WEDDING BELL BLUES

A hit for the 5th Dimension, I always preferred Laura’s take.

It’s the simple piano intro, which draws you in, you know you’re gonna hear a story. Great music swings, there’s something more than the notes. “Wedding Bell Blues” is a performance, something that picks you up and carries you away. You get the message without even comprehending the lyrics.

AND WHEN I DIE

It’s the same song that David Clayton Thomas made famous with Blood, Sweat & Tears, but it’s not a snappy jazz number, but rather a cabaret tour-de-force. Nyro’s voice is not as good as the Canadian’s, but this proves it’s not about your pipes, but your delivery!

STONEY END

A hit for Barbra Streisand, Babs made it about her, whereas Laura lets the song itself shine, she’s in service to it as opposed to dominating it.

FLIM FLAM MAN

I’ll admit “More Than A New Discovery,” Laura Nyro’s debut, was not my first purchase. But I went back to it after loving what came after. And needing more, a further hit of the city songstress, I played it ’til I knew it by heart, and even though some of the songs were not radio hits, they became personal favorites, like this. You’ll get it in one listen, and it pays further dividends thereafter. Laura Nyro was accessible, what a concept!

POVERTY TRAIN

It was with “Eli And The Thirteenth Confession” that Nyro started to get personal recognition. The cognoscenti glommed on and started to spread the word. The sound was different, “Eli” was coproduced by Laura and Charlie Calello as opposed to Milt Okun, who’d done the debut, it was rough where the debut was slick. It’s not that there were imperfections, it’s just that the screen went from 35mm to 70mm. There was a bigger paintbox, a broader sound, you could tell the artist was in control.

“Poverty Train” is the centerpiece of the album, even though it was never a hit. This was back when artists had to take a stand, which side were you on, if you weren’t on any at all you were about to be left behind. President Johnson had his Great Society and we cared about the underprivileged, as opposed to seeing them as grifters sucking at the tit of government as so many do now. “Poverty Train” is just as powerful today, if a young ‘un cut it, it would be a sensation.

STONED SOUL PICNIC

Can you surry?

A walk in the park, a Saturday afternoon reflection as opposed to the in-your-face 5th Dimension hit, Laura’s take had more soul.

ELI’S COMIN’

A hit for Three Dog Night. Laura was the Bob Dylan of the late sixties, a talented artist in her own right who first became famous through covers, never mind wealthy.

Three Dog Night is male and bombastic, whereas Laura’s iteration is an east coast frenzy, you can see the women dancing, and you want to too!

SWEET BLINDNESS

Almost a girl group number, there’s so much energy and fun in this…it’s infectious! Laura could be pop and deep alternately, sometimes at the same time!

This is one of the songs you instantly memorize and want to sing along with.

TIMER

If you don’t fall in love with the vocalist, you’ve been neutered.

The media says we fall in love with the exterior, but the truth is it’s the inner spark that draws us in and keeps us attached. Laura sounds so ALIVE here!

EMMIE

“Eli And The Thirteenth Confession” was an album, not just hits and filler. The “secondary” tracks had as much magic as the primary. You could see “Emmie” when you listened.

CAPTAIN FOR DARK MORNINGS

“Eli And The Thirteenth Confession” is Laura Nyro’s most accessible album, full of hits with her own sound, but “New York Tendaberry” is her masterpiece. Nearly forgotten because it contained only one cover hit, “Tendaberry” is an album that pays more rewards the more you listen.

“Captain For Dark Mornings” is the key track, the raw emotion grabs you and keeps you listening. It’s quiet, you lean in to get more, the greatest stuff doesn’t necessarily beat you over the head and force you to pay attention. We live in the era of marketing, but it’s gems like “Captain For Dark Mornings” that penetrate, get a hold on you and never let go. This brings back memories of back when yet still makes me reflect on today.

Utterly astounding.

MERCY ON BROADWAY

WHO IS THIS?

On “Captain For Dark Mornings” Laura is quiet and intimate, whereas here she’s belting and swinging and you can’t help but be caught up in it.

That’s the magic of Laura Nyro. She was famous for the pop hits, she didn’t feature loud guitars, but those who loved harder sounds embraced her too, we were all excited about music, our only criterion was that it be good, and Laura Nyro was GREAT!

GIBSOM STREET

Like “Flim Flam Man” or “Emmie,” “Gibsom Street” is just an album track, but it’s as powerful as the hits.

