This superb 1976 concert recording showcases the extraordinary talents of the late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Her performance this particular evening also received the accolade of being the first live radio broadcast by a ""Pop"" artist from Carnegie Hall, New York City's most prestigious music venue. Laura had come a long way since her 1966 residency in San Francisco's 'Hungry i' coffee house. Born in 1947, a native New Yorker from the Bronx, Laura Nyro released nine studio albums during her lifetime - a tenth, 'Angel In The Dark', although recorded in the mid-1990's, was issued posthumously in 2000, after her untimely death from ovarian cancer in April 1997. In March 1976, when this broadcast was made, Laura was amidst a four-month tour in support of her sixth record, 'Smile', which is consequently very well represented with live versions of six tracks (the title track, Stormy Love, Money, I Am The Blues, The Cat Song and Midnight Blue). The tour was a substantial undertaking, complete with an eight-piece backing band including such consummate professionals as John Tropea on guitar (a highly regarded session musician, he also played with Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Paul Simon) and Andy Newmark on drums (previously with Sly and the Family Stone). 1968's 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession' is clearly a favourite of its author as well as her audience, and contributes four songs to proceedings: The Confession, Sweet Blindness, Timer and Emmie. Of the remaining quartet, And When I Die comes from Laura's 1967 debut, 'More Than A New Discovery', Sweet Lovin' Baby from 1969's 'New York Tendaberry' and two from 1970's 'Christmas and the Beads of Sweat' (Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp and When I Was A Freeport and You Were The Main Drag). Fate may have robbed the world of Laura Nyro, but this broadcast stands as a fitting testament to her prodigious talents as a songwriter, musician and performer.
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