Live! The Loom's Desire [Live]

Live! The Loom's Desire [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Most listeners were introduced to the songs of the late Laura Nyro through 1960s hits by the likes of the Fifth Dimension ("Wedding Bell Blues") and Blood, Sweat & Tears ("And When I Die"). Such mainstream exposure didn't hint at how strikingly (sometimes stridently) original and passionately obsessive her own performances could be. These 1993-94 recordings from Nyro's annual Christmas Eve concerts at New York's Bottom Line show her music in its most suitably intimate setting, backed only by a female harmony chorus and her spare piano accompaniment. Her incantatory rendition of "Save the Country" and her rapturous signature tune, "Emmie," find her early material maturing with her, while she transforms classic ballads such as the Everly Brothers' "Let It Be Me" and Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby, Baby" into personal testament. Though some of her later songs are more didactic and narrowly focused--she plainly wasn't concerned about commercial potential with "Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)" or "The Descent of Luna Rose" (her ode to the menstrual cycle)--her material retains its melodic warmth. In Nyro's musical progression, the soul sister and the earth mother became one. --Don McLeese

Tracks:

Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby
Dedicated to the One I Love
Wind
Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)
Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)
To a Child
And When I Die
Japanese Restaurant Song
My Innocence/Sophia
Wedding Bell Blues
Art of Love
Emmie
Let It Be Me

Tracks:

Angel in the Dark
Gardenia Talk
Save the Country
Louise's Church
Wild World
A Woman of the World
The Descent of Luna Rose
Broken Rainbow
Blowin' Away/Wedding Bell Blues
Trees of the Ages/Emmie
Ooh Baby, Baby

Amazon.com

Most listeners were introduced to the songs of the late Laura Nyro through 1960s hits by the likes of the Fifth Dimension ("Wedding Bell Blues") and Blood, Sweat & Tears ("And When I Die"). Such mainstream exposure didn't hint at how strikingly (sometimes stridently) original and passionately obsessive her own performances could be. These 1993-94 recordings from Nyro's annual Christmas Eve concerts at New York's Bottom Line show her music in its most suitably intimate setting, backed only by a female harmony chorus and her spare piano accompaniment. Her incantatory rendition of "Save the Country" and her rapturous signature tune, "Emmie," find her early material maturing with her, while she transforms classic ballads such as the Everly Brothers' "Let It Be Me" and Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby, Baby" into personal testament. Though some of her later songs are more didactic and narrowly focused--she plainly wasn't concerned about commercial potential with "Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)" or "The Descent of Luna Rose" (her ode to the menstrual cycle)--her material retains its melodic warmth. In Nyro's musical progression, the soul sister and the earth mother became one. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:

Captures Laura Nyro's Great Voice and Kind Heart.......2007-02-10

This spectacular 2CD gem captures Laura Nyro's amazing vocals, piano playing and the song list includes many of her social causes. "Lite A Flame" and "Wild Word" wonderfully showcase her strong committment to animal rights and why we must respect nature. She also sings tunes regarding spirituality, the plight of native Indians, love and loss and feminism. Laura Nyro was incredibly talented and she was a vintage writer, composer, vocalist and musician. It must be noted that her best records were live performances such as the 1993 and 1994 Christmas Eve concerts on these discs. God Bless her benevolent soul.

A Mature Nyro.......2006-06-07

Laura Nyro was known as a bit of a mystery, yet she was one of those performers whose evolution was transparent through her music. This two-CD set is composed of consecutive Christmas eve performances at the Bottom Line in 1993 and 1994. It is at once a holiday album, Laura at her vocal prime, and a mature reminiscence. Compared to the fire of her youth, these performances seem almost mournful (premonition?). It's only towards the middle of 1994 show that she seems to pick up some of the earlier spirit, on Louise's Church, Wedding Bell Blues and Ooh Baby, Baby, in particular. It's also on the 1994 set that the smaller harmony group more often comes to life. Laura seems to have used the backup voices as a surrogate for an orchestra, and I found the vocal arrangements weak and overwhelming on the 1993 set. I think many of her songs would have done better - were made to be sung - without them, most of all Emmie.

I preferred and still prefer Nyro of the '60s and that's why the four stars. Had I listened to it in full before buying, I probably would have passed and stuck with the 1971 Fillmore concert. However, this is a beautifully recorded set - if only Spread Your Wings were as well captured! - and wonderfully intimate. As such, it rounds out a Laura Nyro collection very well.

Wonderful!.......2006-01-27

These are recordings of some of Laura's last concerts.

