The Impressions - Its About Time 1976

 The Impressions were one of the great groups of the '60s who had to deal with the familiar woes of facing the next decade. After Curtis Mayfield's early-‘70s departure, the group became a grinding wheel having to deal with diminishing sales, exits, and lack of direction. Mid-‘70s efforts First Impressions and Loving Power both had slack production values that eroded their fan base. In contrast, the skill of It's About Time is a complete surprise. For this effort, baritone Nate Evans replaces 1973-1976 lead singer Ralph Johnson. Evans, who has a more earthy and mellifluous tone, worked well with members Sam Gooden, Fred Cash, and Reggie Torian. "In the Palm of My Hands" and "You'll Never Find" are potent though anonymous tracks. After a while It's About Time does start to kick in. "Same Old Heartaches," written by Mervin and Melvin Steals is a smooth and melodic track with a great vocal from Evans. The hooky ballad "I Need You" has Torian giving a nice understated solo with help from Evans on the bridge. The smoldering and drama-filled "I'm a Fool for Love" has Evans desperately trying to "break-a-loose" from a bad woman. The majority of It's About Time has a confident L.A./R&B sound produced by McKinley Jackson and features string and horn arrangements by Gene Page, Gil Askey, and H.B. Barnum. It's About Time doesn't sound like an Impressions album, but the production and the tracks makes this surprisingly good and better than most of their post-Mayfield work.