Audio CD review:
The Isley Brothers - Winner Takes All

The Isley Brothers - Winner Takes All

Band: The Isley Brothers Title: Winner Takes All Rating: Release Date: 1989-06-19 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: I Wanna Be with You, Parts 1 & 2 - The Isley Brothers, Isley, Rudolph 2: Liquid Love, Pts. 1-2 - The Isley Brothers, Isley Brothers 3: Winner Takes All - The Isley Brothers, Isley, Rudolph 4: Life in the City, Parts 1 & 2 5: It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop), Parts 1 & 2 - The Isley Brothers, Isley, Rudolph 6: (Can't You See) What You Do to Me? 7: Let's Fall in Love, Parts 1 & 2 8: How Lucky I Am, Pts. 1-2 - The Isley Brothers, Isley Brothers 9: You're the Key to My Heart 10: You're Beside Me, Parts 1 & 2 11: Let Me in Your Life, Parts 1 & 2 12: Love Comes and Goes, Parts 1 & 2 13: Go for What You Know - The Isley Brothers, Isley, Ernie 14: Mind over Matter, Parts 1 & 2

Musicians Only!! Bass players, Guitar players and keyboard players can enjoy and appreciate the mastery of this album. This album can only be understood by people who play instruments(Musicians). Its a great album to play to!! . Winner Takes all If you are a fan you have to have this one too. It's the Isley during a time when they were just on fire. The bloom was coming off the rose, starting here The band was making a transition from its rock-and-soul sound to one more suited for the dancefloor/disco scene of the late '70s. "Winner Takes All" was somewhat of a creative setback for The Isley Brothers. Unfortunately, some of the songs are filler and for the first time the classic sound shows some wear and tear. It seems like Ernie and Marvin Isley wanted more of the slapping guitar-and-bass sound popularized by The Brothers Johnson. It works on the lead single "I Wanna Be with You" and the title track, arguably the best uptempo songs. However, it was getting a little repetitive by the time you heard "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" and "Liquid Love" sounds like the group was struggling to merge its classic rock style with the newer style. Fortunately, The Isley Brothers didn't abandon their penchant for ballads. In fact, because "Winner" is a double album it gave them the leeway to put more ballads than usual on an album. The ballad "Let's Fall in Love" seems to pick up where "Groove with You" left off and two-fer "You're the Key to My Heart" and "You're beside Me" are two great songs married together by Ernie Isley's guitar playing. Add the yearning of "Love Comes and Goes" and the slow drags, while not as brilliant as some of their earlier ballads, are the true gems. In the pantheon of the 3+3 era, I would rank this as The Isley Brothers' ninth best album. It's an above-average set and even good in certain spots, but it pales compared to their first six albums and IMO ranks behind "Go All the Way" and "Between the Sheets. ". A gem - just rediscovered It blew me away and God knows why I didn't buy it then. Back in 1979, when the Mothership was the only place I wanted to be and only the deepest funk jams would satisfy, a friend loaned me this 2LP set. In the last two weeks I was playing my copy of an Isleys compilation featuring the title track (blown away all over again)and as the price of Winner Take All has dropped sinfully low, I dived right in. Wow - all the things said here about an underrated album are 100% true. Since the first time I heard "That Lady" in 1973, this band have enthralled me and this blissful mix of silky vocals, blistering intrumental work, hard funk and lovely ballads means the fascination will continue. . . Isleys, I love you, love you, LOVE YOU!. Truly A Winner Back in the day people must have been turned off because it was a double album and it was the height of disco. This album is underrated, plain and simple. Well even the tracks that have some disco nuances are still funky. The first 3 songs, 'I Wanna Be With You', 'Liquid Love' and 'Winner Takes All' are pure funk while 'Life In The City' clocks in at 8 minutes and has an extended breakdown with some serious guitar riffs from Ernie. The album slows down with the mid-tempo groove of '(Can't You See) What You Do To Me?' and slows down even further with 'Let's Fall In Love' one of their best slow jams. This isn't one of their more well-remembered albums but it's just as good as '3+3' or 'Go For Your Guns'. You can see a complete list of all The Isley Brothers discography, or go back to the The Isley Brothers tabs