“Gibsom Street” is a journey, a story. It’s the kind of thing that wraps its arms around you late at night, when a record is playing on the stereo to keep you connected, it makes you feel like you’re not the only unique, misunderstood person on this planet.

SAVE THE COUNTRY

We could use this sentiment today.

Once again, Laura’s iteration swings in a way the 5th Dimension’s does not. Just one woman and her piano. But then it accelerates and becomes intense and when the side ends and you’re confronted with silence you feel like life has left the building and you’ve got to lift the needle and play this album again in order to root yourself.

TIME AND LOVE

Covered by Barbra Streisand, this, like “Save The Country,” is classic Nyro pop, the type that can be covered and made ubiquitous. It’s very good, but what is amazing is that Laura could put it and the dark tunes on the same album, evidence all sides of her personality at such a high level when today they get you in your lane and tell you not to change.

NEW YORK TENDABERRY

Now my favorite track on the album. It goes through my head when I’m at loose ends. Like on my fiftieth birthday, I came home from my party and played it. It’s not about the lyrics, but the feel, the emotion. Someone’s home. Someone with more questions than answers. I don’t like being at loose ends, but listening to this track I know I’m not the only one. Music can make you dance, can make you forget your problems, but it’s stuff like this that I like best.

WHEN I WAS A FREEPORT AND YOU WERE THE MAIN DRAG

How do you follow up your masterpiece?

“New York Tendaberry” was not an instant listen, but with each successive play you liked it more and more. You kept playing “Christmas And The Beads Of Sweat” waiting for it to reveal itself, to like it as much, but that did not happen.

This track is the classic Nyro sound, the most obvious. But too obscure for anybody to turn into a hit.

MAP TO THE TREASURE

An eight minute adventure, in an era where people were truly stretching out, you get hooked as it plays on.

CHRISTMAS IN MY SOUL

Every year I used to get an e-mail from Desmond Child during the holiday season about Laura Nyro and this song until I stopped publishing them, but that does not mean he’s not still affected, nor me.

This is my Christmas song.

Christmas is a rough time, for those of us prone to falling down emotionally. We ride it out on tenterhooks. Hoping to make it through to the new year without taking our lives.

Who’s going to ride shotgun when you’re not a winner, when you’re overwhelmed with the b.s., when you want to keep moving but you’re in stasis?

Used to be we counted on our artists, before you had to be upbeat to be popular and the songs were written by committee and everybody was a winner.

Funny about Laura Nyro… Her music faded away long before she did. It’s like those in charge don’t want to admit someone could be so good. We used to live on the mountaintop, and Laura Nyro was a queen, who consoled us without imploring us, who made us feel part of a tribe, who illustrated life is about loss as well as victory. She was a beacon. To those who felt the brightness of her light, she still is.

Rhinofy-Laura Nyro Primer

Old man take a look at yourself

What if you put out new music and no one cared?

Even better, what if you said you were gonna save the music business and no one cared?

Then you’d be Neil Young.

I’d say he’s become a laughingstock, but the people he’s playing to, the writers for the somnambulant press, trumpet his every word and neglect to point out his failings.

That’s right, they review all his new music, usually giving it stellar accolades. And then when it fails in the marketplace…crickets.

Where’s the follow-up story to the Pono disaster? We had to endure endless plaudits for his Toblerone box, how so few paid so much on Kickstarter, Neil appeared not only on late night TV, but at the Salesforce conference. Then the product became commercially available and it made less noise than Peter Frampton’s “I’m In You.” At least the press castigated Robin Thicke for his “Paula” album, but more people heard that than Pono.

Why does Neil Young get a pass?

Even better, why are we discussing the merits of streaming music?

Streaming music has already won. It’s the delivery medium of choice. Primarily on YouTube. To rail against streaming music is to rail something established that ain’t going away. Instead, we’ve got all these irrelevant acts complaining that someone moved their cheese and the hoi polloi is tuning out. And let me let you in on a little secret, you only make money when the hoi polloi LISTEN!

That’s your challenge, getting people to pay attention, not pay for music.

If you’re worried about people paying for music, you’re probably concerned with whether Jenga pieces are made out of wood or plastic. You’re so deep in the weeds that you cannot see the forest.

The bottom line is we’ve got a lot of stuff fighting for attention. Not only other music, but books, video, pornography, sex… Everything is now at people’s fingertips, how do you gain an audience?

Not by complaining.

If you’re a middle class artist you’re never going to make the money on streaming that you did on sales back in the pre-internet era. Because today all the superstars of all time are within everybody’s reach. People don’t want to listen to you. And the money is in mass.

