Kind words for
Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead

"you done Jerry & me proud." - Robert Hunter
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They're wonderful! It's both entertaining and edifying to hear these guys, 'cause that's American musical heritage. I think [audiences] are going to love it, and they're also going to come back with... an understanding of some of the stuff that [the Dead] used to do. What we used to do at the end of 'He's Gone' comes from that vein of American musical heritage.... They're every bit as good at what they do as the Golden Gate Quartet or the Swan Silvertones, only it's secular music." - Bob Weir

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[ NPR's Lost and Found Sound did a fantastic piece titled "Persuading the Dead" on October 20. Visit their site to hear the audio and read some additional materials, including some words from Robert Hunter. ]

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"Might As Well is magnificent, and anyone who cares about music needs to own it." - Cozmic Debris 12/2000

"...an a cappella tour de force that captures the Dead's soulfulness and transforms it into pure joy." -- Boston Sunday Herald 11/19/00

Last night we very much enjoyed the Persuations performance at the Hammerstein. They really seemed to "get" the material. Obviously they have a spiritual core as a group.... It's becoming clear to me that the legacy of the Dead is not going to be only the memories and tapes of their shows, but more importantly the songs themselves. It'll be very interesting to see how musicians continue to creatively interpret the material as the years go on. The Persuasions are one good example. - Eric Taylor

...the hands-down highlight of last night's show was The Persuasions! Besides being an amazing opening act, when they joined Bob Weir on stage for a rendition of LIBERTY it can best be described as The Four Tops Meet The Jefferson Airplane. I was blown away!! If you don't have the recent Persuasions album, you really should pick it up! - Dr. R.V. Michelson

The Persuasions' ``Might As Well'' is sort of soul's reclaiming of the Dead. The Marin band spent enough time stretching soul classics into silly putty jams. Now, these soulful a cappella singers tighten up and play right, putting the funk back into tunes such as ``Ship of Fools'' and ``He's Gone.'' Take a listen: For the first time you can actually make out a lot of the lyrics....will please even Dead haters. - Brad Kava in the San Jose Mercury News

The Ship Of Fools with Vince Welnick alone makes the disc worth buying! Great liner notes, great music, a wonderful effort. I might have to go out on a limb and say that this is the best GD-related studio effort since American Beauty ... - Kevin McCormack

Their sound [at Bimbo's October 18] was full and rich, and their personalities shine through whatever they do, making for a very enjoyable presentation.... the Persuasians chose songs that were very appropriate to their style. All the latter-day, gospel-style Jerry ballads were right on, and their version of Liberty was, imo, a showstopper. I felt I was hearing it the right way for the very first time. Lazy River Road was another excellent selection in this same vein. Might as Well, with the female a cappella group Mary Schmary (love those gals!) was also very good -- even if you didn't appreciate the cover one couldn't help but be caught up in the enthusiasm and just plain FUN these folks were having up on stage.

A solo Ship of Fools by their bass man, accompanied by Vince on the piano, was different. Vince in full evening dress was a delicious sight as well ... the guy certainly has style and his piano playing is beautiful. Very nice to hear him in that sort of setting, and I suppose there was no backup vocals as a way to highlight the piano even more (as well as to facilitate the costume change from standard black suits to wildly colorful tie-dye T-shirts, which looked mahhvalous!!).

.... This is a great set of covers by a wonderful group. Buy it, you'll like it. - Karen Hicks

I picked this 'record' up last week and still continue to be blown away by it. It's amazing the power you can get out of the human voice! Anyone who has not bought this yet should RUN to the nearest store and snag it. You will soon feel that this is an absolute gem in your GD collection. Of all the Dead cover discs I have heard, this is the ONE that you must have! - Mike Labinski

Might as Well is a real motherfucker of a record. I can't get enough of it.... You've really captured it, reconfigured these songs as the spiritual hymns they've always deserved to be. My wife, who's never been much of a Deadhead, listened to it yesterday in the car and was really grooving to it. I didn't tell her it was all Dead music (she only knew Ripple) till about halfway through and she said, "Nawww." - Jeff Tamarkin

Whew. I've known these guys for 22 years, and I've never heard them sound this good with so much great material. Finally --fucking finally-- somebody produced them who understands who they are and what they're all about. The arrangements are incredible. Everything just works so well. Man, I don't know what else to say, except that Jayne and I are sitting here darn near speechless with wonder and amazement. For two people with Mercury in Aries, that's saying plenty. - Jef Jaisun

what a great album ... WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO ... they sound like R&B seraphims.... they make the sound - with their voices - akin to what you hear for that nanosecond after you hit your head on something real hard ... before you start seeing stars.... it is the best ... it's like the sound you hear right as the N20 hits ... that BIG FULL WARM FUZZY "come here big boy" SOUND ... i love their blend ... it's got intonations that i didn't even know existed - Lindsay Planer

Damn is the Persuasions CD HOT!! I will go out on the limb and say it is easily the best Compilatation CD, so far, of others doing GD Material. GET IT!!! I thought Jimmy was going to blow my sub-woofer system. there is not a thing about this CD that i don't like. - RPMcMurphE@aol.com

...we received the Persuasions and it totally rocks!! I played "He's Gone" and the phone lit up... Great job!!! - Drea Stein, KDHX St. Louis

I have already been formulating a mental list of non-Deadhead friends I would like to give this CD to. I'm thinking maybe this would be a great idea for Christmas gifts, it would sure help cut down on the hours I would have to spend shopping and trying to figure out what to get!! ... I was afraid that I was so hyped about it that the actual CD might be a let down, but boy was I wrong!! It is SWEET. - Tim Hinds

For those who have not checked out the new Persuasions CD.........WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??????????? From beginning to end, the smile never left my face. Absolutely awesome. -Allan Stevens

Great night at Bimbo's last night! The Persuasions rocked, I mean ROCKED the house with their beautiful voices, smooth harmonies, boundless enthusiasm, and total appreciation of the music they were singing. They snuck in a few non-Dead tunes, including an excelent doo-wop medley of Sincerely, Goodnight Sweetheart, Speedo, and a few other tunes from that era.... The Persuasions were impeccably dressed in black tuxes, except for Jerry Lawson, the lead singer, who was in a white tux....later in the show, after a duet with Jimmy Hayes and Vince Welnick doing Ship of Fools, the rest of the group returned to the stage wearing tie-dye T-shirts.... brought down the house! And a finale of We Bid You Goodnight with everyone onstage was the perfect ending to a perfect evening. - Carol Gould

Read the reviews at amazon.com

SonicNet review of the 10/18/00 CD release party

Tim Lynch's CD review at pauserecord.com