Those who know me, even if only through my writing for Popdose, know of my love for Laura Nyro. It’s not something I’m shy about discussing. It was that love that took me to a theater in Philadelphia one night a few years to ago to see a show called One Child Born: The Music of Laura Nyro. The one-woman showed was a tour-de-force for its star, Kate Ferber. I’ve seen the show several times since, and Kate has never failed to deliver a powerful performance.

Among her other achievements, Kate has won an ASCAP Desmond Child Anthem Award for songwriting, and she has performed in two national tours of the John Mellencamp/Stephen King musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. The show’s musical director is T-Bone Burnett.

A talent like Kate’s is too big to be restricted to paying tribute to one artist however, no matter how great that artist was, so next week Kate will release her debut album, The Great Thaw. The seven-song album was produced by Geoff Kraly. Kate sang all the vocals and played keyboards. Kraly added some modular synthesizer, and played bass using a variety of pedals. Kraly’s cohort in the band paris_monster is Josh Dion, who plays drums on The Great Thaw. There is also a contribution from guitarist David Linaburg on one track.

Most of The Great Thaw was recorded at Grand Street Studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Kate recorded her piano parts on a 1923 Hamburg Steinway M. at Avidon Audio Labs, and recorded the background harmonies on her own setup while she was on the road. The album was mixed by Pat Dillett, and mastered by U.E. Nastasi.

Popdose is proud to host the exclusive premiere of the first track from The Great Thaw, the album’s title track. The album will be released on December 20 through Bandcamp, and you can get more information on Kate’s website.

About the Author

Ken Shane

Ken Shane lives in Narragansett, R.I. He is a freelance writer and far and away the oldest Popdose writer. In fact, he may be the oldest writer, period. He wants you to know that he generally does not share his colleagues' love for the music of the '80s, and he does not forgive them for loving it. (Ken passed away in November 2022. R.I.P. —Ed.)

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