3+3

That Lady and Summer Breeze are a vibe, the rest not so much.

I remember "That Lady" from the radio back in the day, and that was fun (though I kept thinking that the guy should just accept that the lady doesn't want to date him, and move on!)

Lots of this is good; as always I really like the funk part of these songs, and of course these guys are great musicians. But I don't really enjoy slow soul songs, or covers of songs when I'm not a fan of the originals (e.g., Summer Breeze). And that makes up a lot of this album.

So this is ok, but not something I'd return to.

3 stars

Good musicians, well written songs, but it's just too smooth and my brain slides right across it with nothing to latch on to.

A nice listen with some decent tunes. Doesn't totally resonate with me, but I'd be absolutely fine with listening to this anytime someone threw it on.

Funky, fun to listen to. This summer breeze version is better than the "yacht rock" version I know.
Highlights: who's that lady, summer breeze pt1

nije moj đir, isuviše solfankasto, al stvarno nije loše

funky, but too smooth for me. probably the lightest 4 i have given yet

Damn, was surprised at this one. Normally am not huge on 70's soul and funk, but this one just starts off blazing out the gate with That Lady, Pts 1 & 2. I've definitely heard it before, but maybe their original vocal R&B version from the 60s?

But I mostly recognize the song from Kendrick Lamar's sample of it in his song "i" (And on a tangent, the demo version of that song is superior to the To Pimp a Butterfly album version). Kendrick had a fantastic ear for that sample.

The album does kinda have trouble keeping the same momentum through most of it. That Lady is easily the most driving, intense song on the record until the guitar solo in their cover of Summer Breeze.

Another thing I'm slightly off with is with a decent chunk of the album being covers, but that said, they're all great covers that translate into the Isley Brothers' style perfectly. I wouldn't say the covers are better than the originals, but they're definitely a necessary cover in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, fantastic record.

Its all just too floaty for my liking. I can appreciate that the music is good and the vocals are solid, but there is nothing that really grabs me.
I spent the first two songs trying to think what dong they reminded me of, at which point I spotted Summer Breeze down the tracklist and the riddle was solved.
Things pick up slightly with Listen to the music and What it comes down to, but otherwise there’s just Summer Breeze of interest and that pays the price for being licensed for adverts meaning i keep expecting a cheesy voice over to come in.

I went into this thinking I didn't know any songs by The Isley Brothers, started the first track and instantly realised how wrong I was.

I thought they all had great voices and I liked the funky soul vibe. I bailed out after the standard tracklist was done, but that was because I don't need to listen to the same songs again, just in shorter, single versions, not because I hadn't enjoyed it.

This probably isn't the type of thing I'm going to choose to put on again, but I enjoyed listening to it. I particularly liked their cover of Listen To The Music.

3/5

As a British person, this sort of music makes me want to run down to the nearest Harvester and have a bang-average (but it's cheap!) meal with the family. No idea why. And I'm sure it's not what the Isley Bros intended.

Solid jams all-round. Just wish it went a little bit hardr at times.

this was pretty good

I don’t know how many funk albums are on this list, but I do know that that number isn’t big enough. I knew this would be great and I wasn’t wrong, this is a solid 4/5 album.

3

-so many dope songs on this. the band sounds incredible. the singing is off the wall.

-this record is quite psychedelic; it's unbelievable this is the same group that did "Twist and Shout."

-every cover song is an improvement on the original.

Some nice groove, though it doesn't really jump out at me as 'good' or amazing in any way.

Great production quality, especially for 1973, but this brand of funk/soul was a little too busy for me. The vocal approach began to grate quickly, and the music offers up little breathing room or much in the way of dynamics within songs.

𝟥 + 𝟥 shows the Isley Brothers expanding their sound with confidence, blending silky soul, rich harmonies and fluid guitar work into something both polished and warm. The album balances sleek funk grooves with slow-burning ballads, and the addition of younger family members gives the music a fresh dynamic edge. It’s stylish, smooth and surprisingly varied, offering enough personality and craftsmanship to stand above standard ’70s soul records.

The instrumentals, the smooth vocals, the outfits on their album cover. These fellas do sappy cheesiness right! THIS is the kind of funk I like.