Laura Allan was one of those Marin County folksingers who didn’t become a household word. She put out 4 albums in her short career (Allan passed away in 2008.) Those first couple, which were released on small labels, were really good. Then she got a record deal with Elektra. They didn’t seem to know what to do with her and came out with an album („Laura Allan“) which was way overproduced and far too slick for Laura’s delicate touch, sounding like a hybrid of Joni and Laura Nyro. After that, I never had the heart to listen to the later releases, fearing more of the same.
I remember an album of Joni Mitchell-like tunes played on mountain dulcimer (or I think I do), and I remember this ambient New Age album, Reflections. Look at the cover – it says it all, a fresh faced hippie goddess who happens to play a special zither redesigned to play like a Celtic harp. And Paul Horn on flute with tons of delay. And then there’s Laura’s angelic, lilting vocals. What’s not to like? Yes, it‘s absolutely lightweight, a mood album from a bygone era – and I love it. But then, it’s a nostalgia thing for me – your mileage may vary. Yet at the same time this one seems to transcend its time and in a strange way, sounds almost contemporary.
There are only four tunes, though rather lengthy – one is around 10 minutes long. It’s so 1970s Marin you can almost smell the sweet grassy hills – one tune is even named Nicasio, after a small rural town in West Marin. Laura’s lovely unaffected voice weaves in and out of the mix, occasionally overdubbed, but mostly just that pure soprano. Occasionally there is a refrain with words, but mostly it’s just wordless vocalizing. Her melodies are purely intuitive, lovely, delicate little phrases that seem to appear and disappear on the wind. Listen to just 30 seconds and you can hear why she was friends with David Crosby. This is inspired music of the moment, and I doubt there was much in the way of preparation – a few key melodic phrases perhaps and away we go.
It was never released on CD but old copies can be found on vinyl, and I’m told it’s available for download. It fulfills a certain ache for a more innocent and simpler time. It’s worth tracking down, even if you just want to stream it. Pretty stuff for a quiet morning, or perhaps a rainy Sunday afternoon. A postcard from another age, another time, another world.