Laura Nyro’s Complex, Underappreciated Legacy Explored on ‘Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995’

Laura Nyro’s profound influence on popular music continues to reverberate, decades after her untimely passing. A brilliant composer and singer, Nyro was known for her unique fusion of pop, jazz, R&B, and gospel that defied conventional musical structures. Despite her groundbreaking work, Nyro’s genius was often underappreciated in her lifetime, with recognition for her contributions coming more significantly after her death. Now, her remarkable musical legacy is being celebrated with the release of Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995, a limited-edition box set that offers a comprehensive look at Nyro’s career, including her ten studio albums, live recordings, and previously unreleased demos.

A Unique Voice in Music

When Charlie Calello, who co-produced Nyro’s iconic 1968 album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, first heard Nyro’s music, he was struck by its emotional depth and complexity. As he recalls, he was “dumbfounded” by what he heard in the studio. Calello’s experience mirrors that of many who encountered Nyro’s music for the first time — a mixture of raw, unfiltered emotion and technical brilliance. Her voice, spanning three octaves, became a defining feature of her music, conveying vulnerability and strength in equal measure.

In a recent interview with Billboard, Calello shared his admiration for Nyro’s songwriting, describing her as a composer who “displayed her emotions and her feelings in a way that no one else has done.” The Hear My Song box set serves as a testament to this artistry, showcasing the emotional richness and complexity of Nyro’s work.

A Rare and Expansive Collection

Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995 is a definitive retrospective of Nyro’s career, carefully curated to include not just her best-known studio albums but also rare live performances, demos, and outtakes. Released by Madfish Records, the set includes Nyro’s ten studio albums, along with six live albums — two of which are previously unreleased — as well as a selection of live and rare tracks, alternative versions, and demos. It also includes Nyro’s demo tape from 1966, which helped her land her first recording contract at just 18 years old.

The set is accompanied by a coffee-table book filled with liner notes by Vivien Goldman, as well as remembrances from musical peers and collaborators such as Elton John, Jackson Browne, Lou Adler, and others. In his foreword, John describes Nyro as one of his “all-time idols,” praising her ability to write songs that defied traditional structures with “different sections, codas, and various tempo changes.” He notes that her music remains as “unique and absolutely spellbinding” today as it was when he first heard it in the 1960s.

A Celebration of the Artist’s Evolution

While the box set serves as a tribute to Nyro’s legacy, it also highlights her evolution as both a composer and a performer. Throughout her career, Nyro resisted the pressures of mainstream success, opting instead to follow her own musical instincts. The collection reflects this approach, capturing both her artistic growth and her unwavering commitment to authenticity.

Producer James Batsford, who oversaw the creation of the set, described the goal of the collection as not merely to compile everything Nyro ever recorded, but to highlight the “touchstones” of her career. Batsford, who has worked extensively with Nyro’s catalog, emphasized that the box set “wasn’t a completest mentality… it’s about bringing the best possible material out there and telling her story in an interesting way.”

One of the most exciting features of the collection is the inclusion of previously unreleased live material, such as the two concerts from San Francisco in 1994. These performances capture Nyro during a time when she had gained confidence as a performer, a stark contrast to her earlier years. As Calello recalls, Nyro was once “afraid of the audience” during the recording of Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, but by the 1980s, she had developed a deep love for live performances, and this joy is evident in the recordings featured in the box set.

A Lasting Impact

Though Nyro passed away from ovarian cancer in 1997 at the age of 49, her music continues to inspire new generations of artists and listeners. She was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, both acknowledgments of her extraordinary contribution to the music world.

For Nyro’s son, Gil Bianchini, the release of Hear My Song is a poignant reminder of his mother’s lasting influence. Bianchini, a rapper who records under the name Gil-T, is also working on a documentary about Nyro’s life, directed by Lisa D’Apolito. He notes that Nyro’s music is “real and positive” and “can really inspire” those who take the time to listen deeply.

The box set also underscores Nyro’s commitment to activism. Alongside her musical pursuits, Nyro was a passionate feminist and animal rights advocate, using her platform to speak out on issues that were close to her heart. This spirit of social consciousness is reflected in the themes of her songs, many of which address love, struggle, and the complexities of the human experience.

What’s Next for Laura Nyro’s Legacy

For those who have long admired Nyro’s work, Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995 offers an invaluable opportunity to revisit and discover her music in a new light. And for those just beginning to explore her artistry, the box set serves as an ideal entry point into Nyro’s genre-defying world. As Batsford notes, there is still much to uncover in Nyro’s catalog, with future reissues and rarities planned for release. In particular, Batsford is working on a vinyl reissue of Nyro’s 2001 posthumous album Angel in the Dark, set for release in April 2024.

Through this collection and the continued efforts to preserve and celebrate her work, Laura Nyro’s legacy remains as powerful and relevant as ever, a testament to the enduring brilliance of an artist who reshaped the boundaries of popular music.

Conclusion

The Hear My Song box set not only honors Laura Nyro’s unmatched musical genius but also brings her complex, emotionally charged music to a new generation of listeners. As the box set reminds us, Nyro’s work is timeless — an ever-evolving tapestry of musical innovation and raw emotion that remains as unique and influential as it was when it first graced the world.