Laura Nyro – Hear My Song (Madfish Records)
A Journey Into One of Music’s Most Influential Voices**
Hi, Phil Aston here from Now Spinning Magazine, and this time I’m diving into one of the most beautifully curated CD box sets I’ve seen in quite a while: Laura Nyro – Hear My Song – the 19-CD Deluxe Box Set from Madfish Records.
She’s not a household name for everyone, but once you fall into her world, you quickly realise her fingerprints are everywhere. Laura Nyro was a musician’s musician—a fearless blend of soul, gospel, pop, jazz and folk, all wrapped in her extraordinary spirit and confessional songwriting. Artists like Elton John, Kate Bush, Todd Rundgren, Rickie Lee Jones, Suzanne Vega, Jackson Browne and even Stevie Wonder cite her as a major influence. Yet for many, she still feels like a secret waiting to be discovered.
And that’s why this set from Madfish matters so much.
The Box Set – What’s Inside
This is a limited-edition 19-CD collection, housed in a deluxe lift-off lid box that feels every bit as premium as any other Madfish production. There’s a stunning 90-page hardback book, with contributions from Vivien Goldman, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Charlie Calello, Clive Davis, and many who worked closely with Laura. It includes rare photographs, family snapshots, and a deeply researched history of her life and music.
The set includes:
10 studio albums
6 live albums
2 discs of rarities
Previously unreleased concerts
New remasters across the entire catalogue
Each disc sits in a beautifully reproduced mini-gatefold sleeve, complete with original artwork, mono/stereo pressings where applicable, and excellent attention to detail. As I joked in the video, putting them back in the right order might test some of you with OCD tendencies — but the joy of randomly picking a disc and diving in is all part of the fun.
This is the kind of set where you make a cup of tea, choose an album at random, open the book at the matching chapter, and disappear into another world.
Who Was Laura Nyro?
For those newer to her music, a quick snapshot of why Laura Nyro’s legacy is so profound:
Born in 1947 in New York, she grew up surrounded by doo-wop, soul, R&B, jazz and the sound of the city.
She wrote songs that became huge hits for others:
Stoned Soul Picnic, Wedding Bell Blues, Eli’s Comin’, Sweet Blindness (Fifth Dimension)
And When I Die (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
She performed at Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, though her performance was overshadowed by a rumour about the crowd reaction that stuck unfairly for decades.
Her early albums influenced the entire singer-songwriter movement of the early 1970s.
She passed away in 1997 at just 49 from ovarian cancer.
In 2012, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with the citation highlighting her “unflinching confessional lyrics and audacious rhythmic shifts.”
Her music was bold, tender, spiritual, playful and totally her own. She didn’t chase fame, trends or commercial success — she followed her muse, and in doing so, she carved out a timeless catalogue.
Key Albums (A Quick Guide)
If you’re exploring for the first time, here are a few of the landmarks:
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968)
A masterpiece. Soul-drenched, poetic, experimental and bursting with emotional power. One of her most celebrated works.
New York Tendaberry (1969)
Often cited as her magnum opus — stark, intimate, orchestral and deeply moving.
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970)
A gorgeous blend of soul grooves and introspective ballads, featuring members of Muscle Shoals.
Gonna Take a Miracle (1971)
Her album of soul classics, recorded with Labelle — joyful, warm, and completely irresistible. This was the first album in the set that made me stop in my tracks.
Mother’s Spiritual (1984)
A later album sometimes overlooked, but one that absolutely shines in this set. Gentle, earthy and beautifully heartfelt.
Angel in the Dark (posthumous). Her final recordings, and one of the absolute treasures of the set. A poignant and powerful goodbye.
Madfish have delivered another premium archival release. If you’ve seen their work with Gentle Giant, Wishbone Ash, Horslips, so on, you’ll know how high the bar is. The Laura Nyro box sits proudly alongside them.
What really stands out for me is how timeless her music sounds. Some albums from the late ’60s sound tethered to the era. Laura’s don’t. You could slip many of these tracks into a modern Netflix drama and younger listeners would assume it was a new artist.
This is an emotional, uplifting, spiritual collection—and one that has genuinely surprised me with how much of it I’ve fallen in love with.
As someone who grew up in the 70s with T-Rex and Slade, the idea of exploring music from 1967 would have been a foreign concept to me back then. But that’s the magic of box sets like this: you get to travel back and rediscover an artist whose work you might have partially missed the first time around.
For anyone who has a couple of her albums, or who wants to explore one of the most influential yet under-celebrated artists in modern music, this is the perfect way in.
Laura Nyro’s music feels like a companion — soulful, honest, reflective and full of heart. Hear My Song is more than a box set; it’s a musical biography, a celebration, and for many of us, the start of a long and rewarding journey into her world.
If you’re curious, don’t wait too long. Madfish editions tend to quietly disappear once their 2,000 copies are gone.
Thank you for watching, thank you for reading, and remember:
Music is the healer and the doctor.
If you want to join our growing community of music lovers, collectors and friends, become a member on YouTube or join us on Patreon and step inside the Now Spinning Arms — our own virtual pub where we meet twice a month.
Right then, I’m off to play some more Laura.
Take care everyone.
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
