Complete United Artists Sessions

The Isley Brothers

Released on 01/01/1991 by EMI Gold
Main artists: The Isley Brothers
Genre: R&B

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United Artists Records was one of about a half-dozen labels that the Isley Brothers were signed to during their first seven years, and all 20 tracks that they left behind (four of them previously unissued) appear on this CD. That makes this disc especially valuable, as only a single United Artists track made it onto Sony's three-CD retrospective on the group, and also very frustrating, as it is out-of-print as of 2002. In contrast to their RCA Victor sides, some of which tended toward pop, the group's United Artists records were solidly ensconced in soul music -- loud, raw, pounding, exuberant, yet often melodic and always memorable, and rousing from front to back, without a clinker in the bunch. Their music here initially evolved directly out of their Wand Records hits "Twist and Shout" and "Twistin' With Linda," but quickly moved beyond the somewhat predictable (though delightful) "Surf and Shout." Jimi Hendrix joined the Isley Brothers' backing group as lead guitarist during their stay at United Artists, but even before his arrival, there was good, solid punchy guitar to be heard on jaunty, rocking numbers like "Stagger Lee." Juxtaposed with the latter is the gloriously lyrical ballad "You'll Never Leave Him," showing off a soft harmony side to the trio's singing that was frequently overlooked in favor of their dance numbers; they also add more variety to the singing on Hank Ballard's "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go" than most listeners thought the song was capable of containing, and with a gorgeous sax solo in the middle to boot. Their versions of "Long Tall Sally" and "Do the Twist" showed more vocal embellishment than either song was usually given, and surrounding those covers are beautiful originals like "My Little Girl" (which also shows up in a faster-tempo alternate take), offering the purest soaring harmonies and a beat that borrows very creatively from "Stand by Me," and shattering, pounding, gospel-tinged ballads like "Lord Open up Her Eyes." The latter dates from January 14, 1964, the one United Artists session to include Hendrix in the band, and assuming that it is him playing, his contributions are much less flashy than one would expect; he's out there a tiny bit on a pair of previously unissued instrumentals, "The Basement" and "Conch," but otherwise plays in only a slightly more animated manner than most of his contemporaries. The sound is good if not exceptional, and the annotation offers the most extensive career-wide history of the group available on any anthology of their work. There's also a very handy discography that goes far beyond the boundaries of their United Artists releases.

© Bruce Eder /TiVo

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Complete United Artists Sessions

The Isley Brothers

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Surf And Shout (Remastered 1991)