Gonna Take a Miracle

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 R&B 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 Nyro's career would not have been surprised by her direction on this project. As much as Gonna Take a Miracle is indeed a Laura Nyro album, it could likewise, and perhaps more accurately, be described as a collaborative effort between Nyro and the female soul trio LaBelle - featuring Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash - as well as producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff…

This 16-track, 72-and-a-half-minute compilation contains Deniece Williams' two number one pop/R&B hits, "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (a duet with Johnny Mathis), as well as her remake of "It's Gonna Take a Miracle," an R&B number one and Top Ten pop hit, and "Free," which just missed the top of the R&B chart and made the pop Top 40. Otherwise, the collection is somewhat idiosyncratic, compilation producer Leo Sacks' idea of Williams' best, rather than her greatest hits. Her success on the R&B singles chart, where she scored 18 Top 40 hits, is shortchanged, as the set fails to contain such major R&B hits as "Never Say Never" and "You're All I Need to Get By."

This entry into the Japan-only Premium Best series highlights the recordings of composer/performer Laura Nyro. Unlike other single-CD North American compilations, this 16-track disc gives sufficient time to her tragically underappreciated post-Smile recordings. Several of these titles are not even available on CD in the States, which is perhaps correlated to the seeming lack of interest. There are actually numerous advantages to this collection – not the least of which is the artist-sensitive track list. Presumably the Premium Best series is aimed at the casual enthusiast, as the hardcore collector would either already own the contents or buy it anyway if they were a completist. By including seminal album sides such as the imperially haunting "New York Tendaberry" and "Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp," a more accurate overview of Nyro's career is presented here.

1995 Compilation album from CBS featuring artists that are associated with EWF in respect of tracks produced by EWF. Features Ramsey Lewis, Deniece Williams, The Emotions & Solo EWF members.

Cornell Campbell - Sweet Baby (1977) {Burning Sounds BSRCD957 rel 2017}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 154 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 73 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 59 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2017 Secret Records / Burning Sounds | BSRCD957
Reggae / Roots Reggae / Ska / Rocksteady

Cornell Campbell is one of an elite group of Jamaican reggae singers who’ve weathered the changes throughout the music’s development – in his case, from the ska era to right up to date – whilst retaining their relevance. Witness his recent alliance with UK Afrobeat / reggae band The Soothsayers or Jazmine Sullivan’s R & B hit Need U Bad, which sampled his classic 'Queen Of The Minstrel' – a song that still sounds fresh more than thirty years later.

Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1950) is an American singer–songwriter and record producer. Williams is known for hits such as "Free" (1976), "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (1978), "Silly" (1981), "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" (1982), "Let's Hear It for the Boy" (1984), and for her duets with Johnny Mathis.