This wonderful collection of Laura Nyro's final recordings before her death in 1997 can only strengthen the reputation of one of the true musical enigmas of the last 35 years. Recorded in 1994 and 1995, and split evenly between original compositions and several of her beloved jazz and R&B tunes Nyro sang as a teenager on the street corners of New York, Angel in the Dark perfectly blends the two into a seamless hymn to the heart. Whether swinging through swoony classics like "Walk on By" and "Ooh Baby Baby" or stunning new songs like "Angel in the Dark," "Sweet Dream Fade," and "Animal Grace," Nyro's languid, instantly recognizable voice eerily seems to have barely aged over several decades. Although slightly deeper than on her earlier recordings, her voice--the very epitome of soul--still chills and raptures absolutely unlike any other. It's just Laura and her piano on half of these tracks, while the others get a classy polish from such jazz and R&B notables as Bernard Purdie, Will Lee, John Tropea, and the Brecker Brothers. Laura Nyro always seemed somewhere outside of time and space, and Angel in the Dark is nothing short of a magnificent final kiss blown from the other side. --Carl Hanni