By this time, the intense brilliance of her initial 20-something period (late 60s-early 70s) was replaced by a mature, deeper, richer artist who, now in her mid-40s, perfected her completely distinctive style as a writer, singer and interpreter of other's material. You now know immediately by the phrasing and unique chord structures that you are listening to Laura Nyro. When she performs her childhood favorites ("Dedicated To The One I Love",
"Ohh Baby Baby", etc) they sound like she wrote them! Her later originals, while again less intense than her material from her early days, has a serene dignity that is remarkable. Her voice is better than ever.

On this set, she performs on a real (not electric) piano with no band, backed by from three to six "harmony singers" (Laura arranged the vocal parts). The recording quality is very good, and the overall listening experience is delicious.

This is highly recommended.

a good yarn (the loom's desire?).......2005-03-05

Laura Nyro was not the Lord's gift to Ticketmaster, but she did have a penchant for sharing a Christmas Eve gift with her faithful each year at The Bottom Line (which incidentally closed in January of 2005 after nearly 30 years in operation) in New York's Greenwich Village. 'the loom's desire' features two CD's, each presenting one of Laura's last two concerts at the 400 seat venue in 1993 and 1994. Laura was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about six months later, and passed away in 1997, never to perform at the Bottom Line again. In that respect, these recordings are certainly historic.

The recordings are also exemplary, from a technical as well as a musical perspective. Laura is in fine voice, despite a cold which she alludes to in dialog with the audience during the 1993 performance. Right from the get go Laura and her six voice Harmony Group sound as though they had spent an hour warming up backstage, offering a rich rendition of Phil Spector's 'Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby'. Another cover follows, Richard Bass' 'Dedicated To the One I Love', and yet another cover from Nyro's 1971 collaboration with Patti LaBelle, 'The Wind'. Given that Nyro is singing solo with a slew of soul sisters, one would think other songs from this landmark LP would follow, but after 'The Wind' the Harmony Group is off-stage, and no more songs from 'Gonna Take a Miracle' appear on these discs.

Instead, Nyro's focus on this, and the 1994 disc, is primarily on compositions from her later years. 'Wedding Bell Blues' and 'Emmie' are the only selections that appear on both discs, and both are from her first two releases ('First Songs' and 'Eli and the 13th Confession'), but only 'Blowin' Away' and 'And When I Die' are also drawn from those discs. In fact, 'Save the Country' and 'My Innocence' are the only other pre-1984 tracks offered. Four previously unreleased tracks that first appeared on her 'Live At the Bottom Line' ('Wild World', 'Broken Rainbow', 'Japanese Restaurant Song' and 'Trees of the Ages') are featured, along with seven songs from 1993's 'Walk the Dog and Light the Light' CD and three tracks from her posthumous 2001 recording, 'Angel In the Dark'. Since the 'Live At the Bottom Line' CD is out of print and difficult to find at a reasonable price, the presence of these tracks makes 'the loom's desire' a desirable choice for Laura's fans.

The 1993 set is clearly superior to the 1994 recording, unless your interest is in Laura's later work, which is more strongly represented on the second disc. The 1993 recording is much more vibrant, the audience more enthused and vocal, and Laura's Harmony Group is beefed up by the presence of six, rather than the three vocalists she utilized in 1994. Nevertheless, this Harmony Group is not to be underestimated, breaking out some strong moments, such as their "In my mind I can't study war" chorus for 'Save the Country".

I was particularly enthused to finally own a recording of a track from my favorite Nyro disc, 'Nested', which is currently unavailable on CD. However Laura's rendition of 'My Innocence' on grand piano rather than acoustic guitar is a bit stilted compared to the liquid flow of the original. And speaking of flow... I probably could live without a song celebrating menstruation ('the descent of luna rose', literally the descent of the monthly red wine), though I realize its arrival can afford great relief to the recipient. Oh, well, Laura always was famous for stretching the borders of many things, all the way from her remarkable vocal range to our fragile sensibilities. There are also revelations on the discs, such as Nyro dedicating the song 'Louise's Church' to Louise Nevelson, who designed sculptures for New York City's Saint Peter's Lutheran Church.

One does have to wonder what looms next from the Nyro catalog. The live solo scene is getting overworked with the presence of similar discs in 'Live In Japan', 'Live On Mountain Stage', and now 'The Loom's Desire', all solo piano endeavors with her Harmony Group. Another recent release, 'Spread Your Wings And Fly', though featuring an early career performance, is nonetheless yet another solo piano work. The studio vault was apparently emptied with 'Angel In the Dark', so we can only hope that some live material presenting Laura with a back-up band is in the wings. Laura could kick it, and we need to be reminded of that.

Absolutely gorgeous album.......2003-05-16

The Loom's Desire is so rich and beautiful I had to walk away from it several times as it truly overwhelmed me emotionally. This is just heavenly music. Buy it now!!! It deserves 10 stars. Laura, I love you and miss you.