After a very lucky (for us) 13 years as a mainstay of the Kent catalogue, Definitive Impressions has been given its equivalent of a long service award, via a spruce-up that will gladden the hearts of old soul boys everywhere. We"ve obviously made no changes to the music - with a track listing like it has, how could there be any need for changes? - but it"s been given a new packaging, with a newly-written appreciation of the Imps by yours truly plus a wealth of record labels and rare pix/ephemera for your visual pleasure. Best of all, it now boasts a front cover that pays deserving and respectful homage to (original album) Big Sixteen, by using that same cover shot on that unmistakable pale blue background. There can be few more reassuring and welcoming sights in any record collection than this...Even those with only a passing interest in soul music would have to agree that Definitive Impressions is a cornerstone to any serious collection of soul music. The proof, should you need any, is in the tracklisting - here you"ll find Gypsy Woman, I"ve Been Trying, Keep On Pushing, You"ve Been Cheating, We"re A Winner, I"m So Proud and People Get Ready, to name but a few of its unchallenged contenders for any musical Hall Of Fame. These, and the other 22 sumptuous, soulful songs featured have few equals in the annals of American music. There can be no questions about this that a quick scan of the remaining titles won"t answer.There are many who will gladly tell you that the exquisite harmonies of Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden and Fred Cash make them the finest soul group of all time, I would be unwilling and unable to oppose any such assertion. Here, then, are two dozen and four of the greatest recordings made by anyone, anytime and anywhere - Definitive and, unquestionably, Impressive. --By Tony Rounce/Ace Records UK