The Impressions’ Hot 100 singles, 1968-76

The Impressions have a long history, rooted in their late-50s Tennessee origins as The Roosters, growing through their 1960s reformation in Chicago as the Impressions, and continuing to the present day as a live act. Their earliest hits featured Jerry Butler as lead singer, their fertile middle period was voiced by Curtis Mayfield, and their post-Mayfield years were fronted variously by LeRoy Hutson, Ralph Johnson, Reggie Torian and Nate Evans. Many of the group’s iconic sides were waxed for ABC-Paramount in the mid-60s, but this 1968-76 run on Mayfield’s Curtom label is highlighted by both hits (“This Is My Country,” “Choice of Colors,” “Check Out Your Mind” and “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m A Changed Man)”) and Mayfield’s growing sophistication as a composer and social critic.

These eighteen tracks include all of the Curtom singles that cracked the Top 100, plus “Loving Power,” which bubbled under at #103, and “This Time,” which was released by Cotillion. Following Mayfield’s departure (his last lead vocal here is 1971’s “Ain’t Got Time”), the lead slot was passed between Leroy Hutson (“Love Me”, a Mayfield song), Fred Cash (on the Preacher Man album, not sampled here), Ralph Johnson (“If It’s in You to Do Wrong” and “Finally Got Myself Together (I’m A Changed Man)”) and Nate Evans (“This Time”). The group’s gospel foundation, sophisticated soul style and trademark harmonies continued to flourish, though only “Finally Got Myself Together” brought them back to widespread commercial success.

The set’s 12-page booklet includes detailed liner notes by A. Scott Galloway, and the track list’s sampling of late-60s-to-early-70s sides provides a good introduction to the group’s Curtom era. There’s nearly a dozen more Curtom singles to be heard, some non-charting and some that charted only R&B, as well as a full catalog of albums. For a deeper look, check out the many original album reissues, including This is My Country, The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story, Check Out Your Mind!, and Times Have Changed. For a listen to their earlier years, check out The Complete A & B Sides 1961-1968. But for an introduction to Mayfield’s last years with the group, and their post-Mayfield singles, this is a great place to start. [©2016 Hyperbolium] 

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