The Stylistics

The incredibly satisfying debut from an archetypal Philly soul group that was as influential as it is seductive. Lead singer Russell Tompkins' tender and aphrodisiac falsetto is the centerpiece of "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" and "Betcha By Golly Why," while producer Thom Bell wisely chooses an understated background accompaniment that never overwhelms the vocals.

I try to be hip and think like the crowd, but when it comes to vocal harmony I'll take a black falsetto group over some privileged anti-barbershop quartet--especially if they have songs. I'll even let them have a pastoral fantasy--seems like a fair antithesis to their urban reality, an antithesis captured neatly on "Country Living" by the clash of extreme artifice and back-to-nature rhetoric. The first side doesn't quit, and although I could do without the silly (and musically long-winded) politics of "People Make the World Go Round" on the second, I can also make do with them. (Grade - A-)