The Persuasions
Frankly A Cappella: The Persuasions Sing Zappa (Earth Beat)

In 1969, with rock'n'roll at its psychedelic zenith, Frank Zappa ignored prevailing trends and signed a cappella R&B group the Persuasions to his Straight Records label. The Brooklyn, NY-based Persuasions had been performing for the better part of that decade, but it was under Zappa's aegis that they recorded their debut album, 1970's A Cappella.

Zappa, a lifelong doo-wop connoisseur who co-wrote the 1962 single "Memories of El Monte" for the Penguins, recognized the Persuasions as the real deal. And even though Zappa's name conjures up a welter of musical connotations -- transcendent guitar soloist, "serious" composer, jazz-rock innovator, scatological songwriter -- his music was often grounded in the type of close R&B harmonies that are still the Persuasions' forte. With Frankly A Cappella, the Persuasions make explicit Zappa's R&B-vocal connection, and pay tribute to a Renaissance man with a streetcorner soul.

The Persuasions (Jerry Lawson, Jimmy Hayes, "Sweet Joe" Russell, Jayotis Washington, Bernard "BJ" Jones, and Raymond Sanders) could easily have stocked this album with the most a cappella-friendly songs in Zappa's voluminous catalog, but they fearlessly delve into some of his earlier, more comically surrealistic songs. "Electric Aunt Jemima" gains a poignancy that was buried under the electronic modifications of its original version, and "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" is a solid, call-and-response groove, with in-the-spirit guitar breaks from guest FZ alumnus Mike Keneally. The album's opening track is a wordless vocal remake of an instrumental theme from the uncategorizable Lumpy Gravy album, and it does justice to its sweeping, heroic melody.

The Persuasions deepen the roots of Zappa's more straightforward R&B songs like "Love Of My Life," now set to finger-snapping accompaniment and featuring the guest voice of Zappa veteran Robert Martin. (The song originally appeared in 1968 on the twisted, not to mention curiously-timed, '50s tribute Cruising With Ruben & the Jets.) The heartbreaking descending chords of "Any Way The Wind Blows" sound like they were written with the Persuasions in mind, as do the beaming harmonies of "Tears Began To Fall," which features Martin, Keneally, and ex-Mothers trombonist Bruce Fowler.

A churchy feel suffuses "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing" (a gospel-like melody that sardonically trains its sights on religion as well as government), and a funky throb punctuates the rousing reflection on poverty-line living, "Hotplate Heaven At The Green Hotel."

Originally arranged as a country song, "Harder Than Your Husband" benefits from the group's soft vocal timbres, giving it a gentler cast than its first incarnation. And "Find Her Finer," a melody that always sounded like a throwaway, seems to have finally find its true self in the Persuasions' streamlined, soulful groove.

The album also echoes the absurdist antics that Zappa could never resist, with well-timed interjections, impromptu shtick and between-song weirdness. Yet the Persuasions remain truest to Zappa in the rich sonic fabric woven by their commanding choral blends. With an appeal to doo-wop fans and Zappa-heads alike, Frankly A Cappella makes a Persuasive case indeed.

by Drew Wheeler

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