Funk Brothers Music

The Isley are the chameleons of music. These guys have been makink hits for decades, decades. This album, while excellent, is just a tip of what they have done. For the novice collector, this a good starter Isley album. For the more seasoned collector, shame on you if you don't have these recordings already. Ronald Isley puts all these new new jack, hip-hop, r&b singers(and I use the term loosely)to shame. He is the ultimate falsetto. Can anyone touch him on "for the love of you"? "coolin me out"? "don't say goodnight"? I think not.

I wanted to buy an Isley Bros. Greatest Hits package and had this recommended to me. It is brilliant. Superb music and a great pair of CDs. I can't recommend this highly enough -- every track is outstanding.

If you love the Isley's later (1970s) music, this compilation has all their best and, unlike most compilations, no mediocre songs. Everything on both discs is either a very good, great or outstanding song (mostly the latter two superlatives). I considered buying a one-disc greatest hits record, but this set had too many must-have songs to fit on just one disc. All their most famous hits like "That Lady," "It's Your Thang" etc are included, but what makes this set stand out are all the gems that most other compilations miss, like "Don't Say Goodnight," "Groove With You", and "Fight the Power." If you're a die-hard Isley Brothers fan, then I can't recommend this CD set enough.

Sorry for your troubles Roni, but your voice is dead on this concert. However, your band is fabulous. I must keep it real!

Good DVD to showcase this group in a small venue setting. I've been to their outdoor concerts and they've done a great job there, too. But this is nice!

Not at all what I expected. Wish I had saved my money

I friend of mine gave me the DVD. This is the best DVD in my entire collection. High Def pic, DTS surround and wonderful tunes too. Real value for money.

THE DVD HAS GREAT COLOR THE MUSIC IS FINE THE DANCERS ARE OK;
BUT RON ISLEY NEEDS TO RECORD IN THE STUDIO AND LEAVE LIVE
PERFORMANCES TO THE YOUNG FOLKS WHO CAN BREATHE AND SING AT THE
SAME TIME. HE HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL VOICE BUT SEEMED OUT OF BREATH AND COULDNT HIT THE HIGH NOTES IT WAS VERY NOTICABLE AND
EVEN THE DANCERS AND BACK GROUND SINGERS COULDNT HELP HIM. ERNIE NEEDS TO FIND HIMSELF ANOTHER LEAD SINGER.

Purchased this as a gift for my husband and he LOVES the Isley Brothers. He woke me up at 6am playing "Lay,Lady,Lay" so I think he loves it. A great selection for Isley Brother fans :)

this Compilation of the Isley's is Pretty Good but this pre-dated the 3+3 Era where they truly exploded&found there Own Groove&Idenity fully.how I wish they had a Live Album from anywhere between 76-79 showcasing there Growth when Compared to when this Album dropped? don't get me wrong this is a pretty Good set,but what came after this Set with there way of Producing,Arranging&balancing Slow&Funky Jams totally flipped there Script.The Isley Brothers are truly the Greatest Band in America Ever.then Comes Earth,wind&Fire.

I can't agree with any rating less than a 5 star!

The Isley Bros took 5 awesome tunes from other bands and made them all so much better! "Too Late" from Carly Simon is dreamily long, and you'll even want it to keep going (over 12 minutes long). Their rendition of "Love The One You're With" by CSN&Y is less country than the original. This one is lively and energetic. "Lay Lady Lay" from Bob Dylan is a beautiful improvement, better voice, better delivered, alive (and over 7 minutes long). "Ohio" by Neil Young is blended with the jagged "Machine Gun" by Jimi Hendrix, and is 12.5 minutes long! I listen to this blazing and passionate one over and over! They even decided to change the direct references to "Nixon" who was "running" for President again at about that time. (hmmm, surely not the first black Republicans???)

Hey, if you don't like longer-live rock, don't buy a live album. If you like live albums because the songs get extended and livened up, this one is awesome!

I'd have given it a 6 star if it had their Seals & Crofts blastin' remake of "Summer Breeze" and their own "That Lady" live and even longer than their long studio version!

