Rating: 
Summary: Soul Picnic or Beggars Banquet?
Review: I must say I did not like this book. It's a whitewashed, sterilized, sanitized version of this woman's life. Ms. Kort makes the all too typical biographers mistake of being too much in love with her subject matter. It's not that we want a National Inquirers view, it's just that we want something more than a Lifetime Channel rose coloured lense bio. Whatever happened to the courageous "warts and all" bios, where yes, you may love the subject with all your heart, but you're still gonna reach down deep and tell as much truth as you can uncover? I do not feel Ms. Kort made me know Laura Nyro anymore than I already knew her. The book is full of contridictions, one minute Laura is the sweetest woman God ever dropped onto the earth, next page, no-one even wants to work with her, she is so difficult. I ask, which is it? Many key people are not interviewed, and even the people who are interviewed don't seem to be properly utilized. I'm sorry folks, but I am and shall remain very disappointed with this effort. I give it a thumbs down.
Rating: 
Summary: Breezed Past Page 65 Two Times!!!!
Review: I must say I identified with a fellow reviewer who struggled with this book and was unable to get past page 65. I two struggled at the beginning ,as I was so excited to have this long awaited biography of my favorite composer in my hands. My eyes seemed to race down the page, my brain hungry for information. I have been a nyro fan since the beginning, and I was starved for information as most "nyrotics" know, there hasn't been much information out there but plenty in this book. The author has well researched her subject and weaves a interesting tale of a born musician, daughter, sister, friend, mother, wife and lover via the muse. If your looking for a "Kitty Kelly tell all," forget it folks but if you want to get an insiders view of this complex and talented woman and feel Laura come alive for a little while, please read past page 65, relax and enjoy a most and luscious and soulful journey. This book was even better the second time!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Very easy to read, though not perfectly detailed
Review: I very much enjoyed this thoroughly researched biography. From her grandparents and parents through her youth and then through a intricate tour of each of her recordings, this journey through the life of the fascinating Laura Nyro was a very enjoyable read. I was a child of the 60's, but I had only a casual interest in Nyro's music. After starting the book, I bought a CD and played it as background music as I read. Now I have begun to appreciate the uniqueness of this woman and understand why she has become a worshipful figure to so many people. I have never read a biography of a musician was presented so clearly and so free of sensationalim. I would recommend this to anyone who seeks to understand one of the major influences on modern music.
Rating:
Summary: Now I know more about Laura than I do about my own sister!
Review: I very much enjoyed this thoroughly researched biography. From her grandparents and parents through her youth and then through a intricate tour of each of her recordings, this journey through the life of the fascinating Laura Nyro was a very enjoyable read. I was a child of the 60's, but I had only a casual interest in Nyro's music. After starting the book, I bought a CD and played it as background music as I read. Now I have begun to appreciate the uniqueness of this woman and understand why she has become a worshipful figure to so many people. I have never read a biography of a musician was presented so clearly and so free of sensationalim. I would recommend this to anyone who seeks to understand one of the major influences on modern music.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read!
Review: I was very impressed by this thoughtful, detailed book about one of the most wonderful, influential songwriters of our time. Michele Kort presents Laura's "story" in a way that shares insights about the significant people in her life, and the way she (and they) viewed her life and career, in a tasteful way which does not seem to violate the very privacy she so coveted. The book is very detailed about each of the tracks on each of her albums; in fact, the detail about each recording is so scrupulous that it can at times become tiresome. But here, too, Ms. Kort perhaps mirrors some of the perfectionism she describes in Laura Nyro herself. Reading this book made me miss Laura Nyro and her music all the more, made me hope that her young son is faring well without his mother, and brought back much of the sadness and shock of her untimely death at just 49 from ovarian cancer five years ago.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting tribute to Nyro
Review: Laura Nyro is one of the most underrated artists in music. As each new generation of female musician knowingly or unknowingly carries on her legacy, Ms. Nyro's story is long overdue. Michelle Kort has done a superb job of bringing alive Nyro's music, as well as providing a perspective on her life and times in the music industry over 3 decades. It is fascinating to consider that at one time, Nyro was thought to be the "it" girl of the music industry. Though superstardom never came her way, her influence continues to be felt (something that undoubtedly would please Nyro). Ms. Kort does an incredible job of collating previous reviews and articles into a coherent narrative. While I would have loved to read a lengthier biography, Ms. Kort is to be commended for being the first to attempt to tell Ms. Nyro's story. I believe any other authors who will follow in her footsteps and try to present a more definitive biography, will use this as a template. Though Laura would perhaps initially be less than thrilled with a biographer's invasion of her privacy, I think ultimately she would approve of this book, which focuses largely on her music, and provides anecdotes from family, colleagues and friends, without resorting to gossip or heresay. Listen to Laura's music as the soundtrack to this book. Then thank our gods and goddesses that we were blessed with the talent that is Laura Nyro.
Rating:
Summary: Overwhelmed by details
Review: Page after page of minutia. Might please extreme Laura Nyro fans, but I couldn't get past page 65. It's clear the author has done extensive of research. She's just not a good storyteller. I've been listening to Laura Nyro since the late 60s. Her music remains her story.
Rating:
Summary: An ace job.
