Walk the Dog and Light the Light

Walk the Dog and Light the Light is the ninth studio album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in the late summer of 1993, more than nine years after its predecessor, Mother's Spiritual. It followed Nyro's 1989 live album Laura: Live at the Bottom Line, and the atmosphere here is similarly laidback and easygoing.

Walk the Dog and Light the Light
Studio album by
Laura Nyro
ReleasedAugust 17, 1993
Recorded1993
StudioRiver Sound, New York
GenrePop
Length36:17
LabelColumbia (UK)
Columbia (U.S.)
ProducerGary Katz, Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro chronology
Laura: Live at the Bottom Line
(1989)		 Walk the Dog and Light the Light
(1993)		 Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone[2]

It was the last album of new original material that Nyro released during her lifetime, although she began recording another album in 1994, which was released in 2001 as Angel in the Dark.[3] Walk the Dog and Light the Light received positive critical notices,[4][5][6] and Nyro supported the album with a string of intimate dates with a harmony vocal group.

Overview

Walk the Dog and Light the Light grew out of Nyro's 1988 tour, which resulted in her live album Laura: Live at the Bottom Line. Thus, the music is similarly laidback and features largely the same cast of musicians, including percussionist Nydia "Liberty" Mata, with whom Nyro had collaborated since the mid-1970s.[7][8]

The album is produced by Nyro with Steely Dan producer Gary Katz.[1] The sound is smooth and soulful, with Nyro's rich and smokier vocals singing her lyrics concerning topics such as feminism, animal rights and Native American rights.[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laura Nyro; except where indicated

  1. "Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies)" (Hank Hunter, Phil Spector) 3:18
  2. "A Woman of the World" 4:13
  3. "The Descent of Luna Rose" 3:37
  4. "Art of Love" 3:41
  5. "Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)" 3:22
  6. "Louise's Church" 3:37
  7. "Broken Rainbow" 3:57
  8. "Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)" 3:48
  9. "To a Child" 3:32
  10. "I'm So Proud/Dedicated to the One I Love" (Curtis Mayfield/Ralph Bass, Lowman Pauling) 3:40

Personnel
  • Laura Nyro - lead voice, harmonies, keyboards
  • Bernard Purdie - drums
  • Freddie Washington - bass guitar
  • Jerry Jemmott - bass guitar on "Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)"
  • Elliott Randall, Michael Landau, Ira Siegel - guitar
  • Bashiri Johnson, Erik McKain - percussion
  • Ellen Uryevick - harp
  • Juliet Haffner, Sue Pray, Julie Green, Jeanne Le Blanc, Marilyn Wright, Belinda Whitney Barat, Joyce Hammann, Beryl Diamond, Rani Vaz, Laura Seaton, Gene Orloff, Sanford Allen, Mindy Jostyn - strings
  • Lou Marini, Roger Rosenberg, Randy Brecker, Lawrence Feldman - horns
  • Michael Brecker - saxophone solo
  • Lou Marini - flute solo
  • Laura Nyro, Carlos Franzetti - string arrangements
  • David Frank - horn and flute arrangements, additional production assistant

Bibliography
  • Michele Kort's biography Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro, St. Martin's Griffin (May 2003) – ISBN 0-312-20941-X

References
  1. AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann
  2. Rolling Stone review
  3. Laura Nyro: Angel in the Dark by George Graham, 2001
  4. Album review by John McAlley
  5. Album review on Album of the Year website
  6. Walk the Dog & Light the Light review by Bob Cannon on Entertainment Weekly, October 1, 1993
  7. Nydia "Liberty"Mata - Afro-Cuban Percussionist
  8. Nydia ‘Liberty’ Mata on Women Drummers
  9. "Broken Rainbow" - Directed by Victoria Mudd by Walter Goodman on The New York Times, April 11, 1986
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