I used to love listening to The Isleys in the 6o's (my sister had everything by them) and my

favourite of them all was 'Behind A Painted Smile'(crackin' intro) and then it went kind of

quiet by them in the very early 70's until one day in 73 when my mate walked into my

house and said "Have You Seen Them F***in' Isleys?! They've gone all funky and they're all wearing capes!!

The record he was talking about was That Lady.....and it is in my top 10 of all time..

What is your answer?

Edited June 1, 200916 yr by webbydublin

60's - No contest!

Sean

60's - No contest!

Sean

I would say 70s no contest. They really defined a whole sound in the 70s, especially with Ernie's guitar playing. They were even ahead of their time in the 60s I would say but were less distinctive compared to their 70s output, the 60s stuff sounds more like other R&B of the time.

I used to love listening to The Isleys in the 6o's (my sister had everything by them) and my

favourite of them all was 'Behind A Painted Smile'(crackin' intro) and then it went kind of

quite by them in the very early 70's until one day in 73 when my mate walked into my

house and said "Have You Seen Them F***in' Isleys?! They've gone all funky and they're are wearing capes!!

The record he was talking about was That Lady.....and it is in my top 10 of all time..

What is your answer?

They did a great LP about 6 years back "Body Kiss" produced by R.Kelly

60s best, why when the love is gone

take some time out for love

tell me its just a rumour

no contest really

That Lady

Summer Breeze

Harvest For The World

Fight The Power

.........................no contest eh??

this old heart of mine

i guess i"ll allways love you

take me in you arms

behind a painted smile

put yourself in my place

60`S for me also, one of my favourite groups, its a very close thing between them and the temptations, love them both

yeh but i think they had a lot more good toons in 60s than the 70s

That Lady

Summer Breeze

Harvest For The World

Fight The Power

.........................no contest eh??

Summer Breeze and Harvest are really 'nice'... I've got pretty much all of their post Tamla output (and have a real soft spot for "Highways Of MyLife" "For The Love Of You" "Work To Do" but nothing from the T-Neck / Epic years compares to the awesome Power & Passion of Behind A Painted Smile, This Old Heart Of Mine, Tell Me It's Just A Rumour Baby, Why When Love Is Gone, It's Out Of The Question, My Love Is Your Love, Trouble etc.... then in the 80's they just fell into schmaltzville!

No contest fellas!

Sean

Oh... and "Fight The Power" is essentialy garbage.

Sean

Summer Breeze and Harvest are really 'nice'... I've got pretty much all of their post Tamla output (and have a real soft spot for "Highways Of MyLife" "For The Love Of You" "Work To Do" but nothing from the T-Neck / Epic years compares to the awesome Power & Passion of Behind A Painted Smile, This Old Heart Of Mine, Tell Me It's Just A Rumour Baby, Why When Love Is Gone, It's Out Of The Question, My Love Is Your Love, Trouble etc.... then in the 80's they just fell into schmaltzville!

No contest fellas!

Sean

my favorite isleys 60s material is actually their atlantic material, that is all awesome in my opinion. the motown stuff is good but just "motown" sounding. Besides who's that lady, the UA and veep stuff is pretty weak for me.

the motown stuff is good but just "motown" sounding.

I rest my case!

Sean

60s is in front by a mile according to most people on this post already

60s is in front by a mile according to most people on this post already

Hardly surprising to be fair... given the forum we're on.... similar thread a few weeks ago on the Modern Soul forum it was very much the other way, with folk getting in a lather about some of their 80's output.

No accounting for taste is there and personally I rate the group and much of their material, from all eras, but the Tamla years were far and away the best to these ears.

Sean

Sitting on the fence here, both for me, their time with Motown produced some of the best music for the label, maybe one of the few groups to succesfully 'move' on from Motown into a new era, 'Go For Your Guns' is a favorite album of mine with tracks like 'Voyage To Atlantis' & 'Footsteps In The Dark'.....Jimi Hendrix was a backing guitarist for The Isleys in the early days & the influence on Ernie Isley is obvious.

KTF

Baz

I used to love listening to The Isleys in the 6o's (my sister had everything by them) and my

favourite of them all was 'Behind A Painted Smile'(crackin' intro) and then it went kind of

quite by them in the very early 70's until one day in 73 when my mate walked into my

house and said "Have You Seen Them F***in' Isleys?! They've gone all funky and they're are wearing capes!!

