Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
| Eli and the Thirteenth Confession | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Laura Nyro | ||||
| Released | March 3, 1968 | |||
| Recorded |
New York City, January–February 1968 |
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| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 46:15 | |||
| Label |
CBS (UK) Columbia (US) |
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| Producer | Laura Nyro, Charlie Calello | |||
| Laura Nyro chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  |
| Rolling Stone | (positive) |
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968.
Nyro premiered some of the songs that were to appear on the album at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. The song "Luckie" was derived from an earlier composition Nyro had played at her audition for Verve Records in 1966. Before she signed to Columbia Records, Verve had already planned to release the album, under the title Soul Picnic. The album saw its actual release in 1968 on the Columbia label and became one of the year's underground successes. The album was written entirely by Nyro, arranged by Charlie Calello and produced by both. On Nyro's insistence, the album's lyric sheet (which itself was a rarity for records in 1968) was perfumed, and fans have reported that it still has a pleasant aroma.
The album's themes are of passion, love, romance, death, and drugs, and the songs are delivered in Nyro's distinctive brash, belting vocals. Musically, it is a multi-layered and opulent work, including multi-tracked vocals and strings. The album's loose genre is pop, but it also incorporates elements of soul, gospel, and rock.
It is generally considered to be Nyro's most accessible and most famous work, although it is arguably not the most commercially successful or critically favored (both honors go to the follow-up, New York Tendaberry). The album was her first chart entry, reaching No. 181 on the Billboard 200, when it was known as "Pop Albums." In the February 2016 issue of UNCUT magazine it was rated in the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time.
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