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The Creative Life

LAURA - written by Emma Anderson
performed by Lush from the album Spooky.

Mirror maid, tummy ache, makeup run
Lipstick girl, black stick curl
in the New York sun

Inside out, you know about
My silly game
Even though, you don't know
About my name

Where I've been
What I dream
What I've seen

Clumsy eyes realize how to write the word
Basically, you sing to me when I'm hurt

Stoned and blind, never mind
Lucky's song
Press the keys, I can be where you belong

I'm a fan of your hand
And I'm in love, cry above

Anne Birch

All I know is I need Laura's presence in my home.  The space in which I live.  When I look at her, she reminds me to express myself fully.  To be creative.  To speak from my soul, as she so eloquently did.  A true messenger, a teacher, a sister girl to all women.  Thank you, Laura, we are forever grateful. We miss your soul's voice.

Nancy Friedman

Laura Nyro - September 10, 1993 - Bottom Line


An excerpt from a piece I wrote about the first, and sadly, only time I saw this amazing woman perform....



....Time passes. The lights are dimming. And out Laura walks (floats?) from upstage right, appearing from behind the curtains. She's wearing a lace black nightie-looking top with a long, black-and-white patterned skirt, and a black blazer with white lapels. On her feet are a pair of rather worn-looking burlap espadrilles with open toes. She's got a shy, Mona Lisa-like smile on her face, and her long, very shiny black hair is swept over her right shoulder from back to front. Red lipstick. She's somewhat heavier than I've ever seen her in photos, but to me she looks very attractive and absolutely radiant... almost like there's a glow flowing from within her, shedding rays of energy. She briefly acknowledges the audience, then seems to glide behind the keyboard.

Without question, I'm just beaming already, and the woman hasn't even sung a note yet. Just the aura alone has put me on another plane. And then that voice!

"Each night, before you go to bed, my ba-beeee." I can't even begin to describe how great she did that song. Forget the Shirelles. Forget the Mamas and the Papas.

Simply definitive! Bravo!

Upon finishing the opener, Laura briefly tells the audience that she's happy to be back, then announces a new recording, which should be out in a couple of weeks, most of which she will premier. And premier she does: "Louise's Church," "Lite a Flame," "Walk the Dog and Light the Light," plus the re-released tunes, "To a Child" and "Broken Rainbow." Scattered in between are snapshots of the past: "Save the Country," a medley of "My Innocence/Sophia" and "And When I Die," which Laura introduces as one of her very first compositions. Let me not forget the wonderful, new "Descent of Luna Rose," which has everyone smiling and and laughing, and which she demurely states during the solo keyboard interlude, "It really sounds better with a band." More smiles and laughs. I'm having a great time, and judging from the looks of those at our table, so is everyone else. Never before, with maybe the exception of the countless Grateful Dead concerts I've been to, have I seen such a diverse audience. And there's a guy at our table, sitting literally at the very lip of the stage, feverishly taking notes of every nuance that's unfolding. Geez, and I thought that Dead Heads bordered on the fanatical!

Down to the homestretch, Laura uncovers the jewel that is the "Japanese Restaurant Song." During the now famous "waitress" section, which on the Bottom Line (live) album version, Laura speaks about just quitting smoking, being hungry, and then proceeds to ask for a great.... big.... bowl of chocolate ice cream, she now takes a different, but trust me, just as funny (if not funnier) approach. She pauses, tells us that she's been smoke-free for five years, then looks down at her modern-day larger frame, and says (wearing a sly smile), "Well, if it's not one thing, it's something else." The audience eats it up! After all this , what else can she possibly offer to the table than the lovely "Emmi," which closes the hour-long set? After a few minutes, which seem like hours, Laura comes back out, once again sweeps the silky hair over her right shoulder, takes her seat, and... voila... always expect the unexpected, Chuck.... She tells us something about having to make sure her yin is balanced with her yang, and therefore, she must open and close with a cover song. And then, the most beautiful, heart-wrenching version of Smokey Robinson's "Ooh, Baby Baby" that these not-too-virgin ears have ever heard.

Most excellent, man!

A wonderful, wonderful living room appearance (or so it seemed) by one Ms. Laura Nyro. My only complaint - and it was a small one - was that it was too short. Then again, if I knew then what I know now, I would have gladly sought out another 75-minute love-fest at least a few more times.

What a class act she was.



