Gonna Take A Miracle - Overview

Overview

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. When time came to record Gonna Take a Miracle, Nyro called up LaBelle, who also brought along her vocal partners in Labelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash.

Studio time was booked for a week in the hot summer of 1971 in Philadelphia, the centre of the soul movement. Rather than Nyro alone, the album's strength lies in the performance of the whole cast, including legendary producers Gamble and Huff and a stunning band of musicians.

The album was recorded very quickly and retains a "rough-and-ready" quality. It also breaks the cycle of Nyro's predominantly moody, piano-based works. This is a soul/R&B record, featuring traditional soul touches and R&B grooves.

Nyro was the main selector of material for the album, and chose songs she was influenced by growing up in the Bronx of the 1950s and '60s. The songs include The Shirelles' "I Met Him on a Sunday", The Originals' "The Bells" (written by Marvin Gaye), Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem", The Charts' "Deserie/Desiree", Curtis Mayfield's "The Monkey Time", and The Royalettes' "It's Gonna Take a Miracle".

The album balances the grittier numbers with the more ethereal soul ballad, "The Wind" and the sultry love ballad, "Désiree". Nyro, Labelle and Gamble and Huff expertly mixed genres including doo-wop, soul, R&B, pop, Brill Building, and gospel. "Despite Gamble and Huff's presence on the project, Nyro remained fully in charge."