While this pivot to вЂњseriousвЂќ comes off as a slightly obvious grab for folkie cred, most of these Vietnam-era songs remain urgent and commanding, and their interpretations are tasteful and well-done. On the sepia-toned cover, the brothers all wear haunted expressions, an acoustic guitar in each of their laps. The covers are back, but chosen from a different angle: mostly then-recent rock hits by Eric Burdon (вЂњSpill the WineвЂќ), Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young (вЂњOhio / Machine GunвЂќ), and others. GivinвЂ™ It Back (1971)ДЄ heel-turn from their kinetic R&B sound, the Isleys got downbeat and socially conscious on GivinвЂ™ It Back. While lacking the obvious highlights of ItвЂ™s Our Thing, Get Into Something nicely opens up on Side B with the romantic ballads вЂњI Need You So,вЂќ вЂњI Got to Find Me One,вЂќ and вЂњBeautiful.вЂќ The results show the Isleys could flip from slow jams to high-octane burners without breaking a sweat. The band dug deeper into funk on Get Into Something, a stripped-down, rhythm-first album thatвЂ™s perfect for the dancefloor. ItвЂ™s Our Thing is the IsleysвЂ™ Rubber Soul boys becoming men. Their lyrical POV is stretching, too, from calls for rescue (вЂњSave MeвЂќ) to feminist appeals (вЂњGive The Women What They WantвЂќ). And from the exuberant, swinging first seconds of вЂњI Know Who You Been Socking It To,вЂќ itвЂ™s clear the brothers are toasting to their newfound independence. For their first T-Bone album, ItвЂ™s Our Thing, there wasnвЂ™t a cover in the bunch every song was credited to Rudolph, OвЂ™Kelly, and Ronald Isley. Wanting to make music to-order rather than buffet-style, the Isleys beat their retreat from Motown for their own label, T-Bone, in 1968. That said, This Old Heart of Mine is the place to start in this era, even if itвЂ™s padded by songs made hits by other Motown acts, like вЂњNowhere to RunвЂќ (Martha & the Vandellas) and вЂњStop! In the Name of LoveвЂќ (The Supremes). This both put them on the map and stifled them as artists theyвЂ™d make one more album for them before leaving the nest. The Isley Brothers began as part of the Motown machine, mostly as a vessel for material by their in-house writing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland.

If youвЂ™re interested in what the Isleys could do beyond вЂњShout!вЂќ, hereвЂ™s their 10 most essential albums. Even as they floundered commercially later on, they delivered 1983вЂ™s Masterpiece, a slinky, polished gem with a quiet storm tint. The Isleys began as a slightly garden-variety Motown act, but after they left the label in 1968, they released a string of sophisticated 1970s gems: The Heat is On, Harvest for the World, and Go For Your Guns.

On July 20, they headlined Pitchfork Fest for their 60th anniversary - and Vinyl Me, Please is releasing a newly remastered edition of Go For Your Guns as July 2019вЂ™s Vinyl Me, Please Classics release. And six decades after вЂњShout!вЂќ, theyвЂ™re still improbably grinding it out. Over five decades and 30 albums, the Isley Brothers - Ronald, Rudolph, OвЂ™Kelly, Marvin, and Ernie - developed into a cross-genre juggernaut, using a sound that combined rock, soul, funk, gospel and R&B to deliver their message of spiritual enlightenment and racial harmony. вЂњWe want our music to expand peoplesвЂ™ consciousness and take them to a higher musical plane,вЂќ he said. вЂњOur music is so much more now.вЂќ Chris Jasper, the IsleysвЂ™ brother-in-law and keyboardist, agreed. вЂњI-IV-V chord changes and three guys jumping up and down, screaming and shouting вЂWoooвЂ™ just isnвЂ™t where weвЂ™re at,вЂќ multi-instrumentalist Ernie Isley said in a 2015 interview with The Guardian. If you donвЂ™t have a strong feeling about the song in the 21st century, youвЂ™ve got company - the Isleys themselves. From National LampoonвЂ™s Animal House to The Wonder Years to an oldies station near you, вЂњShout!вЂќ is still shouting at us. The Isley Brothers may forever be tied to 1959вЂ™s вЂњShout!вЂќ, their rambunctious, gospel-style hit thatвЂ™s been steeping in pop culture for decades.

Best isley brothers songs