map to the treasure: a buyer’s guide to laura nyro
These days it’s a term we all know well, but back in the late ’60s Laura Nyro (1947–1997) was among the first in an exciting new wave of artists called the “singer-songwriters”. Not only that, she was among the very best of them, imbuing her often personal, introspective songs with a sophisticated metropolitan pop/soul sheen. Nyro was a New York poet through and through, standing apart from her Laurel Canyon peers by incorporating elements of jazz, R&B, gospel and Broadway styles into her broad pop sound. To mark this week’s reissue of her 1971 sizzling collaboration with soul trio Labelle, Gonna Take A Miracle, Wears The Trousers takes a look through the entire back catalogue of this inventive, experimental and unique artist, and rediscovers why she is so well respected as one of the most arresting, and challenging, pop artists in history.
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: alan pedder, amy millan, amy winehouse, bryan ferry, diane cluck, drew barrymore, ellen page, fred falke, gucci, jimmy fallon, juliette lewis, kish mauve, kylie minogue, laura nyro, marcia gay harden, moloko, music, news, pete doherty, róisín murphy, stars, the long blondes, the pipettes, vodafone live music awards
in today’s trouser press:
– listen to new Diane Cluck songs. Lots of them!
– remix The Pipettes for upcoming tour CD
– new Stars EP out to download from tomorrow
– Róisín Murphy teams up with Gucci, covers Bryan Ferry
– The Long Blondes to release singles compilation
– lovely new Laura Nyro reissues have bonus tracks galore
– Juliette Lewis to co-host Vodafone Live Music Awards
– Kish Mauve set out to make it on their own
– Amy Winehouse pulls a Pete in Paris
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It’s been quite a while since we heard any new Diane Cluck recordings but our hopes for a new album were unexpectedly given a boost this weekend when we found out that Diane recently played on genius US radio show Phoning It In, literally phoning in nine songs from her home in Stone Mountain, GA. New song titles include ‘Goodless & Badless World’, ‘Cummed Out’, ‘All One Thing’, ‘Hai’, ‘Not Afraid To Be Kind’ and ‘My Right To Lose My Life’. Want to hear it? Hell, you can own it. For free. Download the show here. Or stream it here, whatever. Enjoy! (And check out the archive for other performances by the likes of Laura Veirs, Petra Haden and many many more)
wears the trousers magazine 