Impressions, The - ABC Rarities '1999

Tracks list

 OK, so this CD includes the whole of the Versatile Impressions album, which
was their last ABC album and may well not be considered their best work. But
this is a whole lot more! In fact the first twelve tracks are vintage Curtis, at
the height of his composing and musical powers. Almost all of these titles have
not seen the light of day since their first vinyl release and several have never
been released at all. This has taken a team of us, using Peter Burns
comprehensive discography, to piece together the various locations for the tapes
- and we didnt have to use one disc dub in the end, although it came perilously
close for one title!

Heres the run-down, all in matrix number order and therefore in recording date
order:-

1. Cant You See. This is the one that went down to our mastering rooms for disc
dubbing, just before I had a conversation with Peter Burns, who reminded me that
this track was originally on the first album The Impressions (CDKEND 126). Peter
once owned a copy of this impossible-to-find rarity, sadly since liberated from
his collection in the swinging 60s. This set the tape detectives to work to see
if by any chance this track was simply left, unlogged, on the original album
master. Sure enough, with due diligence by Lynn Kerman at Universal Studios,
there it was languishing as track seven on side one of the original master tape,
having been bumped down the track listing by Its All Right. This is one of
Curtis finest performances and, in superb stereo, it demonstrates his unique
style of guitar playing that can only be reproduced, so the story goes, by
re-tuning the guitar to the black notes of the piano.

2. Love Is A Mystery. This comes from another extremely rare album called
Shindig which was released to cash in on the famous American TV show. It was
supposed to be a live album, and for all I know maybe some of the tracks were,
but this one certainly wasnt. We could have used the original stereo master with
fake applause from the original album, but we thought you would prefer to hear
this without these fake effects, albeit in mono. No stereo mix without the
applause was made.

3. Emotions (Wont You Let Me Cry). This is the earlier version of this song
which appeared first on a Charly album. We feature a different unissued take
here.

4. Youll Want Me Back.
5. Never Too Much Love.
6. Never Could You Be.
7. (Man Oh Man) I Want To Go Back.
8. This Must End.
9. I Need A Love.
10. Youve Got Me Runnin.
11. Were Rolling On Parts 1&2.
When I worked up at EMI in the mid-60s, my colleague Rod Duncombe, then ABC
label manager, enlisted my help in compiling a follow-up to the Impressions Big
Sixteen album. We included the most obvious A-sides that werent on the first
album and this left some room to indulge ourselves with some rare B-sides and
even a previously unissued title that turned up disguised as I Need You. Weve
gone better than Big Sixteen Vol 2 here and added two more rarities. As it
happens, master tapes for Youll Want Me Back and Never Too Much Love were
subsequently lost at ABC and we have used EMIs master tapes, meticulously
preserved and logged by Abbey Road staffers. Four of the others have been
freshly remixed into stereo from the original 4-track masters. This Must End is
the original stereo mix from the US Best of the Impressions LP and Youve Got Me
Runnin is the original US mono 45 master. This Must End must rate as one of
Curtis best songs, right up there with Ive Been Trying, Im So Proud and People
Get Ready - the highlight of this CD!

12. Dont Cry My Love.
A poignant anti-war song written with Oscar Brown Jr. This deserved a better
reception than it received on their penultimate ABC single. This is a new stereo
remix from the original 4-track master.

13. Just Before Sunrise.
14. East Of Java.
These were both recorded for the film Krakatoa, East Of Java, which
unfortunately didnt set the box-office alight and resulted in their last single
for ABC.

15. Yesterday.
16. All My Trials.
17. The Look Of Love.
18. Thanks To You.
19. Sermonette.
20. Once In A Lifetime.
21. Puppy Love.
22. Bring A Little Water Sylvie.
23. Oo Youre A Livin Doll.
24. Fool On The Hill.
25. Devil In Your Soul.
26. This Is The Life.
These comprise the whole of the last session, some of which were released on
their swan-song ABC album. They were all recorded on 8-track, which was the only
time the Impressions were recorded in this format for the label. Five of them
were not released at all, but not because they were of any less quality than
those selected for Versatile. In fact Thanks To You is the best of the bunch,
and is the self same song Jerry Butler part wrote and recorded back in 1960 for
Vee-Jay. This version sports Sam Gooden in his finest Jerry Butler soundalike
voice, duetting with Curtis - superb.

If youre a Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions fan you will need this CD. It
completes their ABC-Paramount story, but better still contains some of their
very finest recordings, none of which can be obtained elsewhere on CD. It also
sports the impeccable sound you have come to expect from the quality controllers
who deliver you The Golden Age of American RocknRoll series.

By Trevor Churchill
:: TRACKLIST ::

01 Cant You See
02 Love Is A Mystery
03 Emotions (Wont You Let Me Cry)
04 Youll Want Me Back
05 Never Too Much Love
06 Never Could You Be
07 (Man Oh Man) I Want To Go Back
08 This Must End
09 I Need A Love
10 Youve Got Me Runnin
11 Were Rolling On (Parts 1 & 2)
12 Dont Cry My Love
13 Just Before Sunrise
14 East Of Java
15 Yesterday
16 All My Trials
17 The Look Of Love
18 Thanks To You
19 Sermonette
20 Once In A Lifetime
21 Puppy Love
22 Bring A Little Water Sylvie
23 Oo Youre A Livin Doll
24 Fool On The Hill
25 Devil In Your Soul
26 This Is The Life

All the missing studio recordings from their ABC-Paramount years, to complement
our series of two albums on one CD and Definitive Impressions.

The copyrights in these sound recordings are owned by MCA Records, Inc, licensed
courtesy of Universal Music (UK) Ltd and are licensed to Ace Records Ltd.

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