Though the mysterious, brooding album cover may suggest otherwise, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is actually a swingin’, progressive soul album. Is Laura Nyro a genre innovator? I don’t know, but she’s certainly a genre bender. Her second album displays a melting pot of soul, jazz, and lounge pop. Thirteenth Confession never steps outside its territory, but it freely explores it with confidence as it so pleases.

Certainly the most adventurous aspect of this album is the unconventional song structures. A song may begin with an upliftingly joyous pop R&B groove with a full horn ensemble and at the drop of a hat turn into a soulful piano ballad. You never know where Eli and the Thirteenth Confession will take you or when it will take you there.

Recommended. It’s rare to find a ’60s pop album with this much confidence and courage, let alone consistency. In a decade dominated by front-loaded albums or albums that are just vehicles for singles, Laura Nyro delivers smash after smash on one of the greatest albums of the decade.