In 1971 younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and brother-in-law Chris Jasper began recording with the trio of older brothers. This 1973 release is the first time that the group officially expanded to six members. It is also their breakout that ushered in a decade of top ten record releases.
It kicks off with That Lady, Ronald's voice and a funky arrangement make for a great single. James Taylor's Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight is the first of several seemingly odd cover choices. Of course Ronald nails it over Ernie's acoustic guitar. The fast-paced If You Were There sounds like Stevie Wonder, clavinet and all. The brother's harmonies light up You Walk Your Way. And then the Stevie Wonder funk is applied to the Doobie Brothers' Listen To The Music, with wah wah guitar and more clavinet. It sounds crazy wrong, but they pull it off again. That's one perfect album side. It used to be a thing.
What It Comes Down To features Chris Jasper's piano and a hot guitar solo. Then Johnathan Edwards' Sunshine (Go Away Today) (it's funky) and Seals and Crofts' Summer Breeze (saved by an outro guitar solo) are adapted quite well to Isley style. The pretty, mid-tempo ballad The Highways Of My Life closes out a solid record. The secret weapons are the infusion of youth with the new members, and Ronald Isley's voice that should be listed among only the finest.
It deserved to be the biggest break of their career, and they kept good records coming for quite some time after this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment