LAURA NYRO’S
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL (1984) REISSUED ON CD
25th ANNIVERSARY REMASTER WITH BONUS TRACK
First time on CD in U.S.
Third release in Iconoclassic’s acclaimed Laura Nyro reissue series arrives June 23, 2009
Laura Nyro (1947-1997) was one of the most remarkable popular music artists of the late 20th century—a pioneering singer-songwriter whose songs were beloved both in their original performances and in hit cover versions by Barbra Streisand, the Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Nyro had two audiences: a cult following that adored her high-priestess persona and whisper-to-a-scream vocals, and mainstream music fans who might have been unaware of Nyro herself but happily sung along with “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Stoney End,” “Eli’s Comin’” and “And When I Die.” Nyro’s influence is cited by a wide range of famous fans, from Todd Rundgren and Rickie Lee Jones to Jenny Lewis and Fiona Apple.
Laura Nyro’s ninth album
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL was the second of her two “maternal” albums (1978’s
Nested, also reissued by Iconoclassic Records, being the first).
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL broke a long silence upon its release in January 1984, being Nyro’s first new release in over five years, and was itself followed by a nearly decade-long absence from the studio. In contrast to the wild, adventurous music with which Nyro first made her reputation,
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL exhibits a calm, serene, piano-centered sound. At the same time, Nyro introduces political, motherhood (both of a child and of the earth), feminist, and environmentalist themes into her writing. Thematically ahead of its time upon its initial release,
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL was incredibly prescient with lyrics that are relevant to today’s world.
As Nyro biographer Michele Kort (author of
Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro) comments in her new and typically incisive liner notes, “When Laura Nyro released
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL on Columbia Records in 1984, she certainly wasn’t tapping into the mainstream musical zeitgeist. It was a good year for women in pop music, but those women were named Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner and Madonna, and they were singing about girls who just wanted to have fun. Nyro was no longer a girl, but a grown-up woman—a mother, a lover and, literally, a tree hugger. Motherhood pushed Nyro further into feminism, but it was a goddess-conscious ecofeminism, intimately close to nature. She drew lyrical imagery from the green environment now, in stark contrast to the urban dramas she played out in her extraordinary early albums. She also had new love to inspire her, this time in the form of a woman. The 14-cut album was a huge departure from the angsty, intense music of her early career, but repeated attention revealed the depth and richness of her new vision of both life and music. The melodies and singing are gorgeous, the playing unobtrusively right.”
Cherished by longtime fans,
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL has never before been widely available on CD. Newly digitally remasatered by Grammy®-winning engineer Vic Anesini in celebration of the album’s 25th anniversary, the Iconoclassic Records release of
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL includes a very special live bonus track of “Man In The Moon.” Taped in 1978 (a half decade before the song was completed in the studio), the live “Man In The Moon” sports an alternate lyric and different melodic development. It is, if anything, even more beautiful than the studio version, itself a highlight of
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL.
Iconoclassic’s ongoing Laura Nyro reissue series has proven commercially successful and has earned critical plaudits. Writing about
Season Of Lights…Laura Nyro In Concert, Popdose.com raved, “Iconoclassic Records has beautifully remastered the album and presented it in its full glory . . . In a year that has offered beautiful reissues from the likes of Dennis Wilson (
Pacific Ocean Blue) and Otis Redding (
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul), this album rises to the top of the list.” Meanwhile
Record Collector praised the label’s
Nested reissue as a “belated CD release for a pivotal record.”
Iconoclassic Records has quickly established itself as a major new player in the reissue sphere, earning praise for its major-label-quality packaging and sound, following acclaimed reissues from Laura Nyro, The Isley Brothers (
Showdown,
Go All The Way), Mott The Hoople (
The Hoople), Weather Report (
Tale Spinnin’) and The Guess Who (
Wheatfield Soul). Upcoming releases include Jefferson Airplane’s
Thirty Seconds Over Winterland and Mott The Hoople
Live.
MOTHER’S SPIRITUAL by Laura Nyro (Iconoclassic ICON 1005, originally issued January 1984, as Columbia FC 39215)
Selections: 1. To A Child • 2. The Right To Vote • 3. A Wilderness • 4. Melody In The Sky • 5. Late For Love • 6. A Free Thinker • 7. Man In The Moon • 8. Talk To A Green Tree • 9. Trees Of The Ages • 10. The Brighter Song • 11. Roadnotes • 12. Sophia • 13. Mother’s Spiritual • 14. Refrain • BONUS TRACK: 15. Man In The Moon (Live, Previously Unreleased)
Amazon USA:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027CI1UU/?tag=imwan-20
