Isley Brothers Motown Recordings

[woodward]

I note that the Isley Brothers rarely get mentioned on the Motown forum. Let's start a thread telling your favorite Isley Bros. songs. I often wonder if there is enough unreleased material that someday we might get a listen to some of their recordings that we have never heard.

One of my all time favorites is Behind a Painted Smile. What are some of yours?

[Nothing But Soul]

"This Old Heart of Mine [[Is Weak For You)", which is one of the greatest Motown recordings of all time.

"My Love Is Your Love [[Forever)"--both versions [[the mono version with the flute and the stereo version with the strings). This has to be one of the best songs that Motown never released as a single--Smokey & the Miracles' version is also great.

[westgrandboulevard]

This Old Heart Of Mine [[is Weak For You)
My Love Is Your Love [[Forever)
One Too Many Heartaches

[roger]

Particular perennial favourites of mine ...

"This Old Heart of Mine" .. even though I've heard it at least five thousand times :)
"Take Some Time Out For Love"
"There's No Love Lost"
"Tell Me It's Just a Rumour"
"One Too Many Heartaches"
"All Because I Love You"

And I'd rate the "This Old Heart Of Mine" L.P. as one of my Top 10 '60s Motown L.P.s

All of these tracks can be found on this C.D. ..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Motown-Anthology-Isley-Brothers/dp/B002L5R73K

Roger

[thomas96]

"Born to Love You"

[Motown4Ever518]

I note that the Isley Brothers rarely get mentioned on the Motown forum. Let's start a thread telling your favorite Isley Bros. songs. I often wonder if there is enough unreleased material that someday we might get a listen to some of their recordings that we have never heard.

One of my all time favorites is Behind a Painted Smile. What are some of yours?

Woodward, thank you for remembering the Isley Brothers. Nothing But Soul, I agree, "This Old Heart of Mine [[Is Weak For You)", "which is one of the greatest Motown recordings of all time." is a song I never tire of hearing.

"It's Out Of The Question" is an incredible song, not a candidate for a 45 release, but smokey being Smokey.

I have posted this before, the Isley Brothers Anthology from 2-3 years ago is almost insulting. The paucity of notes, who, what, where, when, and why almost seemed too much to ask for. Ronnie Isley never sang a bad note during his Motown stay, they deserve a better anthology than this. Haven't they suffered enough already? The "This Old Heart of Mine" cover,......Really?

Sadly, I thought I read somewhere that there isn't much left in the vaults of The Isley Brothers.

[robb_k]

7140
I like ALL The Isley Brothers' Motown recordings very much, and much better than most of their non-Motown recordings [[especially their T-Neck work). I don't remember seeing any unreleased cuts by them in The Motown Vaults, that were not, at least, released in some form in The UK .

[Motown Eddie]

Here goes;
"This Old Heart Of Mine [[Is Weak For You)", "Got To Have You Back", "Catching Up On Time", "I Guess I'll Always Love You", "Behind A Painted Smile" & "That's The Way Love Is" are my favorites from The Isley's time at Motown. The fact that only enjoyed one major hit in the US [[with "This Old Heart Of Mine") is a mystery to me.

[RossHolloway]

I love the material that the Isley Brothers recorded while at Motown. I seem to recall that all of their recordings with Motown have been released and there are no more in the can. I agree with what someone else said earlier, the group is rarely mentioned or discussed. Did the Isleys ever tour with the other Motown acts? Are there any live recordings of the group from this time period? Did the group members live in Detroit or just visit Detroit to record? I think that would have played a great impact on their working relationship with the writers and producers in Detroit.

[Motown4Ever518]

To your point RossHolloway, the Isleys probably were not part of the family in that they probably did not live in Detroit. I do know that they got an opportunity to record some major works, and had a gaggle of releases compared to some of the acts who were there for as long time, but did not have great songs or the number of releases the isleys had over a short period of time.

[robb_k]

7142
I doubt that The Isley Brothers had their permanent residences in Detroit during their time with Motown. They may have shared an apartment there to use on their "recording visits". I think that people like Don Juan Mancha, Mike Terry, Fred Bridges, Andre Williams and Jimmy Holland, who bounced between Detroit and Chicago, may have had an apartment in both cities, or they stayed with relatives or friends in their 2nd working city. The Isleys probably did the same.

[MotownLover]

I completely concur with you Motown Eddie. All the songs you listed would be included in mine. I never understood why "I Guess I'll Always Love You" never made it really big, as the production was really together IMHO and was just an overall nice tune to me.

[mr soul]

I'll add a couple into the mix.
Save Me From This Misery
Trouble

[rovereab]

I like most of the Isleys' recordings at Motown but I really like the mono mix of Whispers Getting Louder.

