The Persuasions: Sing The Beatles
Chesky JD 220. David Chesky, Jerry Lawson, prods.; Barry
Wolifson, eng. AAA. TT: 49:25.
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 I love The
Persuasions. For over 30 years they've produced real music using "no instruments
other than the human voice" (true fans and well-wishers will respectfully forget that
abortive mid-‘70s attempt of Stevie Wonder's to shackle them to a band).
Other groups treat street a capella like it's some
sort of a gimmick, but to The Persuasions it has always been about a group of friends
making music together. And what music they've made! Earthy, rocking, powerful stuff --
with one foot in the rock'n'roll doo-wop tradition and the other firmly in the black
gospel "quartet" sound of the Swan Silvertones, Soul Stirrers and Dixie
Hummingbirds. Lead tenor Jerry Lawson's hard-driving voice has always reminded me of the
Hummingbirds' masterful Ira Tucker, who was the model for any number of husky-voiced soul
shouters. Lawson, like Tucker, just does it better and truer than most of the rest.
Nowhere is this legacy more apparent than on Sing The
Beatles' "Oh! Darling." The 'Suasions recognize this McCartney classic for
the great lost soul classic that it rightly is and sing it with the requisite grit and
sweat. Revealed as the love song to his black roots that McCartney obviously intended it
to be, it's like a new song. One we've been waiting for forever -- or so it seems.
What greater praise can any collection of The Beatles songs
receive? People my age grew up with these songs -- younger listeners have never known a
time when these weren't somewhere in the zeitgeist. So when a collection of songs
culled from that hoary songbook can make us hear them as though they were fresh, that's
really something. And against all odds, that's exactly what The Persuasions have
accomplished.
The album opens with a sunny "Eight Days a Week"
before unleashing that beautifully soulful "Oh! Darling." But "Come
Together" goes beyond brilliant -- somehow it has been waiting for mouth music to
find its true essence. Against a burbling background, Lawson captures the
urban-commando-meets-Chuck-Berry vibe of the song perfectly. Lennon, always deeply
suspicious of facile art making, probably would have preferred this version to his own.
Impossible as it may sound, The Persuasions even salvage
"Rocky Raccoon" from its terminal cuteness. Chalk up another victory for
Lawson's hoarse testifying.
The whole album is filled with lovely interpretations, but
the last four songs on the CD make a powerful argument for the a capella quartet's
sensitivity and vision. First, they essay "Don't Let Me Down," once again
discovering Lennon's Northern soul in the song's pleading verses. This is followed by a
rollicking "The Ballad of John and Yoko" that doesn't cede a rocking centimeter
to the original. Following that, the group launches into "Imagine," and here
they score a true coup -- a strikingly compelling version of the song. The strength and
toughness of the lyrics have never been better served -- it'd take a harder soul than mine
to hear this version without choking back a tear. And when the four musicians blend their
voices in a rising series of modulations on the line "Imagine all the people sharing
the world," it's like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. The song ends with a
hushed Lawson rising above his fellow singers -- it's pure prayer.
The CD ends with a cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band (reprise)" that actually manages to capture the acid-dripping
feedback exuberance of the original -- and with just four voices.
As good as the album is on a musical and interpretive
level, it's all that and more sonically. The 'Suasions are in perfect balance to one
another and the background is dead silent -- with just enough room sound to caress the
voices and make sure they sound real. It's not easy making a recording that sounds this
simple -- in fact, it's probably the hardest job an engineer could possibly have. There's
simply no place to hide, and edits, while possible, are difficult to make without sounding
exposed. I'm sure there are edits here, but you'll have the devil's own time finding them.
Barry Wolifson has succeeded in making his art damn close to totally transparent -- what
you hear is pure The Persuasions on a great night in a great room.
That's always been enough for me, but on Sing The
Beatles, we also get a fresh look at one of the most familiar songbooks on earth. And that's
high art, baby.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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