Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: R&B Bands, #3 The Isley Brothers

My love for The Isley Brothers ironically began in 1985 two years after the 3 + 3 lineup formed in 1973 were split into two groups: The Isley Brothers in which only O'Kelly, Ron and Rudolph Isley remained; and Isley-Jasper-Isley, consisting of Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper and Marvin Isley.  The latter trio's most popular album, Caravan of Love (1985), stood out in my memory for three reasons: 1) out of all the records in my dad's extensive collection at the time, the Sahara-inspired cover was the most indelible; 2) their biggest hit, "Caravan of Love," was in constant rotation on the radio and their follow-up single, "Insatiable Woman," captured my attention even more; and 3) as the opening act for Luther Vandross in a 1986 concert at the Capital Centre, they were the first act that I recall seeing live.  (Mind you, Luther never showed, but we won't go there.)  The most memorable part of that concert was the tribute to O'Kelly, who had passed away from a heart attack not long before the show.  From there, I just kept discovering more and more songs to love from all six of the Teaneck, New Jersey  implants by way of Cincinnati because their sound was truly their sound.  It's rock...it's funk...it's soul...it's just a little bit of everything that I love from my favorite bands.  Now here's an honest moment: it took me at least a decade to warm up more to their uptempo stuff because I felt like their strength as a band were their ballads--and I still strongly feel that way.  So let's dig into the five songs that resonate with me the most from my third favorite R&B band of all time...

#5 "HERE WE GO AGAIN (PARTS 1 & 2)" (Go All the Way, T-Neck, 1980).  How special this song among great Isley Brothers songs is twofold.  First, let's consider all of the songs that it leapfrogged in order to rank this high: "Footsteps in the Dark", "For the Love of You", "Groove With You", "Choosey Lover", "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)", "Make Me Say It Again Girl" and countless others--and that's not even considering some of the stuff after the split.  Heck, as I'm typing the names of these songs, I'm starting to question how this song could be my fifth favorite Isley Brothers song over those.  However, and second, the first time that I recall hearing this song was on The Original Quiet Storm (of course) while sitting in the car with my mother waiting for Mrs. Scribbler to come out of the grocery store probably about three years ago.  I won't lie: I was growing impatient because we were already late getting out of town, but my mood improved when this song played.  The first few electric guitar notes grabbed me immediately as the song formed into a steady and percussive groove, and all I could think was, "Oh yeah...I'm sampling this song.  I don't know when, but it's happening."  Then Ron Isley comes in with one of his signature "well" ad-libs as he smooths it out: "What do you when you love somebody/And everything is goin' wrong, oh, no/Nobody knows the way you feel about it/'Cause only you know, you can't leave it alone."  Pondering the lyrics alone, that's one of the most relatable songs in the Isley's collection of bonafide classics while the movement of the music just takes it right over the top.  Sorry to all of those other songs, but sometimes, something "new" is strong enough to have more of a lasting impression.

#4 "VOYAGE TO ATLANTIS" (Go for Your Guns, T-Neck, 1977).  Everybody else in my tenth grade humanities class probably had Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G. or the latest Backyard Band or Junk Yard Band P.A. tapes pumping in their Walkmans on our way to a class trip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.  Meanwhile, being that kid who went against teenage convention, I had the Isley's Beautiful Ballads compilation tape playing in mine and "Voyage to Atlantis" was one of the stars of the show.  I always connect this song with the moment of being in a wide open field, allowing the springtime sun to beam on my face and feeling like it was the most perfect day that I had ever experienced.  As for the actual song, two words: Ernie Isley.  I can say with all certainty that this is the song on which he became my favorite electric guitarist of all time--although his riveting performance on "Summer Breeze" bests this showing--helping it become one of many classics defining the signature rock 'n' soul sound associated with the Isley Brothers in the 1970s.  Now let's not overlook how fantastically Ron Isley sings on this song to perfectly deliver that sentiment of taking a trip to the unknown: 

She's my lady now and ever/Whoa...how can I know/Can we go all the way together/Whoa...let it be so/So we'll say our last goodbye/And we'll make it this time/Hey...ho...set sail with me/To a paradise out beyond the sea...

The whole vibe of "Voyage to Atlantis" is dreamy without being sappy.  It's an excursion into the deep while simultaneously feeling like you're on a high.  It's passionate without being smothering.  It's just...my kind of song.

#3 "SENSUALITY (PART 1 & 2)" (The Heat Is On, T-Neck, 1975).  I can't yet prove it, but I wholeheartedly believe that Maxwell had to be listening to this song when he came up with "Sumthin' Sumthin': Mellosmoothe" because it was infinitesimally sexier than the more uptempo original.  (Then again, it was on the Love Jones soundtrack, so it had to be.)  Much like the aforementioned remix, the Isleys took a minimalistic approach to the drums and let the keys and synths seduce the listener into one of the most intimate trances ever recorded.  Truth be told, this may be one of the most flawless musical executions in the Isley's catalog as everything about it is nice and slow, smooth and, of course, sensual.  If the music isn't bedroom ready enough, then Ron Isley's soothing, silky vocals set the mood even more:

Here I lay, so close to you/Knowing that you'll see me through/Another night when we'll feel the joy/The joy that makes me smile more and more/And every day I dream/Of holding you close to me/And every night I find/Me touching your lips with mine...