Despite their short time at Motown they were given some great songs and IMO were not a "second tier" group.

[Kamasu_Jr]

The Isley Brothers are one of the longest running groups in R&B and rock 'N' roll. They are one of those acts that you can divide or list your favorites to a particular record company or to the group's evolution. Their Motown years are their least interesting period to me. However, at Motown, I liked the two singles- This Old Heart... and I Guess I'll Always Love You. If some of you have not acquainted yourselves with their T- Neck Recordings , I recommend them, especially I"ve Got to Get Myself Together, Layaway, I Turned You On, Pop That Thang. All of these came before the Brothers signed with Columbia/Sony.

[paul_nixon]

An insult?

Just what would you have done - which tracks would you have added - deleted - I for one would love to know why you think the overall package was an insult when it was to even the most critical of followers the most comprehensive collection of Isley Brothers released, unreleased, rare and new to CD Motown tracks ever released
Perhaps you would like to further expand on the paucity of your complaints.


Woodward, thank you for remembering the Isley Brothers. Nothing But Soul, I agree, "This Old Heart of Mine [[Is Weak For You)", "which is one of the greatest Motown recordings of all time." is a song I never tire of hearing.

"It's Out Of The Question" is an incredible song, not a candidate for a 45 release, but smokey being Smokey.

I have posted this before, the Isley Brothers Anthology from 2-3 years ago is almost insulting. The paucity of notes, who, what, where, when, and why almost seemed too much to ask for. Ronnie Isley never sang a bad note during his Motown stay, they deserve a better anthology than this. Haven't they suffered enough already? The "This Old Heart of Mine" cover,......Really?

Sadly, I thought I read somewhere that there isn't much left in the vaults of The Isley Brothers.

[144man]

Apart from the obvious, I particularly like:

Got to Have You Back
Nevermore
Sure Is A Lotta Woman
[[You've Got ) So Much to Shout About

and best of all:

A WEAK SPOT IN MY HEART.

[bradsupremes]

It's Out Of The Question
I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love
My Love Is Your Love
There's No Love Left
Whispers [[Getting Louder)

[drewschultz88]

Their version of "seek and you shall find" is NUTS!
I love the high harmonies in the chorus background vocals.

[mysterysinger]

The older I get, the more I appreciate the Isley's Motown work. However, "There's No Love Left" has always been a favourite plus "All Because I Love You" and "I Hear A Symphony" then later was blown away by "I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love". Sadly I read that there are no more unreleased tracks in the vault. Agree that it's pretty much all good though.

[Motown4Ever518]

An insult?

Just what would you have done - which tracks would you have added - deleted - I for one would love to know why you think the overall package was an insult when it was to even the most critical of followers the most comprehensive collection of Isley Brothers released, unreleased, rare and new to CD Motown tracks ever released
Perhaps you would like to further expand on the paucity of your complaints.

My Dear Mr. Nixon,

First of all, as I write this @ 1:52 am your time, I trust that you are enjoying a relaxing sleep. As I have said on your blog many times, you are one of my favorite Motown Admirers. You have obviously taken exception to my comments about the Isleys 2 CD Motown set. I decided to play detective, and as I suspected, aha, you were involved in the this project. I respect the fact that your involvement in this set is exactly 100% more than any project that I am or have been involved in.

Before I continue, as an aside, my daughter ironically a few days ago, wore her t-shirt that she got while visiting Penrhyn Castle this summer and abseiling. I would imagine that being on the castle wall 75 feet up would be as exciting as being in the studio during the recording of "This Old Heart Of Mine".

I have in my hands the bothersome to me booklet.

The cover shot, I was initially bothered by the fact that the shot was from the early sixties, and not the mid sixties based on the hairstyles worn by the Isleys. Upon further review, the tie/pocket square combination would have been circa 1967. So I was wrong there, it was a shot during the tenure at Motown. Also, at least it was not the garish orange tux outfit that adorned a couple of CD covers.

The text font size. If I can read the notes without my reading glasses, while a good thing on the one hand, suggested to me that there was not the information the I have been used to in other CD booklets in the past 20 years or so. Be it, the UK 2-fors, or your own wonderful Cellarful Of Motown series.

Pictures, I am old enough to remember when Black and White photos were pretty much the norm, and not the artistic statement that may have been attempted, on page two. I don't think it works at all. For an undertaking such as this, I was expecting to see some never before seen photos.

Lastly, the track listing. I refer to my "who,what, when, where," comment in my previous post. I want to know all of these things from the working title, to who the song was assigned to, when it was recorded, who the producer was, and in the case of the unreleased material, when it first appeared.

