Now this is a treat! In more ways than one.
The legend about this performance said that it was a disaster; that Nyro got booed off the stage, everyone hated her and she was a nervous wreck afterwards, only Mama Cass could calm her down. I think I read about it in Barney Hoskyns book Hotel California.
But Dangerous Minds has posted footage of her at Monterrey which I’ve never seen before. It’s outtakes from DA Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop and you know what? It’s completely fucking brilliant. I suspect Nyro herself spread the myth about it being terrible because, I suspect, she genuinely thought it was. But it’s not.
You get a section of Wedding Bell Blues and a shimmeringly brilliant Poverty Train…
Here’s the only other footage I’ve ever seen of Laura Nyro…
Her musicians are a little ragged at times there. They were chosen by the record company and not well-rehearsed or sympathetic, I seem to recall reading somewhere. She had to simplify the musical arrangements to suit them. I think that’s why she convinced herself her set was a failure.
There are almost no live clips of her to be seen. Those two above and one more where she’s lip-syncing. She was another of those brilliant writer/singers who was never really comfortable performing and thus never pushed herself forward. Refused almost all offers of TV appearances.
I must admit I’ve always found the sheer intensity of her recordings hard to take in more than small doses. Might have been an entirely different story live.
Laura Nyro was deserving of more acclaim than she received. Why? Because she was very good.
When you hear early Todd Rundgren, you can hear how much his GF of the time (Laura Nyro) influenced him. She was brilliant.
Many thanks for posting this @ganglesprocket – that’s just brilliant. I loved the way she moved between that bright melodic pop and doomy anguished stuff. All the while with a great melodic ear and stunningly poetic and strange lyrics. And to think she was only 20 when she performed this and had already written a string of top 10 pop hits for others.