3+3

I will not include the reissue bonus tracks and interview segments in this review.

I am familiar with the Isley Brothers, having started as a cross between gospel and doo-wop before expanding their member roster and transitioning into a hybrid of funk rock and psychedelic soul. Alongside original compositions, the brothers would also funkify rock songs and other existing tracks. In fact, the big single off this record I already know, "That Lady", is a reworking of their earlier track "Who's That Lady". That re-recording continues to be an absolute banger, which made me curious how the rest of 3 + 3 sounded.

Boy, I figured I was in for a fun treat, but this album impressed me. Younger brothers Ernie and Marvin Isley were officially brought into the fold as guitarist and bassist for the group, and they knock it out of the park. The infectious bass lines and guitar stabs made for such a delightful listen, alongside the brothers' harmonious vocals, George Morland's steady beat, and Truman Thomas's light organ finesse. Not only were the original songs of love and life exploration effective funk rock tunes, but I was genuinely floored by how they reworked other people's songs. The R&B waltz of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight", the absolute chicken-scratch guitar work and bounce of the Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music", and the thumping bass-led groove of Jonathan Edwards's "Sunshine" were all amazingly realized. But the crown jewel of this record ended up being their cover of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze", transforming a laid-back soft-rock tune into a full-on extended jam complete with a soaring guitar solo from Ernie. I cannot deny how strong reinterpretations like these match the quality of their original work.

3 + 3 proved to be such an amazing record, completing the Isley Brothers' metamorphosis into such an electrifying funk group with raw, genuine passion.

Herkende alleen de eerste track van een Kendrick Lamar plaat. Dat was ook gelijk het hardste nummer, hoewel de rest verre van slecht is. Lekker funky en groovy, erg van genoten.

Now “who’s that lady” will be stuck in my head for another year. I love the slightly manic quality of some of the vocals, which I feel like ended up as part of OutKast’s sound.

Smooth soul, I was surprised there were multiple covers on the album. I underestimated some of the great musicianship on That Lady since I was only familiar with the cheesy lyrics. Great album.

Some great songs. And that guitar tone in the solos does something to my brain.

Just 3

Good but didn't capture me

Me ha gustado como suena, me ha parecido oír la base de muchos samples que ahora forman parte de otras canciones. Lo mismo es solo mi imaginación. En cualquier caso muy recomendable como cultura musical.

3 + 3 starts off promising, with the Isley Brothers’ smooth vocals and soulful grooves making a strong first impression. Unfortunately, the album becomes repetitive and loses momentum as it goes on. There are some standout moments, but overall, it felt more tedious than memorable. The musicianship is solid throughout, and the blend of funk, soul, and R&B is undeniably well executed. Still, the songs don’t always have enough variety to keep things interesting. I can appreciate its influence and importance, but it ultimately wasn’t an album I found myself wanting to revisit.

There’s some belters on here as well as a few I wasn’t massively fussed on. It’s an album I could see growing on me with a few listens.

It starts really strong with That Lady and that was potentially part of the problem I had, it was deep into the album before another track came even close to matching it.

Sunshine(Go Away Today) was were it picked up again for me but the standout track by a mile was Summer Breeze. Loved everything about it but especially the unexpected cracker of a guitar solo at the end.

Really only liked 3 songs from 3 + 3.

Top tracks: That Lady, Pts. 1&2, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Summer Breeze, Pts. 1&2

Quite fun and groovy. Enjoyed this a lot.

Great album, although the 4 big hits I already knew outshines the others.

decent

I love funk music so much, was fun hearing all the source of loads of samples as well

Me ha sorprendido un montón, muy divertido, mola.

Right from the start, the first song, “That Lady,” on the Isley Brothers’ album *3+3* drills its way into your ears with an absolutely jarring melody. According to Wikipedia, it’s supposed to be a lead guitar part inspired by Jimi Hendrix. I’d say it sounds more like someone tried to imitate Hendrix’s characteristic sustain using the wrong effects. It’s somewhat reminiscent of “Crosstown Traffic” - but there, Hendrix deliberately aimed for a “horn concert” sound (and achieved it technically in a completely different and far more organic way) …
It took me a few songs to realize that what follows isn’t all just elevator music, but actually also some quite appealing funk-rock (e.g., “Summer Breeze”). Unfortunately, Ernie Isley keeps bringing that botched guitar sound to the forefront. Where’s the producer when you need him…
Overall, the impression here is of an experiment that can only be considered partially successful. From a music-historical perspective, it’s certainly quite interesting, but it’s not a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. Too bad.

Any other time I'd give an album like this that's got some slower songs on it 4 stars, just because they don't really interest me. There was something about this album though that I really enjoyed, I think the other songs easily make up for the ones I didn't like as much.

How can anyone hate this? The Isley Brothers started as a twisting soul band and ended up creating the funkiest tracks known to man. And every song is fantastic, great flow too. Adding this to the rotation

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

I’ve heard a few Isley Brothers tracks in my life, and I’ve probably heard far more than I know on account of how many times they’ve been sampled (a specific thanks to Kendrick, at the very least). This is the first time I’ve heard a full Isley Brothers album, and… yeah, they’re about as good as I was hoping for. Their musicianship is excellent & the soundscape we’re dealing with here in 1973 feels way ahead of schedule. The only thing that needed a bit of work is their ability to wrap up tracks a little more quickly & just a little less lyrical repetition – those are the main reasons I’m at a 4.5 as opposed to a flat 5. The entire package here, however, is far too good to not earn the bump up. To be transparent, the bump is almost entirely in the excellent guitar playing throughout the cover of “Summer Breeze”. That track was awesome as fuck.

I do have a few other smaller nitpicks. I wish “Listen to the Music” were played a little more straight like the original Doobie Brothers version with just a funkier lean, as opposed to the attempt to make it a little more soulful & groovier. The urgency in the original track is part of what makes it work, because it’s an open plea to do so. When you take away that urgency, you take away some of the potency of the track. I think some of the other covers do lose some of the intent of the original in there; “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” feels a bit more desperate to my ears than what James Taylor probably intended, for example. “Sunshine (Go Away Today)” is probably the closest to the original here, though I think the focus does get shifted away from the desire for self-agency in the original track & is pointedly a bit too defiant towards ‘the man’ (the government). It attacks him more than it lifts up the desire to be free, and I think that feels a bit off.

However, if we focused just on the intent of each track as opposed to combining it with the sense of musicianship at hand here, that wouldn’t be super fair, I think. I totally get why this has far more 4 votes on the site than 5’s, and perhaps on a slightly more anal day for me, I’d be down there too. However, given that I really found myself drawn to most of the funk in the instrumentals & I was easily sold by his vocal passions (even on those covers), I’d be kind of a fool to not go up. It’s a super fun album, and it’s an easy bump up to a 5 for me.