Funk Brothers Music

The same talent and energy of the old Brecker Brothers, but a whole new "thang." Outstanding composing, excellent improvisation, tight ensemble and great energy. This is one of my favorites. (I also recommend "Out of the Loop" - another outstanding recording from the Bros - won a Grammy the year to came out and for good cause!)

Take away the hip-hop, the samples (it's LAZY music, man) and Randy's bad singing (why does he do it - I hope it's meant as a bit of fun, but I fear otherwise; listen to some of his solo albums) this is a full-on high-octane, high-range, rubber-burning horn set that defined their sound over a decade earlier. It's tinged with the nineties' sound of world-music synth rhythms, which is not a criticism (I particularly like 'Wakaria' with it's quirky rhythms and tribal chant tip). I'm not a lover of Hip-hop, and would take sampled music and strap it to a large explosive device if only someone would ask; however, this is definately the Return of the Brecker Brothers. Welcome back boys, it's been a long time.

This is an inspired album, that carves in relief the kaleidoscopic creativity of these outstanding musicians brothers.

The front page of the CD is eloquent and talks by itself. This album goes over many different rhythms with such mastery and enraptured vision that has meant not only one of the best albums in the whole discography of these brothers, but besides a never ending motive to enjoy their craft: innovativeness of first order. You will never let disappointed with this album.

Praising recommended.

Fusion, when done right, can be one of the most exciting genres of music..harnessing the power and majesty of rock or the rhythmic inventions of funk (or both) while filtering in the subtle melodicism of jazz. The Brecker Brothers were one of the bands there with their "skunk funk" at the beginning, when the genre hit its stride in the early 70s. This was their first album since 1980.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Jazz purists will hate the hip-hop influenced "Big Idea" but it has one of the better musical grooves on the album to my ears. I think the addition of Veera's electronicly altered voice was a bit much though. Peppy somewhat Latin flavoured "Above and Below" reminds me a bit of Chick Corea Elektric Band. "On the Backside" is a strutting chunk of mid-tempo funk with some nice trumpet/sax interplay by the Breckers and tasteful piano asides from George Whitty. "Sozinho" is a lovely flugelhorn based ballad though it's perhaps a bit too long. "Roppongi", the album closer, flirts with Brazilian rhythms and flits between several quirky melody/meter changes that somehow manage to hold together.

LOWS:
Randy Brecker makes an ill-advised attempt at singing on "That's All There is to It", a self-penned tune that's no great shakes in the lyric department though the skewed reggae arrangement is at least occasionally interesting musically. "Good Gracious" sounds like the theme song to some bad WB TV show.

BOTTOM LINE:
There are some good songs here and I enjoyed it enough to buy it, but I don't count it among my favourite jazz CDs or even my favourite fusion for that matter. There are some definite "skip" tracks. Listen for yourself and choose accordingly.

The first time I heard this album I wasn't so impressed, and put it aside. Now, several years later, I'm just listening to it, and can't understand why didn't I perceived all the beauty it has! It's amazing! very creative, and it's fun to listen to.
You must have it!

Dihelson Mendonça

there are always rare albums that you ever hear about.alot of the time you have to take yourself&dig through some crates to find something that everybody ain't talking about. this album is just that.Roy Ayers Guitarist James Mason brings the Heat on this tight album. now some of the tracks don't get the finishing touchings that Roy Ayers is so known for,but this Album has alot of cooking tracks.good thing slick city are tight grooves. there are alot of vamps here that will keep your head bopping.i dig the arrangements alot on here as well.

When I first heard this recording in 1977, I was mining the obscure Jazz labels for hidden treasures, and this jazzy funk/ groove item appeared , released by the Chiaroscuro label.

At the time, even as I kept the LP all these years, I thought it had the same "unfinished" quality I believe the 2 Shuggie Otis lps had, as if the record company didnt want to spend too much money on the musical "vision" of Mr Mason .

FUNNY FUNNY how things work, almost 25 yrs later, the minimalist approach to jazz and funk/soul as defined by the "acid jazz / new grooves" designation suddenly propels James Mason into the "visionary' category- he was doing these things back in the late 70's, as were Roy Ayers, Norman Connors, Lonnie Liston Smith, etc etc...... ( "these things" being Vamps and so -called "killer grooves" that take presidence over fully realized compositions. Sampling seems to me a major issue, it seems with many new fans for the evolution of this style ...)

NO SAMPLES HERE, just some like minded musicians puttin down a heavy vibe and playing "off of" one another, "interacting" instead of "interactive", if ya catch mah drift.........

JM proved a tough groover, adept at electric keyboards, funky guitar comping, and a "lead guitar" style very much in the 70's jazz/fusion mode.

A crack band, featuring the impeccable drums of Michael Walden, and the etherial vocals of Clarice Taylor, (with some guest spots by Philip Woo *piano* and Justo Almario's saxwork)--the session percolates with some firey grooves which meet with some nice modal progressions/ chord voicings that sound far more soulful than much of the sampled fare, you "FEEL" the musics pour from the musicians , pure magic!

"Sweet Power..." I believe is a dancehall hit now, and "Good Thing" , "Slick City", the lovely contemplative lyrics of "Dreams", I cant mention now each selection, but the cd runs track to track with pulsations& gesticulations , although the grooves can get a bit frantic on a few cuts.(the 70's were a hectic decade, hehehehe!)

Some of the tunes just "die out" at the end as if not the final take,"unfinished" as i said before is the impression i have. ---- but HEY, cant have everything, can you?

What has become of James Mason, I think I will take a look , meanwhile , take a "look/listen" to this cd.

