Movin' Along (Pt. 2 of Isley Brothers)

The Isley Brothers moved to United Artists around 1963 following disappointing sales after "Shout." These sessions (to my ears) would find them listless and seemingly without direction. They attempted to generate some chart activity with songs like "Surf and Shout," "Please Please Please" (which one would swear is James Brown) and the very Jackie Wilson-ish "Tango." They even did a dubious cover of Hank Ballard's "Let's go, Let's go, Let's go," which really just poses the question: did this song NEED a cover? The same can be said of their versions of "Stagger Lee" and "Long Tall Sally." Why?

"Whatcha Gonna Do" hinted at some full-out Rn'B shakin', but never really gets there; and "You'll Never Leave Him" sported some impressive arrangement and singing, but both songs still seem phoned-in. They even tried to jump on the Checker Cab with "Do the Twist."

Thankfully, they seemed to really get back the feeling in 1964 with "My Little Girl," a song that owes a LOT to The Drifters, but really works anyway, with some great arrangement and an inspired vocal. Around this time, they also recorded a couple smokin' instrumentals, "The Basement" and "Conch." And yes, that's Jimi Hendrix.

By 1966 they were back in full swing with "Open Up Her Eyes," a powerful soul ballad, and "Love is a Wonderful Thing," a sensational gospel-flavored mover. But despite these great mid-sixties recordings, The Isleys were still a ways away from making their biggest splash.