Might as Well...The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead

AMG Review of Might as Well...The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead

Steve Cooper
All Music Guide

The year 2000 has been a busy year for these veteran, a cappella stalwarts. April saw the release of their highly acclaimed Frankly A Cappella, which is the Persuasions' tribute album to the man who gave them their first major-label break, Frank Zappa. The complex vocal arrangements are nothing short of transcendent, fully expressing Zappa's R&B roots with a surplus of soul and creativity. It is a shot from left field that ranks with the Persuasions' very best album, Chirpin'. Therefore, one could be forgiven for supposing that Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead, released a scant six months after the Zappa affair, would be an inferior rush job seeking to cash in on the success of its predecessor. One would, thankfully, be quite wrong. The same love, care, and creativity is put into the Grateful Dead tribute as was placed in the Zappa homage. In other words, this release is somewhat expected, and it still delivers. The song choices are more eclectic than might be expected, leaning heavily on the Garcia/Hunter songbook. A special surprise is a little-performed, later-period Garcia/Hunter composition "Lazy River Road." The Persuasions take Hunter's dewy metaphors to church when they harmonize the lyric "All night long I sang love's sweet song/Down where the water flowed/Down along Lazy River Road." Even the obvious covers shine with originality. Lead singer Jerry Lawson delivers "Bertha" as a knock-down soul shout. Bass singer Jimmy Hayes takes the lead on "Ship of Fools," slowing it down to a tantalizing, extended lope. Bob Weir's "One More Saturday Night," on the other hand, is sped up a notch or three and rocked to the rafters. A wise touch is the inclusion of very occasional instrumentation from former Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick on "Ship of Fools" and "One More Saturday Night," and Aoxomoxoa sideman Pete Grant on pedal steel for "It Must Have Been the Roses." Former Garcia Old and in the Way bandmate Peter Rowan soulfully trades lead vocal chores with Jerry Lawson on "Sugaree." These guest touches help cement a Dead ambience, even among these mostly R&B arrangements. Thirty-five years into their career and the Persuasions are on a major roll.