THE PERSUASIONS (no, not the Persuaders)
pickwick33
8,946 Posts
Not to be confused with the PersuaDERS, of "Thin Line Between Love & Hate" fame:
...these are the PersuaSIONS, acapella soul singers supreme: 
A lot of people cannot handle acapella singing, thanks to overtly cutesy acts like the Nylons (if the Manhattan Transfer sang more doo-wop, they'd be like the Nylons), Stormy Weather or Bobby McFerrin, but the Persuasions totally demolish the competition. I can't speak for their recent records (entire albums devoted to U2, Frank Zappa, and children's songs), but most of their 70's albums turn up often in used stores (especially the ones on Capitol) and are well worth hearing.The Persuasions aren't really doo-wop per se, more like a soul vocal group. Acapella soul had been tried before - there used to be a group on the East Coast called the Royal Counts, who had a mid-sixties album on Relic called Acapella Soul, which featured their versions of Temptations and Manhattans songs (among others). It was an okay record, but you wind up missing the band after a few songs. Several times the lead singer will be singing a line ALONE - you keep wishing that the other four members would fill in with a "WHOOOOO" or something, since there's no instruments, but no, they just stay silent until it's their time.The Persuasions are different. If Jerry Lawson goes off on a verse, you can bet that the other members will have his back; he won't be singing to a wall of silence. They never forget that there's no band behind them, so they'll be working overtime filling in the gaps. And they do this without reverting to doing silly instrument imitations like McFerrin does.So what's the Soulstrut opinion? Classic, dud, or "whateva?"My recommendations: Comin' At Ya (Flying Fish) and Street Corner Symphony (Capitol).
...these are the PersuaSIONS, acapella soul singers supreme: A lot of people cannot handle acapella singing, thanks to overtly cutesy acts like the Nylons (if the Manhattan Transfer sang more doo-wop, they'd be like the Nylons), Stormy Weather or Bobby McFerrin, but the Persuasions totally demolish the competition. I can't speak for their recent records (entire albums devoted to U2, Frank Zappa, and children's songs), but most of their 70's albums turn up often in used stores (especially the ones on Capitol) and are well worth hearing.The Persuasions aren't really doo-wop per se, more like a soul vocal group. Acapella soul had been tried before - there used to be a group on the East Coast called the Royal Counts, who had a mid-sixties album on Relic called Acapella Soul, which featured their versions of Temptations and Manhattans songs (among others). It was an okay record, but you wind up missing the band after a few songs. Several times the lead singer will be singing a line ALONE - you keep wishing that the other four members would fill in with a "WHOOOOO" or something, since there's no instruments, but no, they just stay silent until it's their time.The Persuasions are different. If Jerry Lawson goes off on a verse, you can bet that the other members will have his back; he won't be singing to a wall of silence. They never forget that there's no band behind them, so they'll be working overtime filling in the gaps. And they do this without reverting to doing silly instrument imitations like McFerrin does.So what's the Soulstrut opinion? Classic, dud, or "whateva?"My recommendations: Comin' At Ya (Flying Fish) and Street Corner Symphony (Capitol).
Comments
Yeah, that's a good one (Acapella, it's called). Sounds like a bootleg but it works.
Any thoughts on the A&M albums, where they experimented with instruments for the last time? (Their singles in the '60s, before they went acapella, had full instrumentation too.)
yeah, if youre looking for samples, a no-drums group like the persuasions could fuck up your whole program
(although as i said, they did briefly flirt with having a band behind them when they were on A&M)