''Impressions'' is the first compilation retrospective album by

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

-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 Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, 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 Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, 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 ''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. The name of th ...

'' (1967), ''

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968. History Nyro premiered some of the songs that were to appear on the album at the 1967 Monterey Pop Fes ...

'' (1968), ''

New York Tendaberry ''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 Confes ...

'' (1969), and ''

Christmas and the Beads of Sweat ''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 produ ...

'' (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 ''

'', which became a cult favourite. Her debut album ''

'' 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 ''

'', while two tracks from her sole US Top 40 hit, 1969's stark ''

'' are included.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laura Nyro

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Impressions (Laura Nyro Album) Laura Nyro compilation albums Albums produced by Arif Mardin Albums produced by Roy Halee Albums produced by Felix Cavaliere Albums produced by Charles Calello 1980 compilation albums