Gonna Take a Miracle
| Gonna Take a Miracle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Laura Nyro and Labelle | ||||
| Released | November 17, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | May - June 1971 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 33:05 (Original) 41:46 (2002 Reissue) |
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| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | |||
| Laura Nyro and Labelle chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| The Village Voice | (B-) |
| PopMatters | (favorable) |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor, Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
Nyro had originally hatched the idea to do a covers album during 1970, and on her tour to support the Christmas and the Beads of Sweat album she introduced several of the songs that would later appear on Gonna Take a Miracle, including "Spanish Harlem" and "Dancing in the Street".
Gonna Take a Miracle remains a critics' favorite Laura Nyro record for its laidback atmosphere and impressive soul grooves and musicianship, as well as classic "Philadelphia soul" production from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was her last commercially successful album, peaking at #46 on the Billboard 200, then known as the Pop Albums chart, as well as #41 on the Black Albums chart.
The album was Nyro's last for over four years as she turned her back on the music industry to get married and live a rural life away from the spotlight. Her work with Patti LaBelle on the album formed a lifelong friendship.
In 2005, music magazine The Word voted Gonna Take a Miracle among the 60 Best Underrated Albums of All Time.
Nyro first met Patti LaBelle in 1970 when she was about to give an interview to LaBelle's manager Vicki Wickham. Wickham brought LaBelle along to the interview, where she engaged in deep conversation with Nyro. They went on the road together, with LaBelle cooking for Nyro.
The album was recorded in May and June 1971 at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The producers were Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Patti LaBelle and her vocal partners in Labelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, were brought in as backing singers.
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