Search - Persuasions :: Right Around the Corner

This is honest, no-frills, straight-ahead a cappella.

08/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is honest, no-frills, straight-ahead a cappella. The Persuasions shunned excess studio production and overdubbing on "Right Around The Corner," and just hit the tunes live in studio. The results: sounds like you're standing on a streetcorner with them. I confess: I'm a big fan of the group. I'm prejudiced. I like everything they do, for one reason or another. But I have a real soft spot for this record, not only for the great material (The Five Royales, Sam Cooke, Kurt Weill, Frank Zappa), but for the simplicity of the production. The Persuasions here rely only on their voices, and it's enough. No vocal acrobatics or pyrotechnics, or studio mix tricks---just great, pedal-to-the-metal singing. Jerry Lawson and Joe Russell really shine on this record, as does the five-fathoms-deep tone of Jimmy Hayes on "My Jug and I." They've never done another album quite like "Right Around The Corner." Highly recommended."

This is a very different kind of Persuasions album.

08/02/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very different kind of Persuasions album. They sing everything live in studio, with no overdubs, and Jimmy Hayes' bass voice is mixed into the group more---too much so, for my taste. Still, the performances are tight, and the lead singers are in fine fettle. The song choices are off-beat, but interestingly so. The Persuasions cover The Five Royales' "Right Around The Corner" wonderfully, and Joe Russell is in powerful voice on "Don't Leave Me Here to Cry" and "Come on and Save Me." Still, the standouts on this album have to be bass-singer Jimmy Hayes (still mixed down too much)on "My Jug and I" and "Oh Heavenly Salvation." That's right, that's Kurt Weill's "Oh Heavenly Salvation," one of the most unlikely (and successful) songs the group has ever sung. Jerry Lawson's turn on Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" is a thing of beauty and style, and the group's ensemble vocals on "Love is All Around" are disarming. There's an odd arrangement of Frank Zappa's "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up," but I think the album's highlight must be when The Persuasions turn to their old stand-by, Sam Cooke, with Lawson taking a gorgeous, heartfelt lead on "That's Heaven to Me." Well worth having, but the all-voices-are-equal vocal mix doesn't do Jimmy Hayes justice."