''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

, released in 1968.

History

Nyro premiered some of the songs that were to appear on the album at the 1967

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

. The song "Luckie" was derived from an earlier composition Nyro had played at her audition for

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

in 1966. Before she signed to Columbia Records, Verve had already planned to release the album, under the title ''Soul Picnic''. The album saw its actual release in 1968 on the Columbia label and became one of the year's underground successes. The album was written entirely by Nyro, arranged by Charlie Calello and produced by both. The front cover was taken by

Bob Cato Robert G. Cato (September 5, 1923 – March 19, 1999) was an American photographer and graphic designer whose work in record album cover design contributed to the development of music and popular culture for five decades. He was vice president o ...

. Writer

Michele Kort Michele Kort (January 30, 1950 – June 26, 2015) was an American journalist, author, and editor. Early life and education Michele Kort was born January 30, 1950, and was raised in California's San Fernando Valley. She attended the Universit ...

said that Nyro resembled a "dark Madonna with luxuriant red lips." The back cover is a black-and-white silhouetted photo of Nyro kissing the head of what appears to be her younger self. According to Nyro, she was "kissing seventeen years of her life—her childhood—goodbye." On Nyro's insistence, the album's lyric sheet was printed with perfumed ink, and Kort wrote in 2002 that it still maintained a pleasant scent. The album's themes are of passion, love,

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, death, and drugs, and the songs are delivered in Nyro's distinctive brash, belting vocals. Musically, it is a multi-layered and opulent work, including multi-tracked vocals and strings. The album's loose genre is pop, but it also incorporates elements of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

, jazz, and rock. It is generally considered to be Nyro's most accessible and most famous work, although it is arguably not the most commercially successful or critically favored (both honors go to the follow-up, '' New York Tendaberry''). The album was her first chart entry, reaching No. 181 on the ''Billboard'' 200, when it was known as "Pop Albums." In the February 2016 issue of UNCUT magazine it was rated in the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time. Many musicians, including Elton John and Todd Rundgren were directly influenced by the album and bandleader Paul Shaffer told CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos that he considers this album to be his one "desert island record". The album is second only to its predecessor, 1967's ''

More Than a New Discovery ''More Than a New Discovery'' is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label. The name of th ...

'', in producing hit songs for other artists.

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

took "Eli's Comin'" to US No. 10, while

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

went to US No. 3 with "Stoned Soul Picnic" and US No. 13 with "

Sweet Blindness "Sweet Blindness" is a song written by Laura Nyro, released in 1968, and included on her ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession''. Background The song was a drinking song that sounded old fashioned, noted for its rhythm changes as well as its brass ...

Legacy

The legacy of the album is evident on the 1997 compilation '' Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro'', which includes 6 songs from the 1968 album. Six songs from ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' are included in the ballet ''Quintet'' performed by the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked it No. 463 in the 2020 edition of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Reissues

''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' was reissued in expanded and remastered format during the summer of 2002. The reissue was produced by Al Quaglieri, with Laura Grover as project director. The reissue featured three previously unreleased demos recorded on November 29, 1967. The 20-year-old Nyro performed the spare, solo demos of "Lu", "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Emmie" on piano and multi-tracked her own voice to add harmonies. The accompanying booklet includes photographs and recording details, as well as liner notes by Rick Petreycik and a back-cover recollection by

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " San Francisco Bay Blues", " Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited ...

. The remastered version was issued alongside remastered/expanded editions of '' New York Tendaberry'' and ''

Gonna Take a Miracle ''Gonna Take a Miracle'' is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor '' Christmas ...

''. In August 2011, the album was re-released in audiophile vinyl by label "Music on Vinyl", using high-resolution digital audio at 96 kHz / 24 bit. In June 2016, Audio Fidelity reissued the album on hybrid

Super Audio CD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple a ...

. It contains the original stereo version in high-resolution digital audio as well as a previously unreleased 4-channel

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

mix, which was created in 1971. Prior to this release only one track, "Eli's Comin'", had been released in quad on a rare Columbia Records sampler LP.

Track listing

Personnel

*Laura Nyro – piano, keyboards, vocal, harmonies, "witness to the confession" *Ralph Casale, Chet Amsterdam – acoustic guitar *

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally a ...

– electric guitar * Chuck Rainey, Chet Amsterdam – bass *

Artie Schroeck Arthur Bruce Schroeck (born October 10, 1938) is an American musician, best known for arranging and composing popular songs and jingles. He has won multiple Clio Awards, such as when he composed the music for the 1981 ABC-TV promo "Now is t ...

– drums, vibes *

Buddy Saltzman Buddy Saltzman (born Hilliard Saltzman; October 17, 1924 – April 30, 2012) was an American session drummer who played on many hit songs during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is especially remembered for his work with The Four Seasons. On " Da ...

– drums *Dave Carey – percussion *

Bernie Glow Bernie Glow (February 6, 1926 – May 8, 1982) was an American trumpet player who specialized in jazz and commercial lead trumpet from the 1940s to 1970s. Glow's early career was on the road with Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and others during the las ...

, Pat Calello, Ernie Royal – trumpet *George Young,

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

– saxophone *

Wayne Andre Wayne Andre (November 17, 1931 – August 26, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician. Andre's father was a saxophonist, and he took private music lessons from age 15. He played with Charlie Spivak in ...

Jimmy Cleveland James Milton Cleveland (May 3, 1926 – August 23, 2008) was an American jazz trombonist born in Wartrace, Tennessee.

, Ray DeSio – trombone *

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

– saxophone, flute * Paul Griffin – piano on "Eli's Comin'" and "Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)" ;Technical * Charlie Calello – producer, arrangements *Roy Segal, Stan Tonkel – engineer * David Geffen - management "agent and friend" *Bob Cato – photography

Bibliography

, ''Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro'',

References

External links

* AllMusic Laura Nyro biography entrybr>Laura Nyro official website
{{Authority control Laura Nyro albums 1968 albums Albums arranged by Charles Calello Albums produced by Charles Calello Columbia Records albums CBS Records albums Albums produced by Laura Nyro