C.A. Carlino - March 3, 1998



 

Hello Everyone:

I am very honored to have been asked by Patty to
write some remarks about Laura's music. Years before
Laura and I became friends, I used to listen to her records
and go to her concerts. All of us in those days (the
60's), were highly influenced by Laura's music. Going to her
concerts was nothing short of a mystical experience.
Later, when we became friends, it was very apparent
to me how Laura's purity of spirit and kindness
informed the way in which her music was sent into the
universe for us to share with her and each other.

I remember finding out that Laura didn't read or
write music. I think her relationship to song-writing
was very innocent in a way, like a child just
discovering where the music might lead, as she sat to
compose her music. I have no doubt her lyrics were influenced,
not only by her life experiences, but also from the
poetry she read and her keen interest in the human
spirit. Her piano-playing was always orchestral in a
sense, as she disappeared into the song so that her
singing, the harmony, and piano-playing were always
part of a beautiful organic whole.

I remember that once, she was recording some background
vocals. As if she were placing layers on a cake, she
effortlessly sang each harmony, sometimes four or five
parts, as we sat there completely astonished at the
beauty of her vocals. Laura was music. It was not
something she switched on and off. It was who she was,
and at any moment, she might sing a melody from an old
doo-wop song, or sing along to the radio, driving in
the car. She might write down some lyrics on a match
book, or tissue paper. I think that Laura lived in a
world that was mystical, in a world that was filled
with a search for the higher truths, a world that she
wanted to see manifest around her.

The song "Time and Love" is one of her classics. When
we listen to it, we can hear how Laura's sense of time
in music was so fluid. As she starts a verse, she
slows down...and then brings the song to
tempo...something that sounds so simple, and yet, is
quite challenging to accomplish. Laura had incredible
"time." Her pacing of the songs was rock-solid. Her
piano-playing, to my ears, always served the song.
She used whatever was needed to express, in the most
simple and beautiful way, the beauty of the song.

From the first notes of "Time and Love," we hear her
beautiful piano style, which was always created in these
wonderful rhythmic patterns. They were very clean and simple.
There were no extra notes. It seemed to me that it was
always that way. Later in the song, we can hear how
playful she was with creating beautiful background
harmonies that floated through the song.

I am always surprised by something new that I hear
when I listen to Laura's music. And for me, what is
really great, is that it is acoustic-based, namely, it is
natural. I remember Laura wondering out loud once
about the use of synthesizers in her music. This was in
the early 80's, when the technology in music was
starting to really gain momentum.

Until then, bass players played bass parts, drummers
played the drums, and singers sang. I think Laura
really liked that a lot. She came from an era that was
very beautiful.

I feel greatly blessed to have been in her life. She was
a true friend, always, and I hope that her music can be
heard by people everywhere.

Thanks.

Barbara

(Thanks to Mati Munoz for editing assistance)

i love every song she ever wrote
every note
she ever sung
is hung
in the hallways of my heart
like a masterpiece
a work of art
her voice
so unique
so rare
a woman-child
beyond compare
from a whisper to a wail
it never fails
to send me upstairs
climb above
for time and love
shut the lights
warm summer nights
listening to an angel in the dark
while harmonies chase each other around the corner
through the park
a soulful breeze begins to blow
billowing curtains through an open window
neighborhood children playing below
emily, eli, susan, johnny, joe
and lu
just to name a few
strangers become friends
colors and music start to blend
oh, and then the memories begin to unfold
which is why laura's music never grows old
because...
every song she ever wrote
every note she ever sung
every chord she ever played
every record she ever made
are filled with memories that will never fade...

thank you,
jimmy
 

Laura, Laura, you’re a wiz and a scholar, too

Laura, I don’t want to say goodbye now

There’s a gold in you darling

Mild, like mother and child

You are grace in action

Bringin’ it on to the Broadway blaze

And your eyes they shine

You hear that, you hear that?

Brown fleets of sweet eyed dreams

Coke and Tuna

Boots and Roses from Russia

And a jangle from a congo love chase

If you are soft then you will shiver

But you’ve got fury in your soul

A holy golden wager says

that love will see you through

Gonna take that dream

of the two young brothers

Gonna lay that devil down

and build a dream with love

Save the People

Save the Children

Save the Country

Shine, everybody…….. SHINE!

All lyrics by Laura Nyro and taken from the songs in “NEW YORK TENDABERRY”

Arranged by Chris Miuccio, June 2006