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Vintage 1950s doo-wop albums seldom included much gospel, doo-wop's heavenly yet earthly source. In contrast, albums by doo-wop revivalists the Persuasions unite the two cousins. Sincerely may be their most sanctified album in decades. For holy humor, the quartet even play baseball against Satan in a remake of Sister Wynona Carr's "Life Is a Ballgame." *** The Persuasions
SINCERELY
(Bullseye Blues)
Rarely content merely to copy moldy oldies, the men with no band here add extra parts in a medley of Brook Benton's solo hits. The title track roughens up the Moonglows' smooth 1954 original with raspy cries of ecstasy above a bubbly bass. A lagging lothario's "Can't Do Sixty More" may poke fun at their own advancing years and softening voices, but their multi-textured streetcorner symphonies are still sublime.
-- Bruce Sylvester
(The Persuasions perform at the Museum of Fine Arts this Wednesday, August 28, following a screening of Spread the Word, a documentary film about their lives and career.)
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