Recorded at New York's infamous Bottom Line in 1972, THE ISLEYS LIVE serves as the last album released before the official announcement of the 3+3 lineup. The material is derived from the albums "Givin' It Back" (1971) and "Brother Brother Brother" (1972), and of course a hornless "It's Your Thing" is included (a version with horns appears as one the bonus cuts recorded live at Yankee Stadium in 1969). On this album, Ernie, Marvin and Chris display their ample talents although Ernie comes off as too loud and show-offy on the draggy "It's Too Late" and funeral-like "Ohio/Machine Gun". The recording quality is thin but adequate, and the lounge lizard techniques (i.e. Ronald impersonating Ray Charles and The Supremes At The Copa-like spoken intoduction to "Love The One You're With")wear a little thin. Overall, an imperfect but good document of the Isleys in concert before the gold and platinum album avalance that occured during the rest of the 1970s.

I'm a child of the seventies and I must say, there's no other group that comes close to the super bad Isley's brothers, except the The Temps of course.....me personally give the the Brothers a Five star review....because they are that gooooood thanks

I have always Been a Big Fan of the Isley Brothers&will always be.this Set highlights many of there Slow Cuts like "Foot steps in the dark",Between the Sheets"&then they turn up the heat on "Fight the Power"&showcse there Versatile side on "that Lady".these brothers could do whatever they wanted to do Musically&they always Brought the Slow Cuts&the Funk.this is a Great Introduction to the Music of the Isley Brothers.They are tied with Earth,Wind&Fire&Sly&the Family Stone as my Favorite Bands Ever.

WE'VE BEEN LOOKING TO REPLACE OUR ISLEY'S GREATEST HITS, VOL.1-1984-FOR YEARS. WANT TO PURCHASE A NEW COPY OF THIS CD. PLEASE E-MAIL us as soon as it becomes available. ROCKWITME

The Isley Brothers are one of those groups that should be in everyone's collections. The smooth voice of Ron Isley (aka Mr. Biggs) leads the group. I love the slow tracks, 1-5. The last three tracks are more up beat. Ron Isley has also worked with R. Kelley.

Bought this on tape about 15 years ago and while most of their late 60's-early 70's hits are here it isn't really enough. When will there be a Greatest Hits Volume 2? If you are a true Isley Bros. fan and have most of their albums then no need to bother with this collection.

I'm a child of the seventies and I must say, there's no other group that comes close to the super bad Isley's brothers, except the The Temps of course.....me personally give the the Brothers a Five star review....because they are that gooooood thanks

I have always Been a Big Fan of the Isley Brothers&will always be.this Set highlights many of there Slow Cuts like "Foot steps in the dark",Between the Sheets"&then they turn up the heat on "Fight the Power"&showcse there Versatile side on "that Lady".these brothers could do whatever they wanted to do Musically&they always Brought the Slow Cuts&the Funk.this is a Great Introduction to the Music of the Isley Brothers.They are tied with Earth,Wind&Fire&Sly&the Family Stone as my Favorite Bands Ever.

WE'VE BEEN LOOKING TO REPLACE OUR ISLEY'S GREATEST HITS, VOL.1-1984-FOR YEARS. WANT TO PURCHASE A NEW COPY OF THIS CD. PLEASE E-MAIL us as soon as it becomes available. ROCKWITME

The Isley Brothers are one of those groups that should be in everyone's collections. The smooth voice of Ron Isley (aka Mr. Biggs) leads the group. I love the slow tracks, 1-5. The last three tracks are more up beat. Ron Isley has also worked with R. Kelley.

Bought this on tape about 15 years ago and while most of their late 60's-early 70's hits are here it isn't really enough. When will there be a Greatest Hits Volume 2? If you are a true Isley Bros. fan and have most of their albums then no need to bother with this collection.

Marva Whitney, born May 1, 1944 in Kansas City, Kansas, began her career at the tender age of three while performing with members of her family under the billing The Manning Gospel Singers. After studying voice and composition at the University of Missouri in Kansas, she landed a job singing lead with Tommy Gadson & the Derbys, whose main claim to fame was being the opening act for the likes of The Drifters, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Rufus Thomas, Ike & Tina Turner, and even Little Richard and Etta James among others.

In 1967 she embarked upon a solo career when signed by James Brown Productions and King Records, traveling far and wide with The James Brown Revue, including one memorable visit to U.S. troops in Vietnam where, according to Brown, "she dodged just as many bullets as I did" - an act of heroism that earned her recognition by the U.S. Defense Department and the U.S. Ninth Infantry Division's brass.