Review: Reading this book finally gave me that special "secret key" into a world no one was privy to until now. Laura Nyro's mysterious persona was always very compelling. She was someone you never could get too much of, because there never was much we were allowed to know. So, those of us who fell in love with her amazing music always were forced to read into the lyrics, to wonder, to get lost in a trance while listening as we saw visions of New York streets and imagined the people in her songs. I was 17 years old the first time I escaped into Laura's music, and that was decades ago. My reaction as I listened to each song, was that I was literally stunned. It was that melding of jazz, gospel, Broadway and how every note she played on the piano was purposeful and significant. How her voice captured all the raw emotion of real life. She was the pioneer, a woman whose creative abilities were, in my opinion, up until that time, unsurpassed by anyone, male or female. That's why the book is such a treasure. It unlocks so many of the mysteries that many of us had resigned ourselves to. Unlike the other reviewer, I relished the details of the recording sessions and everything else. At the risk of sounding snobbish, I suppose you have to be the following to truly appreciate what is offered here: 1) an absolute die-hard Laura Nyro follower and fan from the 70s, and 2) probably a songwriter and musician yourself in order to understand what it takes to create the kind of work she created. (I am both).
I suppose to sum it up it just felt really great to finally have the real Laura, unshrouded and revealed to us. The great thing is that--it was so refreshing to know that she really was just a regular girl, not someone who particularly wanted that dark aura, just someone who had a real life and didn't go for the showbiz thing very much. And, even better: someone very wonderful in her personal life as far as her generosity and kindness--and full of laughter and loving friendships. I took away the details of a woman who had an unparalleled musical gift, many friends, and a generally nice life. After all these years, and with her death, it is nice to know that she could have just been one of us. I guess you might say this book gave me some "closure". And, I felt happier as a result of reading AND re-reading it, for its endearing, real-life stories about this lovely human being.
Rating:
Summary: The "Secret Key"
Review: Reading this book finally gave me that special "secret key" into a world no one was privy to until now. Laura Nyro's mysterious persona was always very compelling. She was someone you never could get too much of, because there never was much we were allowed to know. So, those of us who fell in love with her amazing music always were forced to read into the lyrics, to wonder, to get lost in a trance while listening as we saw visions of New York streets and imagined the people in her songs. I was 17 years old the first time I escaped into Laura's music, and that was decades ago. My reaction as I listened to each song, was that I was literally stunned. It was that melding of jazz, gospel, Broadway and how every note she played on the piano was purposeful and significant. How her voice captured all the raw emotion of real life. She was the pioneer, a woman whose creative abilities were, in my opinion, up until that time, unsurpassed by anyone, male or female. That's why the book is such a treasure. It unlocks so many of the mysteries that many of us had resigned ourselves to. Unlike the other reviewer, I relished the details of the recording sessions and everything else. At the risk of sounding snobbish, I suppose you have to be the following to truly appreciate what is offered here: 1) an absolute die-hard Laura Nyro follower and fan from the 70s, and 2) probably a songwriter and musician yourself in order to understand what it takes to create the kind of work she created. (I am both).
I suppose to sum it up it just felt really great to finally have the real Laura, unshrouded and revealed to us. The great thing is that--it was so refreshing to know that she really was just a regular girl, not someone who particularly wanted that dark aura, just someone who had a real life and didn't go for the showbiz thing very much. And, even better: someone very wonderful in her personal life as far as her generosity and kindness--and full of laughter and loving friendships. I took away the details of a woman who had an unparalleled musical gift, many friends, and a generally nice life. After all these years, and with her death, it is nice to know that she could have just been one of us. I guess you might say this book gave me some "closure". And, I felt happier as a result of reading AND re-reading it, for its endearing, real-life stories about this lovely human being.
Rating: 
Summary: superficial drivel
Review: sorry, but this book never shudda been written.
it is a sham.
i looked forward to this book since its announcement in '97, bought it the very first day it was published, but it took almost 2 months to read it cause i was so aggravated.
and then ms kort ends with "this is just A story, not THE story," distancing herself, adding "laura would just have said go to the music for my biography, don't write a book."
so y did she?! she leaves out
-glenn stegner's loving website, devoted to laura since early 90s with interviews, sound bytes, poems, and tributes -all the online tributes to her after her death...and ends her book with what laura "might have liked" to have said on her tombstone! -the influences of Gibran's writings, especially on xmas and the beads of sweat album -more about the fanaticism of fans -more personal interest info rather than track x track listings and superficial explanations of possible interpretations -hypothetical, if this was the best possible, interpretations for the many moves, the many men, more about other women, the maria relationship -the roadshows, travelling, Gilly, etc -instead she rambles around that madonna and warren beatty came to a performance in la while asserting that laura did not get impressed w/ stardom -all the rumors and mystery and magic around ELI's production and songs...the circulated stuff about her being a lesbian, a witch, a cocaine addict just because of the songs like emmie, the confession/and later saint lucifer and captain stuff, and the drug songs...ms kort leaves out any in-depth studies, all details, and calls this a book! i was so unimpressed i started resenting laura's last 2-cd set as superficial and overproduced even tho i havent stopped playing it since may 7 release and the eileen silver-lillywhite connection, the bankruptcy, why eileen stayed involved, the break of this relationship, the care and detail of the engineers for angel in the dark more jimmy vivino, louis nigro, jan nigro, gilly info oy! ..., NYC
a fan from ever, for ever
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