Olivia moved from Pye to EMI in the UK in 1974, before she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. This compilation was released by EMI in that year. A slightly different track selection but the same artwork by Don Bloom was released in Australia as Greatest Hits, the Australians have been off-by-one with numbering Olivia's Greatest Hits albums ever since. EMI were a bit more circumspect because Olivia didn't really have enough hits to justify the Greatest Hits label, so this was titled First Impressions. Nevertheless there were five hits on it - If Not For You, Banks of the Ohio, Take Me Home Country Roads, Let Me Be There and If You Love Me Let Me Know.

The cover was a drawing by the artist Don Bloom, and Olivia kept the portrait until late 2020, when it was sold for $7,680 at Julien's auctions online.

The fine waffle grid patterning on the larger scale picture is the result of the oddball textured cardboard sleeve EMI chose for the album cover, the same sort of thing was used on Olivia's other 1974 album cover, Long Live Love.

1974 First Impressions LP front cover

Front cover - UHD version

1974 First Impressions LP back cover

Back cover - UHD version

The drawing.

1974 First Impressions LP drawing

A few years later, EMI reissued this album on the budget Music For Pleasure label with different cover art

1974 First Impressions LP front cover

Front cover - UHD version

1974 First Impressions LP back cover

Back cover - UHD version

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