In June 1969 she scored her first hit single for King when the answer song to The Isley Brothers' It's Your Thing, called It's My Thing (You Can't Tell Me Who To Sock It To), reached # 19 R&B and # 82 Billboard Pop Hot 100. Here they give you Parts 1 and 2 of the song, although the original King single had Ball Of Fire on the flipside, and that's not included here. In September, Things Got To Get Better (Get Together) made it to # 22 R&B and # 110 on the Hot 100 "bubble under" charts b/w Get Out Of My Life, and in November came her third (and last) hit single, I Made A Mistake Because It's Only You Pt. 1, which topped out at # 32 R&B b/w Part 2. All were produced by James Brown and all are in this collection.

Although a lucrative singles career avoided her, simply because she was far too funky to have made an impact on the more uptight, conservative pop charts, she did continue to perform with the Revue until the start of the 1970s, and also recorded the well-received King albums It's My Thing and Live and Lowdown At The Apollo before moving on to the Isley Brothers' T Neck label and, later, Nashboro Records [her sides with NAshboro have been re-released on CD by Ace of London so you know THAT'S a good buy].

From 1988 to 1993 she performed throughout Europe with the James Brown All-Stars [aka James Browns' Funky People] along with Vicki Anderson, Alfred Ellis, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Maceo Parker, and Fred Wesley, and in 2000 Soul Society Records re-released the LPs It's My Thing and Live and Low Down at the Apollo on both CD and Vinyl.

A dynamic, exciting singer who often out-funked the king of funk and who maybe arrived on the scene about a decade too early.

This is really very good. I mean that with a pained funky look on my face that says so much more than words ever could. There is more on here than on any compilation of breaks, beats, or whatever. Get this.

Marva Whitney recorded some of the funkiest and soulful tracks ever recorded by the James Brown machine. It is too bad that Polygram has made them unavailable on CD.
Soul Brothers Records of England put this record out. While I commend them for their effort to make this music available, the remastering job reveals the use of phonograph records. They got careless in the process leaving some tracks with noisy phonograph clicks and pops.(an audiophiles nightmare) The selection of tracks is excellent and some tracks such as "It's My Thing" and "I Made A Mistake" are remastered very well where rare recordings like the duet "Sunny" are scratchy and unnerving.
If You are a Marva Whitney Fan like me, you will probably buy this record. Audiophiles, Stay clear of this record.

FUNKY. INTENSE. SEARING. You want me to go on? I can. This album contains nary a weak track, and we are lucky it's available on CD.

Marva Whitney was one of the greatest vocalists Mr. James Brown worked with. Her voice is a force of nature; raw, gutsy, passionate. Mr. Brown wrote or co-wrote most of this album, in addition to producing and arranging it. He's also evident throughout on backing vocals and organ. If you love James Brown and you don't know about this, it's time to order it. In fact, if you love the music of James Brown it is literally impossible to not love this. Guaranteed.

The band works these grooves like a well-oiled machine; every instrument has a distinct purpose, nothing is out of place. It's almost supernatural how funky this music is. Even the slower tunes are funky. Leave it to James Brown to take a classic song like the Isley Brothers "It's Your Thing", re-write it, and basically obliterate it. Don't get me wrong, "It's Your Thing" is a great track, but when you hear Marva Whitney declare "It's MY Thing" you will believe her!

Two of the tracks are intrumentals, and they kick. "Shades Of Brown", in particular, is a stanky slab of nastiness.

One of my favorite moments on the whole record: In "If you Don't Work, You can't Eat", when James Brown instructs Ms. Whitney to call for Maceo to blow a solo. She calls for him, but even after Maceo is into his solo, James can't stop screaming out "Call him!!!!" It's just one of the many mindblowingly funky moments that defines this album.

There's a bunch of Bonus Tracks at the end of the album tracks. In all but one case, they equal the quality of the previous material. That one track that doesn't quite cut it (second to last track) is a Burt Bacharach tune. By no means an embarrassment, it just kinda comes across awkwardly, feels out of place.

The sound quality is less than perfect, though considering it's age, it's more than listenable. A few tracks have some audible distortion that can be a bit distracting. But thankfully, the bottom end is full and deep, the bass and drums really kick.

This album is one of those reminders of how good life can be. Fans of funk, r&b, and soul shouldn't even think twice about snagging this one.

A very unusual pairing, to say the least. With all due respect to "It's Our Thing," I'm going to review "Go All the Way" since I became a fan of The Isley Brothers in the 3+3 era.

While it falls short of the exemplary standards set by the 3+3 era's first six albums, "Go All the Way" more than matches up with their other albums. The lead single "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)" is a steamy let's-go-the-bedroom ballad, one of the best the brothers Isley recorded, IMO. The midtempo "Here We Go Again" is one of my favorite songs from the 3+3 era, with Ronald Isley's calm voice melding well with the song's polished production.

