Eli and the Thirteenth Confession

Enjoyed this

Does not sound like an album from the 60s at all, I had Jess guess what year she thought this came out in and she said 2008

I feel like this has a lot of things about it that should make me really like it but I just didn’t? It kind of has a similar vibe to like maybe the Joni Mitchell album, but a little more jazzy/soulful maybe, but none of the songs quite hit the same.

2.5

It sounds like Carol King, whom I was subjected to in large qualities because my wife introduced my children to Really Rosie.

People have gotten divorced for less.

Someone described her voice as switching between beautiful and annoying, and I couldn't agree more. When it's annoying, it's bad, it's like unskilled Broadway singer trying to flex their range. 2*

the joni mitchell that was promised. 4.5

Really liked this and did not expect to

Lovely voice and lovely songs, though all a similar style and arrangement and mostly rather inane lyrics.
Best voice of someone I've never heard of. Reminded me a little of Carole King's singing, though not her songwriting.

Damn, this album cover is straight out of 2010. Classic 60's powerful but fucking annoying voice. Deserves its roses but man, I can't stand this carry on - for the same reasons I don't like hard rock. Boomer shit.

I will not include the bonus demos on the 2002 reissue in this review.

I started becoming aware of Laura Nyro's music back in September, when I heard the single "Eli's Comin'". She was an accomplished singer-songwriter who, oddly enough, found more success in the many artists who took inspiration from her and covered her songs. Just as an example, "Eli's Comin'" would later be covered by Three Dog Night and become a top ten hit for them. A lot of the music from the 1970s onward would be indebted to Nyro's work, and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession illustrates her songwriting prowess.

She seemed to take people on journeys through the stories she wrote and sang, from the jaunty revelry of "Sweet Blindness" to the somber bitterness of "Lonely Women", breathing life into her characters as they ran through the gamut of love, passion, substance abuse, and death. Throughout, Laura commanded with her impressive mezzo-soprano delivery, which reached soaring highs and lowly lows, alongside her equally impressive work on the keys for these idiosyncratic compositions across multiple movements within the same song. Tracks like "Eli's Comin'", "Timer", and "Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)" kept me engaged as the song built into new sonic territories, with the background vocalists harmonizing around Laura as the accompanying guitars and strings provided refreshing embellishments. The album may be a bit haphazard with the overall momentum and flow from one track to the next, but that is not enough to dissuade from how phenomenal a singer-songwriter she was.

The more I sit with it, the more I realize that Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is an astounding record, a testament to the transformative singer-songwriter that was Laura Nyro.

Great songwriting and great voice. Some of it is a little tired, but I can forgive those moments.

4.5/5.0: Excellent

this was interesting. i couldnt (still cant really) tell if i like her voice or if i find it annoying. i was prepared to give this album a 2 or 3 but ended up really enjoying the back half of the album

Сподобалось і нагадало улюблену Джоні Мітчел.

I think this is a really good album, but it's just not my exact preference. I would watch this as a musical, definitely. It's intriguing. It follows an interesting story and definitely kept me entertained the whole time. I would recommend this, but probably wouldn't listen again.

Lovely, singer-songwriter late 60's pop/soul, punctuated with orchestral flourishes that aren't used much anymore. Good art and understandably influential. Some of the songs remind me of Burt Bacharach a bit with small bridge sections that move time signatures around. Laura Nyro's vocals are dramatic but not histrionic, nicely balanced between bluesy, soul, and pop. Good fun!

Eli and my thirteenth reason more like

It started off promising until the screeching came in and I didn't know what the fuck she was singing about. I don't think she knew either

2 ⭐️

I was really surprised by this one. It's far off the beaten path of soul/funk. But it had these Motown style backup harmonies on a flashy style that just worked. Definitely a unique sound, not great background music though imo. There also wasn't a track that made me think "hit."

She seems to have a pretty loose relationship with the key she is singing in. I guess it's supposed to sound jazzy but instead she sounds like a washed-up Broadway understudy pivoting to second-rate lounge singer.

Hmm, was okay, but not really my type

This album exactly fine. The instrumentation was great and the vocals were good, but as a whole it was pretty forgettable.

Like a less catchy and more shrieky Carole King. This was all a bit much for me; I found it quite a struggle to get through.