Peter Gallway - Laura (The Music of Laura Nyro) (2025)

Some familiar tunes with a different approach grace this 8-track LP of Laura Nyro songs performed by Peter Gallway. Some will sound a little strange coming from a male vocal but the power of the individual compositions is still accessible & soulful. Gallway keeps the arrangements trim, but his vocal soulfulness is evident.

Each has a vulnerability that comes through because his voice doesn’t have any over-indulgent arrangements & instrumentation to challenge it. And that’s fine because these songs were written by Ms. Nyro with restraint even on her originals since the melodies & lyrics are what’s important.

Whereas “Eli’s Coming” had a more commercial showcase on the Three Dog Night 1969 hit Gallway slows it down to a more potent groove. The album Laura – The Music of Laura Nyro. It was produced & performed (vocals/electric guitar/electric & acoustic bass/keyboards/drums/percussion) by Peter & recorded in Rockland, Maine.

Mr. Gallway personally met Laura when his Fifth Avenue Band (“Fast Freight”) opened a series of concerts for her in 1969. Later, he became involved with producing her albums “Time & Love: The Music of Laura Nyro,” & her final album “Angel In the Dark.”

This album isn’t filled with any showboating or fireworks. It’s focused primarily on the splendors of each song & how Peter’s sublime champagne cocktail interpretations maintain the music’s continued flavors & charm with each stirring rendition. Laura started her career with some original songs that were literate, creative & original like Joni Mitchell, the late Judee Sill & Dory Previn. Laura managed ingeniously to craft her style with presence & an essence beyond mere singer-songwriter.

Later, she cruised delicately into a more soulful realm. She was always endeared to that music. Maybe it’s because she’s from The Bronx, with both soul music & Brill Building tunes impressing her since childhood. Peter Gallway smartly chose not to rearrange his interpretations into his fluid style but to indulge the Nyro spirit with his passive performance.

Peter could’ve countrified the tunes, made them more folky, or even Big Apple cosmopolitan. Instead, he squeezes tenderness from the melodies, annunciates carefully each word & like a good lounge jazz singer offers a disciplined performance that isn’t dated or nostalgic.

Laura’s music has aged well & the most upbeat of all is “Time & Love” which reflects the vocal sensitivities of Michael Martin Murphy & the late Kenny Rankin. Slow dancing is encouraged.

Many artists in the past have recorded albums filled with their versions of the Laura Nyro songbook. But, Peter Gallways’s Laura – The Music of Laura Nyro is exceptional – perhaps next time, a few more than just eight.