The record he was talking about was That Lady.....and it is in my top 10 of all time..

What is your answer?

Summer Breeze and Harvest are really 'nice'... I've got pretty much all of their post Tamla output (and have a real soft spot for "Highways Of MyLife" "For The Love Of You" "Work To Do" but nothing from the T-Neck / Epic years compares to the awesome Power & Passion of Behind A Painted Smile, This Old Heart Of Mine, Tell Me It's Just A Rumour Baby, Why When Love Is Gone, It's Out Of The Question, My Love Is Your Love, Trouble etc.... then in the 80's they just fell into schmaltzville!

No contest fellas!

Sean

I'm with you Sean and would add "I Guess I'll Always Love You" into the mix as well.

I did buy their Epic stuff as they ventured into Rock n Soul BUT 60s by far!!

Sitting on the fence here, both for me, their time with Motown produced some of the best music for the label, maybe one of the few groups to succesfully 'move' on from Motown into a new era, 'Go For Your Guns' is a favorite album of mine with tracks like 'Voyage To Atlantis' & 'Footsteps In The Dark'.....Jimi Hendrix was a backing guitarist for The Isleys in the early days & the influence on Ernie Isley is obvious.

KTF

Baz

you must mean the influence ernie had on hendrix

The Haunting

"Tonight is the Night"

on Epic late 7ts brill

Definitely 60's - Surprising how little they actually did on Tamla and every one a double sider.

Tamla 54128 - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) / There's No Love Left (1966)

Tamla 54133 - Take Some Time Out For Love / Who Could Ever Doubt My Love (1966)

Tamla 54135 - I Guess I'll Always Love You / I Hear A Symphony (1966)

Tamla 54146 - Got To Have You Back / Just Ain't Enough Love (1967)

Tamla 54154 - One Too Many Heartaches / That's The Way Love Is (1967)

Tamla 54164 - Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) / Why When Love Is Gone (1968)

Tamla 54175 - Behind A Painted Smile / All Because I Love You (1968)

Come on Sean....You can't come out with

a statement about a tune like that without

giving any qualifying reasons...or maybe

you can cos we're all differerent ...and the bass line...BOSS!!

Sorry mate (been out for a few hours).

Appreciate the sentiment of your thread (you do come up with some goodies ).

Agreed isley's did some good stuff in the 70's, but like most classic and very wonderful artists their 70's material became overproduced diluted product in comparison to the raw Soulfulness from only a few years earlier.

'Fight The Power' could be 'War'... or almost any other 70's funk outfit. Trying to be 'hip' for the sake of it and missing out on all fronts (for me).

The message may have been reasonably strong, but the delivery was lost in its 'too funky for its own good' execution.

In truth, I wouldn't give it shelf room against the pure Soulfulness of a "This Old Heart of Mine" "Painted Smile" or "It's Out Of The Question".

It's Funky dance fodder.

No more.

(IMO)

Little sincerity... and just aint enough love!

Sean

Definitely 60's - Surprising how little they actually did on Tamla and every one a double sider.

Tamla 54128 - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) / There's No Love Left (1966)

Tamla 54133 - Take Some Time Out For Love / Who Could Ever Doubt My Love (1966)

Tamla 54135 - I Guess I'll Always Love You / I Hear A Symphony (1966)

Tamla 54146 - Got To Have You Back / Just Ain't Enough Love (1967)

Tamla 54154 - One Too Many Heartaches / That's The Way Love Is (1967)

Tamla 54164 - Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) / Why When Love Is Gone (1968)

Tamla 54175 - Behind A Painted Smile / All Because I Love You (1968)

DIG OUT THE ALBUM WITH SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND ON AND LISTEN WITH ON A GOOD STEREO OR HEADPHONES - THE PRODUCTION IS BRILLIANT ALONG WITH FANTASTIC VOCALS - STARTS WITH 2 OR 3 INSTRUMENT TUNE AND BY THE END THE MOTOWN PRODUCTION TEAM HAVE THROWN EVERY INSTRUMENT THAY COULD FIND INTO THE TUNE - LIKE ALL THEIR MOTOWN-CLASS.

huh huh

Edited May 30, 200916 yr by pauldicko

Actually,mate,l was once asked by a work-mate what l thought

the funkiest tune of all time was and l said 'Fight The Power'

so l hear what you are saying

Just going off topic.

