Eli and the Thirteenth Confession

It's insane how quickly singer/songwriters matured during the 60s. This is just phenomenal; switching from awe-inspiringly dramatic and cinematic to deeply introverted and experimental in a short space of time.

This is precisely why I signed up for 1001. How could I have never come across this album in all my years? Just breath-takingly beautiful. Each song seems to walk a line between exquisite pop and fascinating experimentation. Wild, almost unpredictable structures, that kept me on my toes the whole time. She comes across like a more bombastic Joni Mitchell with bigger arrangements. I love Joni, but I think I might like this more? I feel like I've finally been let in on one of music's greatest secrets.

I've actually heard this album before via my partner getting it probably nearly a year ago now. I do remember liking it more then, as a lot of songs here do blend into each other for me into one homogenised "album", never feeling a drive to listen to a single song, but that isn't a bad thing, right? That's sort of the point of an album, at least in 1968 it was. I still like this quite a bit, with her voice being a standout point of the album for me, and musically it is very pretty too. It's a lighter four than expected, but it has that same melancholic enjoyment as something like a Simon and Garfunkel album.

Decent...she definitely had talent. One I had zero exposure to before hand. 2.5/5

This is another album that I have no idea what genre to put it in.

Laura Nyro is a singer songwriter who melded together aspects of jazz, folk, soul, R&B, pop, and show tunes, creating an odd mishmash of everything.

One thing about her style that I've read a lot of people don't like is the constant tempo/genre changes she implements. You are just settling into a song, getting used to the beat and flow, and Laura flips it on its head and completely changes it. While it may annoy a lot of people, I don't mind it really because it keeps you focused on the music instead of drifting off.

Laura has a beautiful singing voice, and can really hit those high notes! I hear influence from jazz/soul greats such as Nina Simone and Billie Holiday in her style and vocal delivery. Her lyrics are largely nonsensical, much like Kate Bush, but older.

Overall, I enjoyed today's album after listening to it twice. Much like Joni Mitchell's album I reviewed on here already, it took me some time to warm up to how out there this album was. I doubt if I will listen again, but I'm glad I did at least once.

Favourite songs: Eli's Comin', Lu, Sweet Blindness, Timer, Stoned Soul Picnic

Least favourite songs: Lonely Women, Emmie, Woman's Blues, December's Boudoir

3/5

I hadn't heard of Laura Nyro before, she sounds way more contemporary than the late 60s, great voice.

The album was alright, could have been shorter; enjoyed the up-tempo tracks; the crooning ones less so - half of them sounded the same; there were moments when I could see how the likes of Tori Amos could take inspiration.

No suena mal, pero es muy estilo "Hair", "Jesucristo Superstar" y cosas así. Está muy bien "Eli's comin'" pero no creo que sea algo imprescindible.

This is a cool singer songwriter bop of a record. Great and effortless access to her head voice. Lonely Women is a great track. All these tracks are tight and powerful!

Highly influential but not widely known and died of cancer at 49. Very sad. She's got a great voice but I'm not all that into her music, even after multiple listens. Pleasant to hear, but don't need to hear it again, which is the definition of a 3 for me.

An artist Iv never heard of, enjoyed the album

I'd never heard 'Eli And The Thirteenth Confession' and I'd never heard of Laura Nyro, so this was a complete surprise to me. In a word, the album struck me as ambitious.

Laura's vocals are powerful and each song's arrangement feels packed full, to the point of bursting with purpose and intent.

I can see why this would be an infuential album and I can also see how a number of these songs would go on to be hits for other bands as well.

Bit too musical theatre at times but the good stuff is spectacular