Laura Nyro

More Than A New Discovery

VERVE FOLKWAYS 1967, £10.44

You say: “…both Stoney End and Wedding Bell Blues last less than three minutes. I’m sobbing to both within two.” AlScottPhotographer, Twitter Signed in 1966, Nyro’s headstrong impulses clashed with ’60s record company practice: arranger Herb Bernstein simplified her charts for radiofriendliness and hired a more proficient pianist. Nyro disowned it but her debut is still remarkable for a 19-yearold, and a clear window on her sensitive soul. Stoney End, Wedding Bell Blues and the gospelly And When I Die (old before her time, indeed) were the classy hits-for-others; ballads He’s A Runner and Buy And Sell heralded exquisite agonies to come. The latter (“Dry the tears on a street called buy and sell”) suggests a weathered jazzer’s outlook more than the female songwriter of the day.