Let's get a few things straight about this joint right chea: this isn't the song for the pop-off of the week for whom you might enforce a strict "no sleepover" policy.  This isn't "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" or "I wanna blow out your back and sweat out your weave" music.  This is for that woman for whom you've been waiting that 90-day probationary period and beyond.  This is about gazing longingly...embracing magnetically...exploring deliberately...making love purposefully.  When I think about the music that has greatly influenced my romantically intimate personality, "Sensuality (Part 1 & 2)" is undoubtedly in that class...and so is the next song...

#2 "BETWEEN THE SHEETS" (Between the Sheets, T-Neck, 1983).  Here's a potentially embarrassing moment in youthful music ignorance.   So I'm watching Poetic Justice for the first time--probably around 1994 when it premiered on HBO--and there's the scene with the two White people in a very fancy New York City apartment.  All of a sudden, the guy sets the mood and this song starts playing.  My initial thought is, "This song is way too hip for them."  Then when I hear Ron Isley sing "ooh girl, ain't no mystery", my immediate thought is, "Hey, isn't that Fourplay's song?  I kinda like this version better!"  Little did I know that while Fourplay's smoother and more sensual remake featuring Chaka Khan was prevalent on adult contemporary radio at that time, this was the original, silly rabbit.  What also blew my mind was when Ron Isley sang a lyric that was clearly omitted from the "smooth jazz" reboot: "Hey girl, what's your fantasy/I'll take you there to that ecstasy/Oh girl, you blow my mind, I'll always be your freak/Let's make sweet love between the sheets."  If Family Guy existed during that time when I heard him sing the word "freak", then my fourteen-year-old behind would've slyly smiled and said, "Giggity!"  Being one of the last gems that the 3 + 3 Isley Brothers gave us, "Between the Sheets" has become one of the most sampled and, more important, most beloved tracks in the Isley's long line of classics.  It still had the Isley stamp on it, but driven by the keyboard and Moog synthesizer chops of Chris Jasper, it was sonically different than anything else in their catalog, slightly shifting and defining their sound for the rest of the 1980s.  I'll never forget buying the Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 compilation and running back that breakdown--the same breakdown featured in Jay-Z's "Ignorant Sh**" or Jim Jones' "Summer Wit Miami"--at least three or four times after Ron said "enough of this singing, let's make love".  Whereas "Sensuality (Part 1 & 2)" provides the ideal environment for foreplay, "Between the Sheets" sets the rhythm of the motion.  So with all of these great songs leading up to this point, what could possibly be No. 1?  I thought you'd never ask...

#1 "HOW LUCKY I AM (PARTS 1 & 2)" (Winner Takes All, T-Neck, 1979).  There are certain albums in my collection that I often listen to without skipping just to get to the final song.  On Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, it's "Mortal Man"; on 8Ball & MJG's Living Legends, it's "Confessions"; on Kanye West's College Dropout, it's "Last Call"; and on Andre 3000's half of the Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, it's "A Day in the Life of Andre Benjamin".  So you get the point: an album is only as good as how it closes.  One of my favorite compilation albums of all time is the Isley's Love Songs (2001), so when I first purchased it in 2002 and heard this song at the end, I was like, "What...is...THIS?!?!"   Much like "Here We Go Again", it had my undivided attention because it was just a gorgeous little pocket of sentimentality.  Opening with Ron Isley masterfully ad-libbing through the melody with his brothers softly backing him up, this is just one of those songs that makes you wanna be bunned up, boo'd up or whatever slang you choose to describe that feeling of seeing nothing but floating heart bubbles in front of your eyes.  One of my favorite parts is when Ron Isley sings, "Oh, I promise you girl, yes I promise you girl/And you promise me/We've got to stay, got to stay together/That's the way we said it had to be."  Truth be told, it's not even that the lyrics blow my mind or that the music is so out of this world, but I'm a music lover who's big on execution of concept, deliverance of sentiment, tonality of instruments and potential for repeatability.  Like many of the Isley Brothers' songs, "How Lucky I Am" checks all of the boxes and then some.  Oh yeah...and it makes listening to that Love Songs compilation in its entirety well worth it.

Whelp, you've lasted through four of my favorite five R&B bands, so you might as well come back next week and see who takes the top spot.  For those of you who know me well, you should already know who it is, so no spoiler alerts please!  In the meantime, please share some of your favorite Isley Brothers songs in the comments!