"Go All the Way" and "Grand Slam" should have been paired together
A very unusual pairing, to say the least. With all due respect to "It's Our Thing," I'm going to review "Go All the Way" since I became a fan of The Isley Brothers in the 3+3 era.

While it falls short of the exemplary standards set by the 3+3 era's first six albums, "Go All the Way" more than matches up with their other albums. The lead single "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)" is a steamy let's-go-the-bedroom ballad, one of the best the brothers Isley recorded, IMO. The midtempo "Here We Go Again" is one of my favorite songs from the 3+3 era, with Ronald Isley's calm voice melding well with the song's polished production.

The rest of the album has the familiar silky-guitar-laden funk, but with a smoother, more danceable arrangement. Ronald Isley's vocals are more restrained and Ernie Isley has only one guitar solo, on the mellow "Say You Will." "Say You Will" and the dance-oriented "Pass It On" are the other highlights on an album that was a good rebound from the (IMO) disappointing "Winner Takes All."

Highly Anticipated/Poorly Executed
The quintessential Isley Brothers album It's Our Thing is finally on CD. Unfortunately, it's paired with an extremely weak disco album from 1980 and is recorded from an LP source. Although it has been cleaned up, clicks and pops are still audible. This is hardly better than my own LP to file dub. In very small print, the liner notes state that the original master recording is missing. I guess they'll be no deluxe edition of this short but excellent LP.

[DW]

Unusual Pairing of Albums, But...
BGO records continue their excellent Isley 2-on-1 cd releases with this unusual pairing of 1969's IT'S OUR THING with 1980's GO ALL THE WAY (Due to lost masters, the former album has been remastered from an album copy).

IT'S OUR THING is the first album ever released on the Isley Brothers' T-Neck label (and the Isleys first top 40 pop album). It features the famous James Brown-inspired "It's Your Thing" and variations of that million-selling hit. The song themes here are concerned with "socking it to someone" ("It's Your Thing", "I Know Who You Been Socking It To", "Give The Women What They Want"), betrayal ("Somebody's Been Messing", "He's Got Your Love"), and James Brown "Try Me"-influenced ballads ("Save Me", "Love Is What You Make It"). This album is entertaining but limited because the Isleys have been listening to too many James Brown records for their own sound to come through.

By the time 1980's GO ALL THE WAY was released, the Isleys developed their own cool funk sound topped with Ernie Isley's fatback drumming and scorching guitar solos. The sexy often-covered slow jam "Don't Say Goodnight" is the standout here along with "Here We Go Again" (the band really stretches out here, and the Chic-influenced title tune. "Pass It On" and "The Belly Dancer" have great grooves, but silly, undeveloped lyrics, while "Say You Will" features yet another great guitar solo from Ernie. Although GO ALL THE WAY is a great Isley album, the guitar/clavinet/bass format was getting a little stale.

Go All The Way
Finally the Go All The Way CD. This had a couple of hit on it.
You finally get Here we go again!
Isley Fans have to happy. I just don't like the ideal of pairing it with the "It's Our Thing" CD, and the price.
With that I have to give it 4 out of 5.

Simply The Best.....
This is the best news I've heard all day. I remember asking Amazon to keep me informed when this album became available and sure enough they delivered.

This is one of my favorite musical groups of all time and my favorite album from 1980. It just goes to show that wishes really do come true.

Hang in there Ron Isley, I still love you and the brothers and I look forward to you doing more good music.