The long awaited (and surprising) release of this wonderful recording pretty much finished off my list of "My Favorite Albums That I'll NEVER See On CD". I was a buyer for a wholesale music distributor at the time of its original release and I have no recollection of what drew me to it in the first place (other than a fanatic quest to discover great, obscure music) but it was one of the main reasons that I kept my turntable hooked up even as friends chided me for being so "quaint"! Way back then (1977) Billboard Magazine would call me (and dozens of other buyers) up for sales reports on which to base their Top 100 (etc) charts and this was one of the few times that I lied through my teeth about sales figures to try to help generate some "buzz" for the record. Didn't help but I did my best...

The recording sound is a tad under produced by today's standards but the soaring melodies driven by Mason's incredible compositional and musical talents, a FANTASTIC rhythm section and Clarice Taylors drop down dead gorgeous vocals more than make up for any technical shortcomings. I've tried for years to find out what happened to him after the release of "Rhythm Of Life" but have been unsuccessful thus far. Clarice Taylor went on to record for an artist, whose name escapes me now, on Tomato Records in the late `70's and then seemed to drop out of sight as well.

Fans of Incognito, "Acid Jazz" in general and perhaps Swing Out Sister will probably find this recording to their liking although "Rhythm Of Life" has somewhat of a more Progressive/Jazz/Funk vibe to it.

i got this bad boy in the mail and it came in perfect condition.this album has been sampled many times over by hip- hop and rap artists alike.

my favorite line from "funk to the folks:"

"we want brother man to get hip!
drugs,pills,you don't have to take it!
find god, wind up on a love trip!
1,2, sock it to ya biscuit!"......I LOVE THAT LINE!

Truly a Classic Soul/Funk album to have in your collection.

Like the lead-in story stated, it was absolutely criminal that it took this long for The Isley Brothers' "Showdown" to be released in the United States as a stand-alone album. After "The Heat Is On" and "Go for Your Guns" this is arguably the best of the group's legendary 3+3 era.

Like its predecessors ("3+3," "Live It Up," and "Harvest for the World," in addition to the previously mentioned), "Showdown" is great and creative in most spots. From the live concert feel of "Take Me to the Next Phase" to the laid-back, bass-slapping title track and "Coolin' Me Out" to the cool, clean ballad "Groove with You" to the bluesy "Ain't Givin' Up No Love" to the righteously funky "Rockin' with Fire," the album combines the fire of "Go for Your Guns" and the melodic offerings of "Harvest for the World."

While the group made several good to above-average follow-up albums, "Showdown" would rank as the last of the truly monster 3+3 sets. Get your hands on it while you can.

Excellant and should have others albums by the Isley Brothers such as Inside You and The Real Deal.

I suspect that "Showdown" and "Grand Slam" were paired together because the album cover of "Grand Slam" looks like a painting of what The Isley Brothers wore on the "Showdown" album. In a sense of irony, the former album is arguably the last great 3+3 album, while the latter was the beginning of their creative decline.

"Showdown" is as brilliant as the previous five 3+3 albums, "3+3," "Live It Up," "The Heat Is On," "Harvest for the World" and "Go for Your Guns." The lead single "Take Me to the Next Phase" had a live concert approach and the album was filled with classic Isley rockers (the appropriately named "Rockin' with Fire"), bluesy funk ("Ain't Givin' Up No Love"), laid-back grooves ("Coolin' Me Out" and the title track) and another definitive ballad (the cool, clean "Groove with You"). If anything, it's a shame this album was not released as a separate set (I bought a separate import album of "Showdown" about 10 years ago).

When "Grand Slam" was released, the rumors already started that the younger members (Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper) were having creative difference with the older members (Ronald, Rudolph and O'Kelly Isley). I always suspected that "Grand Slam" was a hodgepodge of Isley tracks slapped together to have an album out there in case they did break up; unlike their previous albums (including "Winner Takes All" and "Go All the Way") there is no sense of consistency.

"Who Said," "Don't Let Up" and "Party Night" sound like leftovers from "Winner Takes All" (basically The Isley sound with a dancefloor/disco feel). "Tonight Is the Night" reminded me too much of The Floaters' "Float On." Like "Winner Takes All," you have a case of where The Isleys were letting their sound be influenced by others instead of the other way around.

The only songs I liked on the album are the breezy ballad "I Once Had Your Love (and I Can't Let Go)" and "Hurry Up and Wait," which has a melody that hearkens to the older Isleys' "Work to Do." Which is not surprising, because they have that vintage Isleys sound.

Given my obvious dissatisfaction with "Grand Slam," the rating I'm giving is reflective of how much I enjoy "Showdown."

Showdown for me was the last of the Classic Isley RUn of the Funk and Smoothed out albums on a whole. it was a Banger with alot of jams. Grand Slam had a couple of decent jams,but the album felt rushed in some places. trademark Ernie Isley Guitar runs, Chris Jasper on the Keys and Ronald knocking it out vocally but you could pick up some burn out after knocking out so many tight albums and Jams for years. still this is a tight combo right here and this highlights the late 70's funk and Soul vibe of the Great Isley's. i have both of these on Record. always been a Huge fan of the Isley's and always will be. dig all era's of Isley's.

Well Isley fan's here it is finally the chance to own two good albums on CD from the past. You got Showdown, Coolin' Me Out, Grove With You etc.. I'm just glad they are fianlly availiable. If you dont have the you have you better get them.

More funk from one of the greatest bands in history...during the 80's, Groove With You is considered an Isley Brothers classic. Take Me To the Next Phase, Coolin' Me Out and Tonight Is The Night are legendary Isley Brothers stuff. It's remastered for a stronger and noise free sound. How could you be unhappy with 2 Isley bros. albums for the price of one? Can't go wrong with this selection.

This double CD set includes classic Isley slow jams. If you love 70s music, if you love Isley Brothers 70s music, this CD is a must have for your collection.