Impressions (Laura Nyro album)

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Impressions
Impressions (Laura Nyro album).png
Compilation album by
Released1980
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
Nested
(1978)
Impressions
(1980)
Mother's Spiritual
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Impressions is the first compilation retrospective album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro.

Contents

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.

Overview

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.

Analysis

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.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laura Nyro

TrackOriginal 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)

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Laura Nyro American musician and songwriter

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Rock Machine - I Love You was a bargain priced sampler album, released by CBS Records in the UK in 1968.

Stoned Soul Picnic (song)

"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

"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 (song)

"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.

References

  1. Impressions - Laura Nyro at AllMusic. Retrieved 19 June 2021.