And whether you get paid for recordings or not, that’s not where the lion’s share of the money is. Most of the money is in touring and sponsorships. And will continue to be. Because our whole society is moving towards experiences, that’s what people will pay for, human exercises that cannot be purchased anywhere else. That’s where Neil Young’s been making his money for eons. Just ask Clear Channel/Live Nation, which footed his bill for years. And the reason people come to see him is the music of his past. Which they oftentimes heard through AM radios, with some of the worst speakers of all time. Listening to a low-res stream on Beats headphones is far superior to what Detroit was delivering when Neil Young made his bones. But the truth is, CD quality streaming is already here. That’s right, both Deezer and Tidal deliver CD quality music. But most people don’t want to pay for it. Either because they can’t hear the difference or they believe it’s too expensive. Want to solve the problem, agitate for a reduction in price. Furthermore, Spotify streams in 320. iTunes doesn’t even sell at that quality. Are you gonna remove your music from the iTunes Store too, Mr. Young?

If Neil Young were twenty five today, he’d be giving his music away for free. Like Ed Sheeran and David Guetta, who’ve testified to the benefit of streaming and piracy respectively. These guys know it’s a new world. They’ve adjusted. Neil Young is just coasting on his past. Hey, Neil. Only play your new album at your shows, watch your live business dry up!

Furthermore, don’t you see that Neil’s got skin in this game, that he’s trying to drive Pono utilization, which is like trying to put a Segway in every garage. That’s why Neil’s making this tsimmis. Sure, he’s got a history of worrying about sound quality, but he’s also got a history of missing the mark.

As for the rest of you…

You want to make money on streaming music?

Stay independent, don’t sign to a label.

Yup, Spotify pays quite well if you’re the only rightsholder. Assuming people are listening. But you wanted to make a deal with a major for that marketing and promotion push and now you’re bitching about payment. The public does not care. Just like they didn’t care about making the Tidal owners rich. This is inside baseball, take your complaint off the homepage, you’re only muddying the water, you’re driving people FROM streaming, and your only hope is to get people to stream. CDs are dead. Most computers don’t even come with a disk drive anymore. As for files… Why don’t you try selling 45s while you’re at it.

Just shut up. Stop trying to line your personal coffers and get in the pit with your audience. How does this help your audience Neil, if they can no longer hear your music? But they can! On YouTube for free, which sounds even worse! Or they can steal it! But the more difficult you make access, the more marginal you become. You’re old, you can run on fumes, but anybody following your lead is brain dead.

So let’s forget Neil Young.

But let’s admit that streaming is here to stay. And sure, we want people to pay for it, but the truth is we’re building careers. And careers rain down money. And if you’ve got a career, you’re set.

Neil already has his.

But how about the people who don’t?

They should embrace streaming, they should tell everybody to sign up. They should make access to their music cheap and easy. And argue about the division of revenues off the field.

P.S. Remember when AC/DC wouldn’t be on iTunes? Now they’re not only there, but streaming services too. History tells us these transitions are momentary kerfuffles and only those who can’t see the future or are waiting for a paycheck hold out, oftentimes to their detriment.

Neil Young On Streaming

1. Inspiration trumps execution.

Write a great song, it’s more important than knowing how to play it.

2. Audience is everything.

If you don’t want to reach as many people as possible, stop now. You’re too afraid to make it, you’re not a real artist. Artists believe in themselves and want to share their work, they believe it will change the world. You can only do this by having an audience, hopefully a large one.

3. Artists never stop learning.

Once you stop testing limits, once you revert to formula, your death warrant is signed.

4. Real artists ship.

If you’re trying to get it perfect, you’re on the wrong path. Life is imperfect, your goal is to reflect it. People relate to that which has rough edges, just like them.

5. Artists are insecure.

If you think you know everything and have all the answers you’re not an artist. An artist lives for feedback, and decodes and deciphers it to see if he’s on the right track. You don’t have to abide by criticism, but to avoid it is a mistake.

6. Artists want to get paid but are willing to leave money on the table.

Your goal is to get it right, your vision down. Sometimes this means you get paid less, or not at all. But if you don’t know your worth, no one else will.

7. True artists are humble.

They realize they’re part of a great continuum, inspired by the past and grease for the future. No one is forever, never forget that.

8. Artists are jealous, but the best channel that jealousy into their work.

It’s tough to see someone get more acclaim and make more money. But rather than be sour grapes, be inspired. No one likes someone who bitches, someone who complains someone stole their opportunity.

