up on the roof was written by carole king.
in any case, i must be the biggest laura nyro queen on earth and i don't
have to show my credentials here, i hope.
BUT rickie is up there with the best of them.
you hear laura in maybe three songs by rickie. the rest is pure rickie. i
always thought that tom waits was a bigger influence than laura, especially
the piano. [incidentally, people usually accuse rickie of being a poseur.
posing as what? as rickie?]
hey, laura and joni, sure, who could say they're not great. but rickie is
her own woman. there's a lot more to rickie than then hipster stuff, the
smoky bar songs.
her voice used to have a few nyro high notes and a little bit of laura's
wailin'. but every single note is her own today. an original. up up up up
there. listen to ''ghost train'', listen to ''flying cowboys'' [the song],
listen to the way she sings ''when i was young i was a wild one'' in
''flying cowboys'' and in ''the horses''. the same line, two different
worlds. and the standards! she KNOWS.
i'm sorry if i sound fanatical and inarticulate, but i'm listening to
ghostyhead as i write and i'm thinking, man it's so obvious, why bother.
i love laura.
i love joni.
i love rickie.
they taught everything i know. and believe me, i KNOW too.
wallyK, inflated ego and all