I was talking to Jacqui from Darlo last night at the Morecambe Weekender.

She was telling me about you and the minibus at Bradford very funny

DIG OUT THE ALBUM WITH SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND ON AND LISTEN WITH ON A GOOD STEREO OR HEADPHONES - THE PRODUCTION IS BRILLIANT ALONG WITH FANTASTIC VOCALS - STARTS WITH 2 OR 3 INSTRUMENT TUNE AND BY THE END THE MOTOWN PRODUCTION TEAM HAVE THROWN EVERY INSTRUMENT THAY COULD FIND INTO THE TUNE - LIKE ALL THEIR MOTOWN-CLASS.

Killer trumpet towards the end

Remember it well,mate,it was the nearest l have been

to death...we were coming back from Bradford and we'd all had 'allsorts'

(especially me!) l was driving down a dual-carriageway in the centre of Leeds

and l got cramp in both legs at the same time,and you know what it's like

when your life flashes in front of you

THE HIGHWAYS OF MY LIFE!!

God, Jacqui didn't say it was that bad on the carriageway!!!

Still any close call you walk away from you can smile about afterwoods.

I like It's a Disco Night and some 70's stuff but

The Isley Brothers in the 60's out shines anything else they did. This Old Heart of mine is the greatest ever motown song written and done. That is what the Isley's did they made it a classic with there voices

Every song they did for Motown was pure classic from a good version of Stop in the name of Love (the best i find) to stuff like My Love Is Your Love. That to me can't be beaten so Isley Brothers for the 60's to me sounds so much better then anything from the 70's

Quite hard to pick their best era, unless you're strictly 60s or 70s only. I still love Shout, was that 50s, can't remember now? Respectable from that era is great too. I suppose my preference is for their Motown, This Old Heart Of Mine has great sentimental meaning for me, the first present Lesley bought me. But they did have the Motown sound, weren't quite as distinctive as they were on other labels, but the quality of the material is so high.

They made an appearance on Ready Steady Go prior to signing for Motown, sang their Atlantic single, The Last Girl, lovely piece of deep soul, worth listening to imo.

I like their 70s material, play Work To Do often when I get a set. Also like their disco tunes, prefer That Lady to earlier version. Summer Breeze, Harvest For The World and Between The Sheets were great. And the Body Kiss album is pretty good.

All in all they were a premier soul group with their 60s material just shading it for me, probably my favourites are This Old Heart Of Mine and The Last Girl.

I think it's irrelevant to pick the best era. I think it's more appropriate to respect the fact that they managed to stay amazing and relevant from the 50's to the 80's. Not many groups or artists have really done that. Maybe Donald Byrd qualifies on the jazz side.

Isley Bros version of "Nowhere to run"---propa power

bloody awesome, at the risk of sounding thick or not knowing anything, where is that track from, ?, must have missed it over the years, thanks for posting that

from a cd - Dance Dance Dance_ 20 Soul Weekender Classics

i'm going for 60's so much it's almost a non-question ....but.... and not surprising for me i'm going for late 50's /early 60's pre-motown is when they were at their best

i'm going for 60's so much it's almost a non-question ....but.... and not surprising for me i'm going for late 50's /early 60's pre-motown is when they were at their best

I looked at the CD and it says from 1964 EMI period.

I looked at the CD and it says from 1964 EMI period.

i was only answering the original question , what cd we talking about (obviously i have heard of cd but i don't like the things lol)

i was only answering the original question , what cd we talking about (obviously i have heard of cd but i don't like the things lol)

from a cd - Dance Dance Dance_ 20 Soul Weekender Classics

from a cd - Dance Dance Dance_ 20 Soul Weekender Classics

aaahhhh i see , i might be wrong but it sounds like a cd i'd rather lop off a nut than listen to i still say pre-motown was their best

aaahhhh i see , i might be wrong but it sounds like a cd i'd rather lop off a nut than listen to i still say pre-motown was their best

don't collect or DJ like your good self -- but just like to listen to some good sounds.... and they are cheap on cd that one cost me less than a fiver... thrifty west coast Scot.....