Bassist about town and writer par excellence Spike Perkins is adding his unique voice to TVD all week long. For the next three days he writes about his favorite vinyl albums.
Who wasn’t in love with Laura Nyro in 1971? Those smoldering eyes, that raven hair, the slightly histrionic emotion of her singing style and her surreal, hip, urban lyrics, coupled with infectious pop hooks. As a performer, she had a strong cult following, but she is best remembered for the other artists who had hits covering her songs, which included the Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Barbra Streisand.
Oddly enough, one of my favorite Laura Nyro albums is actually a collection of covers, the only one she ever recorded. “Gonna Take A Miracle,” features tunes made famous by Ben E. King, the Shirelles, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, and other early sixties girl groups and soul artists. The idea was most likely a nostalgic tribute to her roots, though she was also heavily influenced by gospel and jazz.
Produced by Gamble and Huff, the architects of the Philly sound, this record sounds earthier and less slick than some of their other work. Though the horns and strings are there, to be sure, they never bury Nyro’s pumping piano.
But the vocals are nothing short of amazing. The vocal group Labelle—Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, backs Nyro. They are a perfect vocal foil to Nyro—matching her phrasing, sometimes with harmonies, sometimes with soulful call and response. Listen to their up-tempo vamp at the end of Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” If that wasn’t a spontaneous improvisation in the studio, it surely sounds like one. It even has counterpoint, a rarity in pop vocal arrangements.
The most haunting performance of all is the title cut, “Gonna Take A Miracle.” Originally recorded by the Royalettes in 1964, it charted just shy of the Top 40. It’s an interesting song musically, with a Robinson-esque “A” part and a bridge more like a jazz standard. Deniece Williams had a hit with in the 1980s, but Nyro’s 1971 version is the definitive one. Laura Nyro and Labelle make this song a heartbreak anthem.
Here is Nyro’s version of “Gonna Take A Miracle.”’. While I think Nyro’s is superior musically, there are no performance videos available. The music is accompanied by a slide show.
Below is a video of the Royalettes performing “Gonna Take A Miracle.”
Spike Perkins has resided in New Orleans since 1982, where he works as a musician and freelance writer. His work has appeared in the Times-Picayune, and other publications, and he has performed with many New Orleans-based artists. He wrote the cult hit “Pitbull” with Coco Robicheaux, and appears on Robicheaux’s “Spiritland” CD.
