Impressions | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | 1980 | |||
Recorded | New York City, 1966 - 1970 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Label | Embassy (UK) | |||
Producer | Laura Nyro, Herb Bernstein, Milt Okun, Roy Halee, Felix Cavaliere, Charlie Calello, Arif Mardin | |||
Laura Nyro chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Impressions is the first compilation retrospective album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro.
It was released in the UK in 1980 and features material from her first four albums for Verve and Columbia Records, completely omitting material after 1970.
The album was released seemingly without Nyro's approval or knowledge, at the time Nyro was in a period of semi-retirement, living with her young son in Danbury, but flopped and Impressions remains out of print, having never been issued on CD. She did not release another album until 1984. Nyro curated her own retrospective album, Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro , shortly before her death in 1997.
Impressions brings together both some of Nyro's best-known songs and also hidden gems, making it more adventurous than standard retrospectives and more representative of her work - but despite its 1980 release date, only included material from her first four albums - More Than A New Discovery (1967), Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968), New York Tendaberry (1969), and Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970).
Impressions was not a commercial success and remains rare and out-of-print.
Impressions leans strongly on material from Nyro's second opus, 1968's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession , which became a cult favourite. Her debut album More Than A New Discovery features the majority of her best-known work, and three songs from the album are featured here, with the same number from 1970's more mystical Christmas and the Beads of Sweat , while two tracks from her sole US Top 40 hit, 1969's stark New York Tendaberry are included.
All tracks composed by Laura Nyro
Track | Original album |
---|---|
"Map to the Treasure" | Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970) |
"Captain Saint Lucifer" | New York Tendaberry (1969) |
"Christmas In My Soul" | Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970) |
"Wedding Bell Blues" | More Than A New Discovery (1967) |
"Stoned Soul Picnic" | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) |
"Save the Country" | New York Tendaberry (1969) |
"Sweet Blindness" | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) |
"The Confession" | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) |
"Beads of Sweat" | Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (1970) |
"And When I Die" | More Than A New Discovery (1967) |
"Eli's Comin'" | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) |
"Stoney End" | More Than A New Discovery (1967) |
"Emmie" | Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) |
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her strong emotive vocal style and 3-octave mezzo-soprano vocal range.
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968.
New York Tendaberry is the third album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in the autumn of 1969, on Columbia Records, some eighteen months after its predecessor, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. It was helmed by her, with the assistance of producer and engineer Roy Halee. The cover photograph was taken by David Gahr.
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat is the fourth 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.
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
Smile is the sixth album by New York singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in early 1976, following a four-year hiatus from the music industry during which time she both married and divorced, and lived away from the spotlight. She dedicated the album to her mother.
Season of Lights is the first live album by New York singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro.
More Than a New Discovery is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label.
Nested is the seventh studio album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1978 on Columbia Records.
Mother's Spiritual is the eighth studio album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro and her ninth original album in total, including the 1977 live album Season of Lights.
Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro is the second retrospective album by Bronx-born musician Laura Nyro and the most comprehensive overview of her work to date.
"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.
Time and Love: The Essential Masters is the third retrospective album of New York City singer-songwriter Laura Nyro's work to be released, and the first since her death in April 1997. Released on the Legacy imprint of Columbia Records, it compiles 16 of her more famous compositions into a single-disc volume, focusing on her work from 1966 to 1971, with only one song, 1975's "Sexy Mama", selected from her post-1971 catalog.
Rock Machine - I Love You was a bargain priced sampler album, released by CBS Records in the UK in 1968.
"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by Laura Nyro. The best-known version of the song was recorded by The 5th Dimension, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It became a platinum record.
"And When I Die" is a song written by American singer and songwriter Laura Nyro. It was first recorded by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. Nyro released her own version on her debut album More Than a New Discovery in February 1967.
"Eli's Comin' " is a song written and recorded in 1967 by American singer-songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. The song was first released in 1968 on Nyro's album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.
"Sweet Blindness" is a song written by Laura Nyro and released in 1968, and included on her Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.
"Save the Country" is a song written by Laura Nyro, first released by her as a single in 1968. Nyro released another version of the song on her 1969 album New York Tendaberry.
"Stoney End" is a song written by Laura Nyro and released in February 1967 on her debut album More Than a New Discovery. According to childhood friend Alan Merrill, Nyro originally intended the song, a gospel-inflected uptempo piece, to be performed at a slower pace. The best known recording of Nyro's album version of the song was a hit for Barbra Streisand in 1970.