The Isley Brothers - Inside You/Real Deal

2007 digitally remastered two-fer from the R&B legends featuring two albums appearing on CD for the first time. Inside You was originally released in 1981 followed a year later by The Real Deal.. BGO. Album Description

Not What I Expected, But Typical Isley Fashion

Every Isley fan should own these two albums, but I kinda know why I never heard or saw these two albums. You get the feeling that they were past their prime years with some of these songs. "Inside You" was just a painful sequel to "Grand Slam", with the Isley's trying to hang on to the old style. I think they get a little too carried away with those DARN STRINGS! (seriously guys, you could have left that part out) The title track gives you the impression of a solid effort, but the rest of the album falls flat. "Don't Hold Back Your Love" puts you in the mind of a watered down version of "Don't Say Goodnight" and doesn't even match up. "The Real Deal" shows the willingness to change direction but at the same time keep some of the elements of the traditional Isley funk. I think they bite a page out of Prince, and The Gap Band's playbook with the title track and "Stone Cold Lover". Good thing they came back with "Between The Sheets" or this would have been a nausiating decade for the guys. August 23, 2008

The ideas were getting stale, unfortunately

Given the lukewarm reception to the predecessor "Grand Slam," "Inside You" and "The Real Deal" saw The Isley Brothers attempt to tweak their sound to a changing market. The result was arguably the two weakest albums of the 3+3 era.

I'll start with "Inside You," which had the Isleys prominently using string arrangements. Such a marriage of such diverse sounds (hard-chugging soul music and lush orchestral structures) bring to mind Barry White's experiements, and unfortunately that's what some of it felt like. "Baby Hold On" is a little too similar to the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers sound to appreciate it, and "First Love" sounds like a Toto knockoff. "Welcome to My Heart" was just too sappy and while "Don't Hold Back Your Love" reminded me of the early '70s vocal groups it took too long for me to get into it.

The biggest downfall with "Inside You" is not The Isley Brothers' efforts in experimenting with different sounds and textures, but the songs simply sound uninspired. The title track (the lesd single) is the closest thing that would be considered an essential 3+3 era song and this was arguably the first album the group made that had you wondering what other track had the potential to become a hit song.

With "The Real Deal," the group went back to its definitive funk but with a little more emphasis on Chris Jasper's keyboards (and like with "Inside You," he was becoming more prominent on some of the background vocals). The sound of the early '80s was more synthesizer-driven, so the Isleys wanted to keep up. "Stone Cold Lover," "Are You with Me" and "It's Alright with Me" are examples of the colder, punctuated keyboard sound. With Jasper's vocals and the keyboard melodies on "It's Alright with Me," it particularly sounds like another Doobie Brothers-like track.

The downfall with the album is that the key elements of The Isleys' uptempo stuff had gotten stale to listeners after nine years of nonstop albums ("The Real Deal" was the 3+3 model's 11th album). Moreover, the album didn't exhibit the warmth and earthiness generally associated with their music. The only song that is a gem, IMO, is the ballad "All in My Lover's Eyes."

Given that the uptempo music scene had passed The Isleys by, the group moved toward the ballad-oriented music and reinvented themselves almost solely for the bedroom for the "Between the Sheets" album. If anything, these two albums signaled the end of The Isley Brothers as America's funky family. August 9, 2008

Both Of These Albums Are SERIOUSLY Great!

Musically speaking the Isley's have been tremendous at pretty much everything one can do-musically,composing,singing and TONS of soul and spirit!As for the first album presented on this twofer 'Inside You' was something I owned on vinyl for many years,but since this is that recordings first CD appearence I now have the chance to review it.The title track of that 1981 album is very much in keeping with those of the previous few albums,although taken up a tempo or three.Then comes the very impressive "Baby Hold On",which sounds nothing so much as the Isley's version of the Doobie Brother's sound (it would've actually been a GREAT inclusion on the Doobie's One Step Closer album-also worth checking out)."Don't Hold Your Love" and "Welcome To My Heart",with it's occasional Charles Stepney-isms are no surprise to those accustomed to the Isley's long sexy ballads but there are enough newer production changes to keep the sound fresh as a daisy.The album ends with one of the Isley's best rockers in "Love Zone",one of the few times when they combine Chris Jasper's bass synths with Ernie's guitar theatrics for one of the strongest,toughest funk-rockers of the day.Obviously after this recording the Isley's realized their sound was growing somewhat predictable (and they were right in a way) and decided to change the musical tide a bit.So on 1982's 'The Real Deal',the title cut says it all-it's still funky but as one reviewer stated The Gap Band and Rick James "punk-funk" style is kept more in mind but it's still the Isleys.And luckily they keep the style and tempo up for "Are You With Me?" and the spicy "Stone Cold Lover",all superb songs.Of the midtempo songs presented "I'll Do It All For You" is definately the most steamy.The album ends on a very surprising note with "Under The Influence" which is for all intents and purposes a screaming Led Zeppelin/Cream style hard rock-blues screamer,once again exhibiting their versitility. It's somewhat ironic that after the scorching 'The Real Deal' (which is so ignored many Isley fans never knew it existed) the Isley's completed their modernization with the more popular (and also far more electronic) Between the Sheets album but now that these are available 'The Real Deal' is by far the the mahor treat of this set considering most haven't yet heard it.
October 18, 2007

Isley's Inside You/Real Deal

Well Isley fan's here it is finally the chance to own two good albums on CD from the past. I not going to sell them I'm just glad they are fianlly availiable. If you dont have the you have you better get them. September 24, 2007

The Isleys Coasting

INSIDE YOU (1981) and THE REAL DEAL (1982) are the featured albums on this third two-on-one Isley release from BGO Records. Both of these albums broke the group's nine gold and/or platinum album streak.

The previous album GRAND SLAM (also 1981) took longer than the previous eight albums to reach "gold" status. So on INSIDE YOU, the Isleys tried to reinvent themselves by incorporating lush string arrangements into their clavinet/guitar solo funk formula. For the most part, it works, especially on the title tune, the Doobie-ish "Baby Hold On", the lush Stylistics-like ballad "Don't Hold Back Your Love", and "Love Zone" in which Ernie's guitar soars above a comfy bed of strings. However, the pop leanings fall flat on "First Love", the soggy "Welcome To My Heart", and "Love Merry Go Round", a good idea that somehow fails to catch fire. INSIDE YOU stalled at #45 on the Billboard pop album chart, the Isleys first non-top 40 album since 1971's GIVIN' IT BACK.

After that pop/funk experiment failed, the Isleys brought the funk back to the forefront in 1982's THE REAL DEAL. The title track and "Are You With Me?" incorporate some Gap Band influences in the mix, while those darn strings rear their ugly head in the poppy "It's Alright With Me". "All In My Lover's Eyes" is well-sung but features lazy lyrics, while Ernie's guitar saves the funky "Stone Cold Lover" and the bluesy closer "Under The Influence". This album crawled to #87 on the Billboard Pop Charts.

After the failure of these albums, the Isleys came back with 1983's platinum BETWEEN THE SHEETS. These albums aren't the best representation of the Isley catalog, but they have their moments. July 2, 2007

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