The Flamingos - Flamingo Serenade (1959) [Reissue 1991]

I haven't searched my archives for the term "perfect pop song," but it's probably brutal, juice, brutal. And I'm just going through this Louis Armstrong box, so when I cast back for a pre-modern example, the best I have is "I Only Have Eyes For You". Could do worse, right? That thick cloud of background vocals, swathed in echo, occasionally sending a slow bolt of falsetto lightning to earth. Nate Newton, who was not long for the group, destroys the winking fog of previous versions in favor of a genuine blindness - "lovestruck" would be the operating term here. Anyway, this is just the most successful moldy-oldies interp on the record, but it's enough to get this record launched into space.

No matter how impeccable the lead delivery (and the two others tenors do a fantastic job), the Flamingos' secret is in the backing. "Where Or When," "But Not For Me" (SHOWSTOPPING switches between duets, solos, and the group concludes). There are a couple touches of exotica, too: "Love Walked In" begins with eerie whistling and slow clopping. And "The Breeze and I," the English-language cover of "Andalucia," is an all-time bloodhalt. It begins with a high lonesome wail, as lovely a voice as you'll find on wax. From there it's a mournful little commiseration, the tenor standing on a honeymooner's beach, listening for his bus, heart in his suitcase. Stunning. And while this ain't a perfect record, it's stocked with some perfect examples of the anodynic side of doo-wop, the staler song choices notwithstanding.