9. Risk.

You know when you do your best work. But take chances, you never know what will resonate with listeners. You’ve been doing it so long that you’re never going to do something bad, let the audience decide what is good.

10. Don’t try to be something you’re not.

Just because country is hot, that does not mean you should cut a record with a banjo. Just because TV delivers eyeballs, that does not mean you should be a judge. Do what you do, it’s your only chance of lasting success.

It’s all about the pivot.

Once upon a time Facebook was a place to connect with your friends.

Now it’s where you go for information…news, video, even music video.

How did this happen?

MARK ZUCKERBERG!

Forget that he’s younger than so many of his established competitors. What’s amazing about Zuckerberg is he’s willing to admit he’s wrong and change course and constantly improve his product.

Google is still relying on desktop search. The company has not figured out how to transition to mobile.

Facebook owns mobile. That’s its secret sauce, mobile advertising.

Today it’s all about staying two steps ahead and changing when something doesn’t work.

Facebook’s initial mobile play didn’t work, Zuckerberg threw out the HTML5 code and started all over. You never double-down on a loser. That’s what the techies have over the musicians. When musicians do something with little traction they keep imploring us to pay attention. If no one pays attention to the work of the techie, he changes it. Because no amount of marketing can sell that which the public does not want. You start with the marketing, and then word of mouth sustains you. If you’ve got no word of mouth, change.

We live in an era of chaos.

Zuckerberg is trying to deliver comprehension.

That’s what Facebook’s news play is all about. Turns out people don’t want to go to individual news sites for information, they want it all in one place. So, the “New York Times” is hurting, even with its soft paywall. Its goal is to get those already paying to pay more, which is positively fatuous, it’s like an indie bookstore trying to get fat cats to donate to ensure their survival. You don’t bleed those already invested, you find new customers, or you pivot. Facebook has cornered the users, that’s what it’s delivering to news outlets. It’s the old portal paradigm, but with a lot less investment.

Same deal with video. Video is sweeping up the internet, with the prevalence and cheapness of bandwidth. That’s what people want, so that’s where Zuckerberg is going. And the most watched videos on YouTube are music, which is why Zuckerberg is interested in featuring those.

And then there are the investments.

Better to buy your competitor than imitate them. If only Apple had learned this.

That’s right, Apple should have just bought Pandora, iTunes Radio was a failure, at least in America. Furthermore, Apple should have just bought Spotify. Not only would it have killed a competitor, it would have added functionality. Would Apple Music work so poorly if Daniel Ek were involved? No way. Ek knows you don’t bake everything in.

But analysts believe those who’ve won in the past will win in the future. That’s contrary to the history of computing. Where are Borland, Osborne and Palm today? You either sell your standalone product to be integrated into a larger one as a feature, or you pivot into something else. That’s right, if you made spellcheckers in the 80s, you could see the handwriting on the wall, eventually Microsoft would make spelling a feature in Word, you had to sell out or diversify.

And the purchase of WhatsApp…

America is so myopic. The Street has finally realized China buys iPhones, but the truth is the world is vast, and outside America WhatsApp triumphs, it’s a phenomenon. Will Facebook ever get a return commensurate with its outlay? That’s unclear, but the truth is it annexed something that was threatening its underpinnings. People want to communicate, they don’t have to do it on Facebook.

So, Zuckerberg keeps investing and expanding, when the music business famously contracted. When times are challenging, that’s when you invest.

Furthermore, the music industry has yet to pivot.

Who cares if people pay for music? That’s no longer the dominant revenue stream. No one’s gonna pay a hundred bucks a month to streaming tunes, but they will pay that for a concert ticket. The goal is to gain critical mass and then monetize, the whole charging for streaming is a sideshow. It’s about building acts and then profiting from them on the road and with sponsorships and endorsements.

But the musicians are too stupid to know this.

And the executives can’t see far enough into the future.

Sure, more people will pay for music when it becomes easier to use and cheaper, price and convenience are everything, but we haven’t hit the tipping point yet. Spotify eradicated piracy. That’s a monumental step. Getting people to pay is coming.

But not everyone will.

So what is your goal?

Zuckerberg realizes it’s about lassoing the largest audience and keeping it in his ecosystem. It’s fine if you can milk your small fanbase to stay alive, but the profit, the money you want, is in mass. Which is why everybody in music is going for mass.

Which will leave a lot of acts out, sorry.

But I’m willing to see the future as different from today.

Are you?