With the 1971 release
Gonna Take a Miracle
,
pop
composer and vocalist
Laura Nyro
completed her four-album/four-year deal for
Columbia
.
Nyro
's passion for
R&B
can be traced back to some of her earliest compositions, such as
"Wedding Bell Blues"
and
"Stoned Soul Picnic"
-- both of which were covered by the
vocal quintet
the Fifth Dimension
. More recently, her version of
"Up on the Roof"
was one of the highlights of
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat
. So, enthusiasts who had paid any attention at all to the course of
's career would not have been surprised by her direction on this project. As much as
is indeed a
album, it could likewise, and perhaps more accurately, be described as a collaborative effort between
and the female
soul
trio
LaBelle
-- featuring
Patti LaBelle
Nona Hendryx
, and
Sarah Dash
-- as well as producers
Kenny Gamble
Leon Huff
. It is ultimately this team that is responsible for the album's overwhelmingly solid results. Leading off in an apropos style is a succulent cover of the
Shirelles
hit
"I Met Him on a Sunday."
The vocal performance is structured as a round -- with each woman singing a consecutive line. The song is rightfully returned to the street corner
doo wop
tradition from which it originated with the simplicity of unadorned vocals creating an inconspicuous
a cappella
symphony.
has never sounded so comfortable, easy, or "in her element" than she does backed by an all-star
Philly soul
ensemble that
Gamble
Huff
assembled for these sessions. The material reaches beyond just the sounds of Philadelphia, with
Motown
(
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me"
"Nowhere to Run"
) and
Brill Building
"Spanish Harlem"
), as well as lesser-known covers of the
Charts
'
"Desiree"
and the Baltimore-based
Royalettes
"It's Gonna Take a Miracle."
~ Lindsay Planer