Recorded in 1969, but not officially released until 10 years later, these are the first studio efforts by the group that, more than anyone else, served as the keeper of the flame for the acapella R&B group vocal tradition. Take 6, for example, would have been all but unthinkable without the Persuasions as role models. Later albums would find the group performing contemporary pop and soul songs in their own style, but here they're doo-wop classicists, either covering genre hits like the Heartbeats "A Thousand Miles Away," or the earlier pop standards such as "Stardust," "Ebb Tide," and "Old Man River" that the original doo-wop groups were wont to deconstruct. Bottom line--what's here is gorgeously sung.