The rest of the album has the familiar silky-guitar-laden funk, but with a smoother, more danceable arrangement. Ronald Isley's vocals are more restrained and Ernie Isley has only one guitar solo, on the mellow "Say You Will." "Say You Will" and the dance-oriented "Pass It On" are the other highlights on an album that was a good rebound from the (IMO) disappointing "Winner Takes All."

The quintessential Isley Brothers album It's Our Thing is finally on CD. Unfortunately, it's paired with an extremely weak disco album from 1980 and is recorded from an LP source. Although it has been cleaned up, clicks and pops are still audible. This is hardly better than my own LP to file dub. In very small print, the liner notes state that the original master recording is missing. I guess they'll be no deluxe edition of this short but excellent LP.

[DW]

Finally the Go All The Way CD. This had a couple of hit on it.
You finally get Here we go again!
Isley Fans have to happy. I just don't like the ideal of pairing it with the "It's Our Thing" CD, and the price.
With that I have to give it 4 out of 5.

This is the best news I've heard all day. I remember asking Amazon to keep me informed when this album became available and sure enough they delivered.

This is one of my favorite musical groups of all time and my favorite album from 1980. It just goes to show that wishes really do come true.

Hang in there Ron Isley, I still love you and the brothers and I look forward to you doing more good music.

I recently purchased this CD, and while it is a good collection, there's a catch. The song that I bought it for, "Voyage to Atlantis" has been redone, and replaced with some in studio alternate version, that's not nearly as good as the original. there are 3 or 4 other songs like this too. I have no idea why the artists do this, unless they want to get the consumer soo frustrated that they eventually buy the original album.Other than this, its a good collection of their hits (except "Pop That Thing"), which should be on there.

this is a must have for anyone born in 1948. so many memories.
it will bring smiles when you recall the dances and the clothes.
a great collection!!!

With this 3 disc set, if you aren't old enough to remember the tunes from disc one, it will be disc two and three that will make the most of this collection. Even though they are missing quite a few songs, the remaining tune will take you over, especially if you are a die-hard Isley fan! Fair warning, at least three of their tunes are live studio recorded and may sound a little differently than you remembered, it will be very small compaired to what lies in store. From the kickin' to the groovin', here is a boxed set to cherish.

Who in the world put this thing together. How can they put a box set together and miss so many hits and great album cuts. This reminds me of the Earth, Wind & Fire box set. The music is great, and I love these guys and their versatility, but this should have been 4 or 5 discs instead of 3 discs. I'm glad I've got most of the albums so that I won't miss so many good songs. It's very frustrating as a fan that we can't get every hit, isn't that why it is a box set and not a "greatest hits" package. The label probably does this so that you will buy the albums just to get the missing songs.

Not many groups that got their start in the 1950's have continued to have a successful recording career into the new millenium. The Isley Brothers are the exception to the rule. Entering their fifth decade of hitmaking, the groups track record proves that talent can truly transcend time. The 50 songs spread over three CD's cover the years 1959 to 1996. Career highlights such the Isley's first hit "Shout"(pts 1&2), "Twist And Shout", "This Old Heart Of Mine", "It's Your Thing", as well as 70's classics like "That Lady", "For The Love Of You", and "Fight The Power" are included. This set does have it's drawbacks however. Even with three discs there's a lot missing, particularly from the 70's and 80's period. Key singles and album tracks such as "Choosey Lover", "Livin' The Life"/"Go For Your Guns", "It's A Disco Night(Rock Don't Stop)", "Hurry Up And Wait", "Inside You", "I Wanna Be With You", "The Winner Takes All", aren't in this package. On top of that hits such as "Groove With You", "Voyage To Atlantis", and "Don't Say Goodnight(It's Time For Love)" are not the original album versions but alternate versions cut live in the studio in 1980. In my opinion it would have been better to make this collection a four disc set instead of three. On the positive side, the collection is well packaged with a silver foil slipcase, a nice booklet, and has been nicely remastered. Now that the Isley's classic 70's albums "The Heat Is On" and "Harvest For The World" have been remastered, hopefully the folks at Legacy will be doing the rest soon. Good box set, but not definitive.

There's no vocals on this CD- IT'S ALL INSTRUMENTALS. If you like the all instrumental works of people like Steve Howe and Steve Hackett, you'll like this. If you're looking for something that sounds like Ramblin Man or Whipping Post, this is probably not what you're looking for.