Prior to their debut recording session for Specialty Records in 1952, Label owner Art Rube advised the Swan Silvertones to "really shout and make everybody happier and make the old sisters fall out and really tear down the building!". The Swans, often regarded as a "smooth" quartet, were in a stylistic transition during the three years they spent at Specialty and the company succeeded in bringing out their harder, churchier edge. These 18 selections were never previously released. Eight were recorded in the studio and ten in front of a live audience, all capturing the famous group singing and testifying as it haven't before or since.