The Isley Brothers - Showdown/Grand Slam
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CD Details
Artist: The Isley BrothersEdition: Music CD
Format: Import, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2006-02-05
Music Label: Beat Goes On
Soundtracks:
- Showdown, Pts. 1-2
- Groove with You
- Ain't Givin' Up No Love
- Rockin' with Fire, Pts. 1-2
- Take Me to the Next Phase, Pts. 1-2
- Coolin' Me Out, Pts. 1-2
- Fun and Games
- Love Fever, Pts. 1-2
- Tonight Is the Night (If I Had You)
- I Once Had Your Love (And I Can't Let Go)
- Hurry Up and Wait
- Young Girls
- Party Night
- Don't Let Up
- Who Said?
Music reviews of Showdown/Grand Slam
Music Review: This Is Great Stuff!I'm Not Kidding
Rating: 5 Stars
Having already owned this albums on vinyl (for the former) and cassette (for the latter) it was a real treat to hear them digitally remastered as the main reason for skimming past these albums some that first time around was....irritatingly poor audtio quality-whether it be the pulling of the tape,the hiss or excessive vinyl popping. Musically both albums make a good pair because even though there actually two albums released sequencially between them these both catch the Isley's in important musical transitions. The first of these albums was recorded in 1978 as the follow up to their Go for Your Guns,which followed through with the fast paced funk style of it's three previous releases. On this album everything had begun to change. In focusing more on slowing the funk down to this smoldering hot crawl of a groove,even on the uptempo stuff you really get a sense of their instrumentation and,if I may say so that mildly significant hint of disco in the rhythmic pattern. The title track is about as great an example of this sound as one could ask and the Isley's of course work the groove straight into the subconcious whilst talking full advantage of the reduced speed. "Groove With You" is another case where the Isley's do their best type of bedroom groove,setting up the most romantic imagry and of course the music just melts like carmel. "Ain't Givin' Up No Love"...well this is NASTY NASTY NASTY;the type of funk jam that's like a fist slamming down slow and hard onto a table and leaving an enormous crack. The simple fact that Chris Jasper seriously throws down with his bass synth on this one right along with Marvin's bass guitar just throws out all kinds of extra punches. "Rockin' With Fire" and "Love Fever" are all two part Ernie Isley funk/rockers that all showcase his guitar work and the power of this rhythm section. All are taken at the faster pace of this album. "Take Me To The Next Phase".....well is just about the most glorious funk jam the Isley's ever did. Apparently recorded live this song captures the flavor of both their own sound along with a bit of Stevie Wonder style funk chordings (not surprising since they both utilized the electronic sounds of TONTO at the time) and despite it's lenghs leaves you hoping for more. 'Coolin' Me Out" is a more pop crafted variation of the same sound and still turns out to be an incredible jam-probably one of the most unsung on this album. "Fun And Games" harnessess a bit of a Doobie Brothers LA jazz-pop influence in the melody along with the peppy groove. The next album presented is a very different animal. Recorded in 1981 during a time when a musical scism was developing between the two generations of Isley brothers in the band the album essentially begins with two ballads and is soon after dominated by hardcore jams.As it turns out "Tonight Is The Night (If I Had You" and "I Once Had Your Love (And I Can't Let It Go" are among the higher quality of slow jams but of a different type than the Isley's produced in the previous decade. These songs are polished,urban and have a far more obvious contempo jazz/quiet storm aspect in the flavor. "Hurry Up And Wait" was actually released as a single from this album and with it's festive rhythm and hook filled choruses is actually the closest these usually right-to-the-point brothers came to a mild fanfare. "Young Girls" looks to the 70's Isley fast funk style with some musical aspects actually lifted straight from some of those songs-it's all great even if the lyrics are,by todays standards not exactly sexually correct. Even so you have to admit there's a witty truth to it. "Party Night" is definately this albums under heralded tune where everything in the band just becomes one big fast rhythm machine that manages to keep punching away at that level past 4 minutes. "Don't Let Up" and "Who Said" keep the same progression going strong as Ernie again blisters away on his axe. Considering more than half the Isley's 70's/early 80's catalog remained out of print on CD until recently this and the other albums made available over the past few years really allow you to hear the complete musical progression the Isley's made during the 70's and how important their particular variation on funk was so significant to it's future development. And that's a lot to say for a band who,at even the time the first of these albums origally came out had ALREADY influenced the music world twice over at least!
Description of Showdown/Grand Slam
2007 pairing of two funky Isley Brothers albums digitally remastered on one CD and housed in a slipcase. Showdown (1978) reached #4 in the Billboard charts while 1981's Grand Slam was another Top 30 album for the Isleys. Features extensive new liner notes. BGOPsychedelic Rock CDs
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