Eli and the Thirteenth Confession [Original recording remastered]

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Consider the curious fate of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro's 1968 big-label bow: though it contained no less than three songs ("Stoned Soul Picnic," "Sweet Blindness," and "Eli's Coming") that became hits (the first two for Fifth Dimension, the last for Three Dog Night), Nyro's own endlessly influential collection barely dented the Top 200. And in an era of supposed pop emancipation and enlightenment, Nyro was booed off the stage at the vaunted Monterey Pop Festival a year earlier. Those facts merely hint at the true gifts and stubborn instincts of an artist who took her cue for hook writing from the Brill Building's prime, then seamlessly fused it to her far-ranging passions for soul, jazz, gospel, and no small amount of personal drama. Carole King was seldom this exotic and compelling, nor Joni Mitchell so pop perfect. "Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)" even recalls Brian Wilson's most ambitious musical gambits, its suite format playfully interspersing three different tunes and styles, standing the standard verse-chorus-verse form on its head in the bargain. Long a treasured musical touchstone for other artists (Nyro influenced everyone from Phoebe Snow to Tori Amos), this reissued edition now contains beautiful, spare solo demos for "Lu," "Stoned Soul Picnic," and "Emmie" as bonus tacks, along with newly penned liner notes. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
Full title - Eli & The Thirteenth Confession. Reissue of 1968 album featuring 'Sweet Blindness', 'Stoned Soul Picnic' & 3 previously unreleased demo bonus tracks 'Lu', 'Stoned Soul Picnic' & 'Emmie'. 2002.

Tracks:

Luckie
Lu
Sweet Blindness
Poverty Train
Lonely Women
Eli's Comin
Timer
Stoned Soul Picnic
Emmie
Woman's Blues
Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)
December's Boudoir
The Confession

Customer Reviews:

Flawless.......2002-01-03

A five-star rating for "Eli and the 13th Confession" does not exaggerate this record's worth and importance. At a time when Joni Mitchell and Carol King were in their nascent stages, plying folk and pop markets respectively, Nyro's talent was already developed. On this record she blends pop, folk, tin-pan alley, showtunes, blues, and jazz-shaded voicings into her songs. Moreover, she is quite ahead of her time in regards to adopting a conceptual approach. All the songs hit hard, and the diversity between them is paradoxically underlined by a consistent, unmistakable unification in sound. Her voice is outstanding, her songwriting skills are unmatched, and the instrumentation is excellent. So, I wonder why there isn't more due fuss about this recording.

Really, the only album and artist you'll ever really need.......2001-12-07

Why is Laura so unknown? Why is she despised by many? And why is she regarded with indifference by the rest?

Because quite honestly, she was able to get so close to her center, her soul, her inspiration, and herself that she throws others for a loop.

Eli & The 13th Confession is the album for all moods and all time. Melodic, instramental, and lyrical prowess which has been copied and emulated by almost all artists after whether they know it or not (Rufus Wainwright, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Kate Bush, Portishead).

Magic.......2001-09-18

How this album is not more well known than it is, I will never know. In England, where I am from, I don't know anyone that has heard of her.
It is sheer genius. A totally original folk meets gospel opera. This is the first Nyro album I have purchased. The mood is upbeat and just the thing for a Sunday morning or anytime you feel like singing along or being cheered up. Her voice is a sleigh ride of peaks and valleys and her lyrics poignant and heartfelt whilst the severe chord changes sustain a musical interest. She is totally absorbing. Whilst listening to this album you get the feeling you are almost hearing someone singing in the shower, uninhibited and unaware you are there. There is no polish, just raw melodies and anthems that capture your imagination. Think of Carole King meets Motown and it gives you a bit of an idea of the style of the album but nothing can prepare you for how great it truly is. Poverty train is my favourite track as I love the deep lyrical content. These are all tracks that fit together perfectly as an album and I would recommend this rather than listening to them individually in compilations as it deserves to be savoured it was made.
Buy this album and play it loud.

the original is always the greatest.......2001-07-17

I am old. I first listened to this record in 1969. At the time Hendrix, Joplin the Doors and Cream filled my ears. A junkie that I met played me the record and it sang to my soul -- immediately and completely. It still does (as do all Nyro records).

The production on this record is dated today (it was cheesy back then too -- remember, Columbia had "another Streisand" on its hands). The songs and singing transcend the production as they transcend the thirty-plus years that have come and gone since the original recording. These are still among Laura Nyro's finest songs and performances.

Artists of varying talents have come and gone since this recording. I read an interview with Joni Mitchel a few years back and she said that it was she "and Laura Nyro" that started the whole female singer/songwriter genre. She is almost right. It would be two years before Joni Mitchel would make a record with emotional depth on the same planet as that of Ms. Nyro (Blue). Joan Osbourne can get close as can Shawn Colvin (occassionally) and Melissa Ethridge.

If you "use" your art for escapism then don't buy this record. If you prefer to become a changed and charged human being after spending forty minutes with a recording -- then this is one of the finest ever made -- don't let a few smaltzy trumpets put you off ...

A unique artist.......2001-07-16

It's surprising and sad that Laura Nyro has become a kind of cult artist - adored by a few, unknown to most. In the late 60s, when she was barely out of her teens, everyone knew she was a genius, and everyone rushed to cover her songs. Maybe that was the problem. Barbra Streisand tried to sing "Stoney End" to escape her MOR image and sound hip, and just sounded silly ( Streisand has a gorgeous voice, but hip she has never been.) The Fifth Dimension made "Stoned Soul Picnic" sound bland. And Blood, Sweat and Tears added a cowboy schtick to "And When I Die" that is just plain embarrassing. Never has a composer been worse served by the artists who covered her work.

You just have to hear the originals, which blend pop, jazz, r&b, gospel, rock, folk and just about every other genre of popular music into an organic whole. I don't think there's ever been another singer-composer in pop music who was as aware of her musical roots as Laura Nyro was. Certainly there's never been one who used those roots so effectively.

She's as brave and inventive a singer as Van Morrison, as lyrically interesting as Joni Mitchell, and musically, she has no peer.

With many artists, a "best of" or "greatest hits" collection is the best place to begin. But in the case of Laura Nyro, "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession," her second album, is a better choice. "Stoned Soul Picnic" - her "best of" collection - is terrific, but Nyro was so original that I think you have to educate your ear on some of her more accessible stuff before you can be ready to listen to her later music.

Not every song on this album is perfect. Nyro was barely in her twenties when she made it, and as she struggles to stay in tune on "Timer" and "Woman's Blues," her youth and inexperience show. But most of the songs are wonderful, and "Sweet Blindness," "Poverty Train," "Eli's Coming," "Emmie," and " Stoned Soul Picnic" are nothing short of brilliant. (Just forget you ever heard the Fifth Dimension.)