Harvest For The World

Under my "old" Amazon.com name I wrote a review to this but upon hearing the remaster and understanding this album from a new perspective there's a lot more I have to say about it. In many ways of all the 3+3 era Isley albums that they made during the 70's,this is probably the most unique. For many of the truest lovers of soul and funk out there it's hard to deny that as far as funk was concerned 1976 was a big landmark year. Everything in the kitchen sink musically had entered successfully into the mix and it was producing not only huge commercial and critical results,but was influencing every jazz and rock musician who was hearing it. This album could not be anymore of a product of Ricky Vincent's "united funk" era than you could possibly ask for. The main difference between this and other items in the Isley's catalog from this time is that there's more of a gentle overtone to lot of this music,even the funky stuff doesn't throw itself at you and tends to be more penetrating than forceful. The title track really has to merrit a lot of discussion. Musically this song is probably one of the greatest examples of two generations of music they ever did,and that isn't a huge surprise since the group features two generations of brothers. On the one hand it has this strong gospel/soul type melodicism and folksy acoustic guitar of early styles of R&B plus this modern funk groove too. Lyrically it is something I've dubbed "people music",a certain type of communally centered message song that speaks from first hand experience and/or observation about topical issues that effect them and everyone else. In this case you get one of the more heartfelt and genuine pleas for global harmony and humanitarianism that lays easily aside John Lennon's Imagine in terms of being one of the great social anthems of the day.Not that it gets hardly any credit of course but it really is. "People Of Today",with it's heavy TONTO touch and vocorderized "My world is fine" is...well another message song dealing with people's selfishness in general."Who Loves You Better" is the rocker on the album and has a more involved melody than most of Ernie Isley tunes on the albums. The two slow songs on the album "Let Me Down Easy" and "(At Your Best) You Are Love" are strangely enough good enough songs but not among the stronger of the Isley's ballads at this point compositionally;kind of by-the-numbers by most standards. Much more interesting is "So You Wanna Stay Down",with a similar feeling to the title track and some rapid fire vocal turns from Ron."You Still Feel The Need" is a great stop and start funk breakdown;has a similar feeling to some of the style and production on Steely Dan's The Royal Scam only with a far more open end and far less of a feel of musical perfectionism over mood flavor.One of the great features of this is the bonus cut,a live in the studio version of "Summer Breeze" which,unlike the also great studio version on 3 + 3 is extended out to an 8+ minute lengh with an extended,Marvin Gaye-like breakdown in the middle that really allows the mood to be extended along with the song. It's a really good thing that this and Live It Up [EXTRA TRACKS],two Isley albums that were long neglected on CD are in print because they both represent key transitional elements in their developement during the era.Not to mention being key musical experiences of mid 70's funk/rock/soul/pop.

Great album

The creative streak continues with this, one of my all time favorite albums from one of my all time favorite bands. The younger part of the 3+3 lineup songwriting and Ronald's lead vocals were, at this time, the driving force of the band. Ernie, Marvin and Chris were the creative genius' while Ronald was the master interpreter of their songs with his otherworldy vocals. O'Kelly & Rudolph's vocals also added to the 3 part vocal harmonies we had become accustomed to.It is known that their were multitalented musicians, who were able to play a variety of instruments, recording at that time. Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and later in that decade Prince where some of the most notably artists who played multiple instruments on an ablum, Stevie and Prince on a regular basis on their albums. However, The Isley Brothers were truly unique as was Earth, Wind and Fire to have more than one person who could play a variety of instruments on an album. Ernie, Marvin & Chris played all the instruments, wrote all of the songs and along with the 3 older brothers, produced each and every album.This album is one of their most diverse and another #1 R&B chart topper which is a place they found themselves often in the decade of the 1970's. The album starts off with the Prelude to "Harvest Of The World" this is a showcase for the overall diversity and musical abilities of Isley/Jasper/Isley as they would later become. The lyrical content of that song in particular touches every part of society and is the perfect canvas for their outstanding vocals and musicianship. The album is full of their vocal 3 part harmonies with Ronald Isley's trademark smooth soul lead vocals which by itself is worth the price of admission.You have the smooth soul and almost folky feel of "Harvest Of The World", the hard funk/rock driving "People Of Today" and the classic, silky soul flavor of songs like "(At Your Best) You Are Love" and "Let Me Down Easy". This album is a wonderful overall display of their talents and shows how the band had truly come to define what "self contained" truly meant. There is a reason that they enjoyed such a long and illustrious career spanning from the late 1950's up unto this day.The Isley Brothers were truly one of a kind and their longevity, creativity and flexibility are true testaments to drive, talent and determination. This album is one of the clearest portraits of what made them great as a band, singers, songwriters, arrangers, producers and record executives. They seemed to be at the forefront of every major shift in music from the late 1950's on. Their truly will never be another band quite like them.

Of the many stellar albums the Isley Brothers put out during their 3+3 era (1973 to 1984), Harvest For The World, in my opinion, is a slightly deeper album. Sure, it packs just as much soul power & passion as the I.B. albums that came before or after it, but on this one, I think the Isleys were reaching for something more - and achieved it.The album opens with the "Harvest For The World Prelude" - a slower, more expressive version of the album's theme with Ron Isley vocalizing pleas for healing, to "Gather every man & woman...Give thanks for your children." This is soul from the soul.Both the title track & "People Of Today" speak out about the social fustrations of the early 70's - Watergate, Poverty, Racism, Nixon, Unemployment - many of the same issues we face today, but above all, they express the need for healing - the "Harvest"."Who Loves You Better" is a fuzz-guitar/clavinet funkfest with Chris Jasper doing some Stevie Wonder-ish clavinet work and Ernie Isley churning out one of his trademark extended a-la-Hendrix guitar solos.Next, you get 2(of the many)classic Isley slow jams - "(At Your Best) You Are Love" & "Let Me Down Easy". "At Your Best..." remains a staple of quiet storm radio and was beautifully covered by Aaliyah(R.I.P.).The album closes with the funk/rock of "So You Wanna Stay Down" & "You Still Feel the Need".With "Harvest For The World", you get the Pride & Passion the Isley Brothers are famous for...and a little bit more.