The Impressions [extended]

• The Vintage Years: The Impressions Featuring Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield [Sire, 1976]
• Greatest Hits [MCA, 1982]
• The Anthology 1961-1977 [MCA, 1992] A+

See Also:

• Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions

Consumer Guide Reviews:

The Vintage Years: The Impressions Featuring Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield [Sire, 1976]
[CG70s: A Basic Record Library]

Greatest Hits [MCA, 1982]
[CG80: Rock Library: Before 1980]

Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions: The Anthology 1961-1977 [MCA, 1992]
The phat drumming and bar-band soul of Shanachie's People Get Ready tribute do Mayfield's delicacy a disservice. There's no gutbucket or hogmaw or Mississippi mud in his groove--unmooring gospel verities or floating off into space-case funk, he's so far out there that Johnny Pate's elaborate, light-bottomed orchestrations never trip him up. I'd curtail the juvenilia to salvage more of his radically sporadic solo career, but a songwriter this gifted has no trouble filling two CDs, and he's his own aptest vocal interpreter. Great unknown guitarist, too. A+