Laura Nyro - Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970)
Tracklist front / back album covers
Side one
"Brown Earth" - 4:09
"When I Was a Freeport and You Were the Main Drag" - 2:42
"Blackpatch" - 3:33
"Been on a Train" - 5:49
"Up on the Roof" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 3:13
Side two
"Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp" - 5:34
"Map to the Treasure" - 8:08
"Beads of Sweat" - 4:47
"Christmas in My Soul" - 7:00
Laura Nyro Band Members / Musicians
Laura Nyro – piano, vocals, arrangements
Additional musicians on side one
Barry Beckett – vibraphone
Felix Cavaliere – organ, bells, producer
Roger Hawkins – drums
Eddie Hinton – electric guitar
David Hood – bass
Jack Jennings – percussion
Stuart Scharf – acoustic guitar
The album credits these musicians but does not indicate which tracks they played on
Duane Allman – guitar
Richard Davis – bass
Alice Coltrane – harp
Dino Danelli – drums
Cornell Dupree – electric guitar
Joe Farrell – woodwinds
Ashod Garabedian – oud
Ralph MacDonald – percussion
Chuck Rainey – bass
Michael Szittai – cimbalin
Arif Mardin – arrangements, conductor, producer
Roy Segal – engineer
Tim Geelan – engineer
Jerry Lee Smith – assistant engineer
Doug Pomeroy – assistant engineer
Beth O'Brien – cover portrait
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat is the 4th album by New York-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. The album was released on the Columbia Records label in November 1970 after Nyro had recorded it in the early summer with producers Felix Cavaliere and Arif Mardin. Whilst Nyro had handed over production reins, she was still in control of the project and co-arranged her compositions.
