You're right, Bob. Joni picked "Captain For Dark Mornings" (from Nyro's NYT'berry) rather than "Captain St. Lucifer." The former, along with "Tom Cat Goodby" (Laura's spelling) and the title track remain my absolute favorites from that masterpiece of an album. Searing brilliance from start to finish. However, I disagree (as a longtime Nyro-nut) that "NYT" & "Xmas" sound like they could have come from the same record. They sound nothing alike to me.
If you love Joni, you should really try to immerse yourself in Laura. It's so hard for me to pick one over the other since I truly believe Nyro accomplished things even Joni never did. And Kakki--I agree that Joni's "For The Roses" is on a par (and perhaps a bit similar) with "NYT." As you stated, both are very deep--and endlessly rewarding. To me, they're maybe even more alike than even "NYT" & "Xmas." As you can tell, I absolutely adore Laura Nyro. If you haven't done so in the past, please spend some study time with "NYT'berry." Let's just hope the officials with the R&R Hall of Fame come to their senses soon and promptly induct Laura Nyro. The true female counterpart to Bob Dylan--in oh so many ways. And, yes. Rickie Lee Jones really seemed to cop much more from Laura than Joni. One reason I've never been too hip on Rickie was that IMO she was always a second-rate Nyro (sorry Wally). She never really had the true poetic originality that Laura possessed, and musically was much more conventional and far less adventurous than Laura. A bit of a poser to me, even though she picked a great one to copy. In a word, overrated. I'd rather hear an original like Laurie Anderson or Patti Smith any day. BTW Bob, the new remastered version of "Under The Big Black Sun" by X includes their subsequent single version of Otis Blackwell's classic "Breathless" (the old Jerry Lee Lewis hit), which is X without the art--with a positively killer guitar solo by Billy Zoom. A glorious, dizzying moment that should have been a massive hit in a perfect world. And sorry Mark. Didn't mean to dismiss Blondie's "Parallel Lines," but I still much prefer the polished beauty of "Eat To The Beat." Yes, "Shayla" and "Union City Blue" are great songs, but so is "Dreaming"--not to mention the rave-up's "Living In The Real World" (companion piece to "Dreaming") and the title track. It was virtually ignored in the states, and overshadowed at the time by their massive, banal single "Call Me." Their next record, "Autoamerican" was pretty dismal. Rather like "The Hissing..." coming after the stunning "Court And Spark." (sorry Hissing fans. don't clobber me too hard on this one.) And I'm glad you like Starship's "St. Charles" as well. Another "Spitfire" song, "Dance With The Dragon" is fabulous too. After this record, they went down the toilet fast. Whew! Finally finished. Thanks for bearing with me here. I love reading everyone's posts every morning...and finally had to jump in after reading "Bel-Air." And hang in there Anne. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cancer in 1998 and underwent chemo and radiation for almost a year. Overwhelming, yes. But you'll get through. They've made remarkable strides with treatments in recent years. Just muster up all the strength, courage and support you can, and have lots of faith. You'll make it, and hopefully come out better than ever! Maybe I'll make it to a Jonifest one day. It really looks (and reads) like a blast. XXXOOO, Billy
