JAyyyysus this is a good album!

1983 on T-Neck Records

The last one they did before the line up change to Isley Jasper Isley.

Cinnie said:

Cinnie said:

I concur Cee, the only tune I don't too much care for is Gettin' Over. The rest of this album always got rotation time by me..

A well rounded album midtempo, uptempo and cuts to bump and grind too.


Chris synth play and the drum programing on this album is cool Ernie even got some licks in on Choosey Lover, Rock You Good & Ballad For The Fallen Solider...

Touch Me has to be my sleeper Ballad on this album.

I have this album on vinyl.Side One is strictly for the bedroom..."Choosey Lover","I Need Your Body",title track,"Let's Make Love Tonight"....you get the point


I can't recall Side Two very well,but I do remmeber the track "Ballad For The Fallen Soldier".Powerful song! There was even a video for that one.

SoulAlive said:

Heah it is




http://www.youtube.com/wa...re=related

funkpill said:

Yep,that's the one I remember seeing that video back in the day.Oddly,I don't remember seeing any other videos from this album.

SoulAlive said:

That's the side I am stuck on. I haven't heard a "side" this thoroughly enjoyable in a while.

It's like before the bedroom music too though, lol. All seductive.

And yeah like StarMon said, the synth and drum programming mixed with guitar is

FuNkeNsteiN said:

You don't like it? Or are you surprised how late I am.

SoulAlive said:

That song brought a tear to my eye the first time I heard it. That is also one of my favorite solos from Ernie Isley. Its a powerful song. I mentioned this before a long time ago but that's what's missing in songwriting today. People try to crowd too many words in a song without learning to express themselves clearly with simplicity. The Isleys had that down to a science. That's a great album, btw.

If ya ever wanna need someone
I forever wanna be the only one
In your liiife...

(I need your body)

Ohh baby,

(I need your body)

Ohh-hh darlin'!



[Edited 4/3/08 9:38am]

Cinnie..DID YOU HEAR... Ballad For The Fallen Soldier.. AI mean really DID U HEAR IT

paisleypark4 said:

Ballad For The Fallen Soldier Lyrics
» Isley Brothers


I remember when I was much younger than now
I used to sit and listen to the news
I was the only child
And another day and another night
Wishin’ daddy would come home
Me and mom couldn’t sleep at night

He had just went off to fight
For the things we thought were right
So determined to survive
I believe he’s still alive

I sing the ballad for the fallen soldiers
This is a ballad for the fallen soldiers

I wrote to my Congressman
He sends his regrets
That he’s missing in action
But don’t give up yet

So many people
Waitin’ like me
Who’s got the answer
What could it be

His country wanted him to fight
For the things they thought were right
And he tried to give his all
In DC his name is on the wall

I sing the ballad for the fallen soldiers
This is a ballad for the fallen soldiers
I sing the ballad for the fallen soldiers
This is the ballad for the fallen soldiers

He had just went off to fight
For the things we thought were right
So determined to survive
I believe he’s still alive

I sing the ballad for the fallen soldiers
This is a ballad for the fallen soldiers
I sing the ballad for the fallen soldiers
This is a ballad for the fallen soldiers


If they started playing this song on the radio in heavy rotation, I bet it would inspire more protests against the war and increase demands to bring the soldiers home. American has learned nothing from Vietnam. That's why we're repeating it.

paisleypark4 said:

Yes!! and big shout to funkpill for posting the video.

Side 2 has that real schitt on there!

This album is so good for the spirit.

BlaqueKnight said:

I agree, BlaqueKnight. The song is relevant today.

Cinnie said:

The year of release got me a bit sceptical... buuuut, if y'all say it's good...

"Gettin' Over" is my favorite song from that album. "Between The Sheets" and "Choosey Lover" are OK. I can't think of the rest of the songs from the album right now though because it is the least played of all my Isley Brothers albums. There ain't enough fast stuff on it.