The tracks, the world, at least the world revolving around all things Motown was made a better place in 2009, with this set being produced. It is all here! I actually played the CD's in my car today, and fell in love all over again with the Isleys output, which was roughly, only two years in the making. As a drummer, what can I say about these mid sixty workouts, other than I love it! Yes the covers are just that covers, but to my ears some of the covers sound better than the more well known originals. I submit however, that if the Isleys versions were released however, the same sales figures would not have been achieved.

Conclusion. For the 50th anniversary of the label, and this set being sold at full retail, not at a mid-line or budget price point, I was disappointed. Because there are so few of us who appreciate all things Motown, I look at anything new as an opportunity to attract new converts. But after giving the CD's a spin today, I did say," I was almost insulted", I feel comfortable with saying that instead, I am a little disappointed.

In closing, Mr. Nixon, I apologize for any ill feelings that resulted from my comments, and hope that we are cool.

Sincerely,
M4E518

[motony]

I never understood why in 1966 Motown would have released the This Old Heart of Mine LP with the cover they chose.It was no longer 1961 or even 62 when alot of companies shied away of putting a Black group or singers photo on the front cover for fear record shops or stores in the South would not display...come on , its 1966!The Isleys were a well known act & had always done well as a LIVE act.

[rovereab]

Even if parts of the USA were "difficult" back then I'm sure a picture of the group would have been fine in the UK.

It's hard to believe how it was back then.

[Motown4Ever518]

While not "Movie Star" handsome, the Isley Brothers were nice enough looking guys, so it's not as though they were not attractive enough to be on a cover.

[rovereab]

It's strange when you think that many Motown album covers featured a group/artist picture well before this album was released. Must be some strange logic here?

[reese]

The use of the blonde couple's photo on the THIS OLD HEART OF MINE album cover might have nothing to do with the racial situation at the time. The Motown art department might have just wanted to go with that photo, just like Stax went with a blonde model for OTIS BLUE the year before.

Both artists had already been established by the the time the albums were released. And as stated above, some earlier Motown albums [[like the debuts of the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and the Supremes in 61/62) had the artist's photos on the cover.

But when confronted with the Isleys' cover in the 80s, it might have been easier for the company to use say it was used because it made it easier to stock the album in some Southern record stores rather than admitting that they just liked the design. Just a thought.

[woodward]

An insult?

Just what would you have done - which tracks would you have added - deleted - I for one would love to know why you think the overall package was an insult when it was to even the most critical of followers the most comprehensive collection of Isley Brothers released, unreleased, rare and new to CD Motown tracks ever released
Perhaps you would like to further expand on the paucity of your complaints.
I, for one, am very grateful to Mr. Nixon for his great effort in putting out this wonderful Anthology. As a matter of information relative to any unreleased songs in the vaults, I have determine there are NONE. I checked Keith Hughes www.dftmc.info listing of all songs he had documented as being recorded by the Isley Bros. There were a total of 44 recorded songs and every single one is included in the Anthology. As far as the comment regarding the print in the accompanying booklet, I think that is is far superior to the majority of the CDs being released. First as one respondent said, you can read it without your glasses. A lot of people interested in the Isley Bros. are older and when you reach this age it is often difficult to read these books without a magnifying glass. I was very appreciative of the fact that if you want to make a photocopy of it, it is a simple matter. A lot of other CDs have colored background that makes it impossible to photocopy portions of the booklet.

At least by starting this thread, it made me realize how great a compilation this collection is for which I feel we all owe ahuge debt of gratitude to Paul Nixon.

[shoo-be-doo]

I don't think that 'DFTMC' lists all unreleased tracks, only those that have appeared on vinyl, CD or acetate. The booklet itself notes that "This collection whilst not attempting to be complete brings along with it one brand new track recently discovered" - so there may yet be further unreleased tracks in the vaults. I was disappointed that the tracks were not annotated with full recording details but I believe these were prepared but not used by Universal. The same thing happened to the terrific anthologies by Bobby Taylor and Tommy Good - they were prepared but Universal decided to leave them out to make space for advertising 'Motown Ringtones', I believe this was as much a surprise to Paul Nixon as to everybody else.

[Roger Polhill]

The annotations are available at www.dftmc.info.If [[http://www.dftmc.info.If) you can`t find them drop your address in my notifications and I`ll send you them.

[carole cucumber]

I was disappointed that the tracks were not annotated with full recording details but I believe these were prepared but not used by Universal..... I believe this was as much a surprise to Paul Nixon as to everybody else.

That's exactly how I remember it.
Paul had prepared full annotations and was surprised that they were not included. He even went so far as to post a link where one could download and/or print out the complete information.

I've always wondered if U.K. Tamla-Motown/Universal's attempts to cut corners and being called on it may have contributed to a lack of further Motown Anthologies from their enterprise - and the eventual switch to Ace/Kent [[which does produce a far better product imho)