Search - Isley Brothers :: Original Album Classics

"...Go Where You Want To Go...Be What You Want To Be...That'

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 01/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Original Classic Albums" (Epic 88697304842) is one of those dinky 5CD card-repro mini box sets from Sony and it breaks down as follows:



Disc 1 is the LP "The Brothers: Isley", issued November 1969 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3002 and June 1970 in the UK on Liberty SSL 10300 (30:43 minutes)

[All 9 tracks are originals]



Disc 2 is the LP "Get Into Something", issued February 1970 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3006 (39:48 minutes)

[All 10 tracks are originals]



Disc 3 is the LP "Givin' It Back", issued September 1971 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3008 (41:56 minutes)

[All 7 tracks are cover versions:

1. Ohio/Machine Gun [Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young/Jimi Hendrix - segued as one]

2. Fire And Rain [James Taylor]

3. Lay Lady Lay [Bob Dylan]

4. Spill The Wine [War]

5. Nothin' To Do But Today [Stephen Stills]

6. Cold Bologna [Bill Withers - also features BW on Guitar]

7. Love The One You're With [Stephen Stills]]



Disc 4 is the LP "Brother, Brother, Brother" (credited to "The Isleys"), issued June 1972 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3009 (38:03 minutes)

[All 8 tracks are originals - except:

Tracks 1, 3 (Part 1 of) and 7 are "Brother, Brother", "Sweet Season" and "It's Too Late" (all Carole King covers) while track 2 is "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" (a Jackie DeShannon cover)]



Disc 5 is the LP "3 + 3", issued September 1973 in the USA on T-Neck KZ 32453 and November 1973 in the UK on Epic S EPC 65740 (43:13 minutes)

[All 9 tracks are originals - except:

Track 2 is "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" (a James Taylor cover), track 5 is "Listen To The Music" (a Doobie Brothers cover), track 7 is "Sunshine (Go Away Today)" (a Jonathan Edwards cover), track 8 is "Summer Breeze" (a Seals & Crofts cover) and track 10 is a CD bonus track, a live version of "That Lady" recorded in 1980]



The remastered sound quality is superb throughout and the 5 card sleeves repro the original American 'T-Neck' Records album covers front and rear. Unfortunately they're too small and blurry to actually read any details off of them, but you can download a full Sessionography for each album from Sony's online site [...] (download runs to 9 pages).



In truth I bought this mini box set for the "Givin' It Back" LP - their hard-to-find covers album from 1971. It's one of those fabulous lost soul gems you rarely ever see on vinyl let alone reissue CD (it pushes twenty-five sterling in places). "Givin' It Back" opens with a dynamite mix of CSYN's "Ohio" with Hendrix's "Machine Gun" and its genius - both songs imbibed with extraordinarily passionate Isley vocals (the Vietnam war and its protests looming everywhere in the lyrics). "Lay Lady Lay" is excellent too, but it does overstay its welcome at ten minutes plus. This is offset against a radically reworked version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain" which is brilliantly soulful.



That the other albums also contain such an embarrassment of riches is of course a blast - a constantly repaying bonus. Check out their stunning cover of Carole King's "It's Too Late" from her wonderful 1971 "Tapestry" album - it's ten minutes long, but this time it works - beautifully soulful with searing guitar work throughout. If I play it in the shop, it's guaranteed to have customers coming to the counter demanding a copy and wanting to know why they haven't heard such brilliance before. The brass on "Freedom" too (lyrics above) leaps out at you from the speakers. Another particular favorite of mine is "Work To Do" which the Average White Band practically made their own on their fabulous "Pick Up The Pieces" Atlantic Records "AWB" album from 1974.



So there you have it - properly great soul music in wonderful sound - and five albums worth of it too.



A wee peach of a thing - recommended big time.



PS: there's a full list of other artists in the "Original Album Classics" Series in the 'Cmment' section attached to this review"

Next best thing to outright theft

D. Galante | watchcity, Ma | 10/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Packaged together in 5 sleeves, here are some of the funkiest, soulful, delicious jams I have EVER heard packaged together at such a ridiculous price. My life is better after having purchased this.



Random thoughts:



-That solo in "That Lady"...worth the price ALONE.



-Givin' it Back is an exercise in making the great even GREATER.



-This set makes me wish I was black.



-No, really...the talent and quality on display here is DISGUSTING in its' scope and power...YIKES!!!



Yes, I'm drunk, but what I say is true.



"