BlaqueKnight said:

Yeah how odd that song still reflects on what's going on today. I remember hearing this on the radio a couple of years ago and was blown away by Ernie's solo!
[Edited 4/3/08 13:49pm]

Cinnie said:

Well, it wasn't a lineup change -- the younger members (Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper) left the older members (Ronald, Rudolph and O'Kelly Isley) acrimoniously after a long-simmering battle over creative issues.

I thought half of "Between the Sheets" was great, namely the ballad side. The title track, "Choosey Lover," "Touch Me," "I Need Your Body" and "Let's Make Love Tonight" showed the Isleys finally were able to update their sound after their previous three disappointing albums. The other half -- which was considered relatively uptempo -- was rather lackluster, but the ballads were strong that it more than carried the album. Suffice it to say, it was a great album to have as a teen-ager in 1983 if you wanted to get busy.
[Edited 4/4/08 0:19am]

LittleAmy said:

I was hoping someone would clear this up. I'm still trying to understand. Allmusic just referred to it as the "3 + 3" lineup.

LittleAmy said:

Or a twenty-somethin man in 2008

Cinnie said:

The "3+3" monicker always referred to the three original, older members and the younger members since the days of 1973's "3+3" album. All Music Guide does have some inaccurate information in that review of "Between the Sheets:"

"It was becoming obvious that the group continuity was fading. Not so much from dissension within the group, but more so from dwindling interest in the music industry among group members, this was the group's last album as 3 + 3. Marvin and Ernie Isley and their brother in-law Chris Jasper would release an album the following year as Isley Jasper Isley."

The older Isleys continued to record as The Isley Brothers, so I have no idea where that assumption that some of the members (presumably from the elder Isleys) "were losing interest in the music industry" came from.
[Edited 4/4/08 0:36am]

LittleAmy said:

FWIW, the original lineup's followup, Masterpiece, isn't bad at all.

LittleAmy said:

That's where my interest in the group really begins. Those ten years 1973-1983. Still a couple joints I need but I actually grabbed a whole stack of that era's albums back in February. I never reported about that vinyl dig which was probably the most serious one in years.

Cinnie said:

All of those albums are worthwhile, particularly from 1973 (3+3) through 1978 (Showdown). That being said, don't sleep on their older stuff. For starters, Brother, Brother, Brother (1972) is excellent.
[Edited 4/4/08 8:11am]

AlexdeParis said:

Someone on the org made a thread where they put the Isley Brothers albums in order of favorites and I realized how much material they had, and how little I had heard (compilations here and there or second hand) so I went and bought a bunch.

I wouldn't mind seeing that thread again now that I have all these albums.

Do you like their 1980 album, Go All The Way?
[Edited 4/4/08 8:22am]

Cinnie said:

It's not one of their best (by any stretch), but it has its moments. "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)" is the obvious standout -- that one was a well-deserved hit. Still, the album can't hold a candle to 3 + 3, Live It Up, The Heat Is On, Harvest for the World, Go for Your Guns, and Showdown, which are all perfect.

I love that song "Work To Do" and also "Get Into Something" so I'm sure I won't be sleepin' on the pre-1973 albums either.

Thanks for your guidance, AlexdeParis.
[Edited 4/4/08 9:41am]

I bought The Essential Isley Brothers a few years ago and it's got some amazing stuff on it:

"Move Over and Let Me Dance" is just funky pre-"It's Your Thing" music featuring a young man named Jimi Hendrix playing sly blues guitar.

1970's "Freedom" and "Keep On Doin'" is gritty soul-funk and I think the latter song inspired the JB's to create "The Grunt" (even though James never publicly admit that and I don't blame him now like I would probably have a few years back ).

Of course "Lay-Away", "Pop That Thang" and "Work to Do" are fantastic but so is "Brother, Brother" and "Spill the Wine".

They need to re-release ALL the Isleys' pre-1996 material like, NOW, lol.