Dreams of a Kitten by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Dreams of a Kitten

Page 211

with a full band, which resulted in the 1977 live album “Season

of Lights.”

After the 1978 album “Nested,” recorded when she was pregnant

with her only child, she again took a break from recording, this

time until 1984's “Mother's Spiritual.” She began touring with a

band in 1988, her first concert appearances in 10 years. The

tour was dedicated to the animal rights movement. The shows led

to her 1989 release, “Laura: Live at the Bottom Line,” which

included six new compositions.

Her final album of predominantly original material, “Walk the

Dog and Light the Light” (1993), her last album for “Columbia,”

was co-produced by Gary Katz, best known for his work with

Steely Dan. The release sparked re-appraisal of her place in

popular music, and new commercial offers began appearing. She

turned down lucrative film composing offers, although she

contributed a rare protest song to the Academy Award winning

documentary “Broken Rainbow,” about the unjust relocation of the

Navajo people.

Nyro performed increasingly in the 1980s and 1990s with female

musicians, including her friend Nydia "Liberty" Mata, a drummer,

and several others from the lesbian-feminist women's music

subculture, such as members of the band Isis. She appeared at