464. The Isley Brothers, "3 + 3"

 

This is probably the first album on here that I'd never heard all the way through and after I listened to it my immediate reaction was "I'm gonna listen to that again all the way through."  This is that good.

First off, you've got "That Lady," which you know better as "Who's That Lady," and which you might remember from this commercial in which a discarded broom falls in love with a plastic lawn flamingo.  Nevertheless.  There are also some choice covers on here, like a sweet cover of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" and the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music" which is different enough from the original to make them hard to compare.  I like this a lot, but maybe the Doobies' slightly more?

The real mindfuck is "Summer Breeze," which started out as the whitest, most dentist officey '70s E-Z listening song of all time, by Seals and Crofts, a duo for suburbanites who found Simon & Garfunkel too dangerous. I have a distinct memory of that Seals and Crofts album being played at dinner parties I got dragged to by my parents when I was a kid, which were among the most uncool events I have ever been present at, including science fairs and Sunday school, if that gives you an idea of how crushingly lame that song is.  Needless to say, the Isleys gave it a little more flavor.

The whole album is just great.  The production - by the Isleys themselves - is super smooth, especially the vocals, which are not only beautifully sung but so well recorded you will think Ronald is in the room with you.  If I didn't have another album to listen to for tomorrow, I'd put this on again right now.