/songwriter Jackson Browne in late 1970 to early 1971. Jackson Browne was Nyro’s opening act at the time. Are you a fan of Laura Nyro? GRADE: A-
TRACKLIST:
| 1 | American Dove | 5:03 | |
| 2 | Medley: Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing / (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Written-By – N. Ashford-V. Simpson*, C. King-G. Goffin*, J. Wexler | 4:10 | |
| 3 | Spanish Harlem Written-By – J. Leiber*, P. Spector | 3:19 | |
| 4 | I Am The Blues | 5:04 | |
| 5 | Medley: Walk On By / Dancing In The Street Written-By – B. Bacharach-H. David*, I. Hunter*, M. Gaye*, W. Stevenson | 4:59 | |
| 6 | Emmie | 4:55 | |
| 7 | Map To The Treasure | 6:52 | |
| 8 | Christmas In My Soul | 5:38 | |
| 9 | Save The Country | 4:59 | |
| 10 | Medley: Timer / O-o-h Child / Up On The Roof Written-By – G. Goffin-C. King*, L. Nyro*, S. Vincent* | 8:41 | |
| 11 | Medley: Lu / Flim Flam Man | 3:42 | |
| 12 | Mother Earth | 7:58 |
All songs written by Laura Niro except where noted.
I like Laura Nyro. I prefer her own versions of her songs over the artists who had the hits. I am not familiar with this CD though.
Steve, I found SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY at a Library Book Sale. They had a table of CDs–mostly junk–but I spied this Laura Nyro concert CD, which like you I’d never seen or heard of before, and caught it for a quarter.
The best!
Patti, Laura Nyro had a unique sound. You could tell one of her songs on the radio in an instant. Laura Nyro’s death saddened me for weeks back in the 1990s.
Yes, absolutely. We have a Greatest Hits CD and play it frequently. Eli’s Comin’, Stoned Soul Picnic, Stoney End (which is the exact same arrangement that Streisand used), Sweet Blindness, And When I Die. All classics.
Jeff, I have Laura Nyro’s Greatest Hits CD and several of her other albums. SPREAD YOU WINGS AND FLY was a complete surprise when I found it.
Yes! She wrote a string of big hits for other artists, but never broke through as a singer herself. “Stoney End” is my favorite Nyro song—either her version or Streisand’s. As you note, she died tragically young. I strongly recommend Michele Kort’s biography of Nyro, SOUL PICNIC.
Deb, I’ll have to find a copy of SOUL PICNIC by Michele Kort. “Stoney End” is a classic!
For me the decisive question that determines whether you’re a fan is “do you own any of her music?”, and the answer there is no. But I did sorta like her music, especially her own versions. I was unaware of the Jackson Browne connection.
Michael, Jackson Browne dated a lot of great singers back in the day.
A great talent.
Jerry, Laura Nyro’s greatness was tragically cut short.
I do enjoy Laura Nyro.
I wouldn’t have been moved to buy this CD but it would have inspired me to go home to my Bose for a mini-concert.
Beth, just as good on Bose! I have Bose speakers hooded up to my iMac.
I had a girlfriend who was a big Nyro fan but I didn’t see the attraction of her singing! As a songwriter, however, she was great!
Bob, some critics have said the same things about Carole King.
As with Carole King, another I’ve liked when I heard her work, but haven’t ever owned her recordings. Congratulations in grabbing that up—reminds me of when I picked up my first Miriam Makeba LP for a quarter (along with my first Aretha Franklin, but I knew what I was getting in the latter case), or Abbey Lincoln’s PEOPLE IN ME for 50c. Library sales can be wondrous things, as were some cut-outs among the record bins of yore.
Todd, you never know what you’ll find at a Library Book Sale. I’m amazed at the treasures some people discard!