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Showdown/Grand Slam

The Isley Brothers - Showdown/Grand Slam Audio CD

A fair review of the The Isley Brothers "Showdown/Grand Slam" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Isley Brothers reviews here, or go back to the The Isley Brothers tabs.

Band: The Isley Brothers
Title: Showdown/Grand Slam
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-02-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Showdown, Pts. 1-2 2: Groove with You 3: Ain't Givin' Up No Love 4: Rockin' with Fire, Pts. 1-2 5: Take Me to the Next Phase, Pts. 1-2 6: Coolin' Me Out, Pts. 1-2 7: Fun and Games 8: Love Fever, Pts. 1-2 9: Tonight Is the Night (If I Had You) 10: I Once Had Your Love (And I Can't Let Go) 11: Hurry Up and Wait 12: Young Girls 13: Party Night 14: Don't Let Up 15: Who Said?

This Is Great Stuff!I'm Not Kidding
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!.

Finally on CD!
Fianlly it's here. I waited a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOng time for these two albums to come out on CD. Showdown and Grand Slam are the two best albums from the Isley's Brothers, in the mid to late eighies. Always popular within the R& B community, they are relatively unknown outside of it. With the exception of Ireland and Scotland where they are big acts. Actually in Scotland, every band knows they Isley Brothers Catalogue. Thank you for finally getting these two great albums on CD.

The last great 3+3 album and the beginning of their decline
In a sense of irony, the former album is arguably the last great 3+3 album, while the latter was the beginning of their creative decline. I suspect that "Showdown" and "Grand Slam" were paired together because the album cover of "Grand Slam" looks like a painting of what The Isley Brothers wore on the "Showdown" album.

"Showdown" is as brilliant as the previous five 3+3 albums, "3+3," "Live It Up," "The Heat Is On," "Harvest for the World" and "Go for Your Guns. " The lead single "Take Me to the Next Phase" had a live concert approach and the album was filled with classic Isley rockers (the appropriately named "Rockin' with Fire"), bluesy funk ("Ain't Givin' Up No Love"), laid-back grooves ("Coolin' Me Out" and the title track) and another definitive ballad (the cool, clean "Groove with You"). If anything, it's a shame this album was not released as a separate set (I bought a separate import album of "Showdown" about 10 years ago).

When "Grand Slam" was released, the rumors already started that the younger members (Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper) were having creative difference with the older members (Ronald, Rudolph and O'Kelly Isley). I always suspected that "Grand Slam" was a hodgepodge of Isley tracks slapped together to have an album out there in case they did break up; unlike their previous albums (including "Winner Takes All" and "Go All the Way") there is no sense of consistency.

"Who Said," "Don't Let Up" and "Party Night" sound like leftovers from "Winner Takes All" (basically The Isley sound with a dancefloor/disco feel). "Tonight Is the Night" reminded me too much of The Floaters' "Float On. " Like "Winner Takes All," you have a case of where The Isleys were letting their sound be influenced by others instead of the other way around.

The only songs I liked on the album are the breezy ballad "I Once Had Your Love (and I Can't Let Go)" and "Hurry Up and Wait," a pop-oriented song with Chris Jasper's background singing on the chorus reminding me of the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers.

Given my obvious dissatisfaction with "Grand Slam," the rating I'm giving is reflective of how much I enjoy "Showdown. ".

Good Combination
it was a Banger with alot of jams. Showdown for me was the last of the Classic Isley RUn of the Funk and Smoothed out albums on a whole. Grand Slam had a couple of decent jams,but the album felt rushed in some places. trademark Ernie Isley Guitar runs, Chris Jasper on the Keys and Ronald knocking it out vocally but you could pick up some burn out after knocking out so many tight albums and Jams for years. still this is a tight combo right here and this highlights the late 70's funk and Soul vibe of the Great Isley's. i have both of these on Record. always been a Huge fan of the Isley's and always will be. dig all era's of Isley's.

Isley's Showdown/Grand Slam
You got Showdown, Coolin' Me Out, Grove With You etc. Well Isley fan's here it is finally the chance to own two good albums on CD from the past. . I'm just glad they are fianlly availiable. If you dont have the you have you better get them.

You can see a complete list of all The Isley Brothers discography, or go back to the The Isley Brothers tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.