Chirpin'

Some fans consider this the Persuasions' best album, which may or may not be the case, but there's no doubt that it's among their most varied and ambitious. The centerpiece (and one of the group's few self-penned songs) is "Women and Drinkin'" a cautionary epic (nearly seven minutes long) about fast living, based around a riff from Parliament's "I Just Want to Testify." Other highlights include a great version of Tony Joe White's "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" (neatly reversing the original's sexual and racial politics), a beautiful take on the doo-wop revival classic "Looking for an Echo,' and a hilarious run through of the Rivingtons' novelty rocker "Papa Oom Mow Mow."