''Walk the Dog and Light the Light'' is the ninth studio album by

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

-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 ...

. It was released in the late summer of 1993, more than nine years after its predecessor, ''

Mother's Spiritual ''Mother's Spiritual'' is the eighth studio album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro and her ninth original album in total, including the 1977 live album ''Season of Lights''. The album was released at the beginning o ...

''. It followed Nyro's 1989

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Laura: Live at the Bottom Line'', and the atmosphere here is similarly laidback and easygoing. It was the last album of new original material that Nyro released during her lifetime, although she began recording another album in 1994, which was released in 2001 as ''Angel in the Dark''. ''Walk the Dog and Light the Light'' received positive critical notices, and Nyro supported the album with a string of intimate dates with a harmony vocal group.

Overview

''Walk the Dog and Light the Light'' grew out of Nyro's 1988 tour, which resulted in her live album ''Laura: Live at the Bottom Line.'' Thus, the music is similarly laidback and features largely the same cast of musicians, including percussionist Nydia "Liberty" Mata, with whom Nyro had collaborated since the mid-1970s. The album is produced by Nyro with

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

producer

Gary Katz Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. Career ...

.AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann
/ref> The sound is smooth and soulful, with Nyro's rich and smokier vocals singing her lyrics concerning topics such as

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and Native American rights.''Walk the Dog & Light the Light'' review
by Bob Cannon on Entertainment Weekly, October 1, 1993

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laura Nyro; except where indicated #"Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies)" (Hank Hunter,

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

) 3:18 #"A Woman of the World" 4:13 #"The Descent of Luna Rose" 3:37 #"Art of Love" 3:41 #"Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)" 3:22 #"Louise's Church" 3:37 #"Broken Rainbow" 3:57 #"Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)" 3:48 #"To a Child" 3:32 #"I'm So Proud/

Dedicated to the One I Love "Dedicated To The One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass that was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas and Bitty McLean. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded ...

" (

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

, Lowman Pauling) 3:40

Personnel

*Laura Nyro – lead voice, harmonies, keyboards *

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdie ...

– drums * Freddie Washington – bass guitar *

Jerry Jemmott Gerald Stenhouse Jemmott (born March 22, 1946, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, New York City) is an American bass guitarist. Jemmott was one of the chief session bass guitarists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, working with many of th ...

– bass guitar on "Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)" *

Elliott Randall Elliott Randall (born June 15, 1947) is an American guitarist best known for being a session musician with popular artists. Randall played the well-known guitar solos from Steely Dan's song "Reelin' in the Years" and Irene Cara's song " Fame". The ...

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

, Ira Siegel – guitar *

Bashiri Johnson Bashiri Johnson (born May 12, 1955) is a New York City-based percussionist, whose work has appeared on many records, as well as in commercials, films, television, videogames, and concert performances. He is known to be one of the most recorded ...

, Erik McKain – percussion *Ellen Uryevick – harp *Juliet Haffner, Sue Pray, Julie Green, Jeanne Le Blanc, Marilyn Wright, Belinda Whitney Barat, Joyce Hammann, Beryl Diamond, Rani Vaz, Laura Seaton,

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...

, Sanford Allen, Mindy Jostyn – strings *

Lou Marini Louis William Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers ...

, Roger Rosenberg,

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

, Lawrence Feldman – horns *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

– saxophone solo *Lou Marini – flute solo *Laura Nyro, Carlos Franzetti – string arrangements * David Frank – horn and flute arrangements, additional production assistant

In popular culture

* The song "Broken Rainbow" had been written and recorded for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-nominated documentary of the same name in 1985, and was issued in live form on 1989's '' Laura: Live at the Bottom Line''."Broken Rainbow" – Directed by Victoria Mudd
by Walter Goodman on ''The New York Times'', April 11, 1986 * "To a Child" was originally included in a different version on 1984's ''

''.

Bibliography

* Michele Kort's biography ''Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro'', St. Martin's Griffin (May 2003) –

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums Laura Nyro albums Albums produced by Gary Katz Columbia Records albums