Go for Your Guns is the fifteenth album by the Isley Brothers. Released on April 16, 1977, on their T-Neck label, it was also the band's fifth album to be distributed by their deal with Epic. Released in mid-April 1977, the album peaked a month later at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Soul chart,[1] and at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.[2]
| Go for Your Guns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 16, 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1976–77 | |||
| Studio | Bearsville (Woodstock, New York) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:25 | |||
| Label | T-Neck Records | |||
| Producer | The Isley Brothers | |||
| The Isley Brothers chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959–1983.
Overview
editRecording
editAfter four albums that were assisted by producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff in California, the Isley Brothers decided to stay in the East Coast choosing to record at upstate New York's Bearsville Studios, not too far from the brothers' T-Neck label in neighboring New Jersey at Chris Jasper's insistence. The album was engineered by John Holbrook assisted by Tom Mark.[3] It was mixed at Mediasound in New York City with Holbrook as mix engineer.
The album also noted Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads, though he still performed lead on some of the band's funkier recordings on the album. Though they had changed their location and had some minor changes during production, most of the direction of the album remained the same as it had for other albums, with stronger emphasis on rock music as evident in the songs "Climbing Up the Ladder" and "Livin' in the Life" than they had on previous albums.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[5] |
| Pitchfork | 8.7/10[6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Released in 1977, the album became one of their longest-running chart successes on the album chart staying on the charts for 40 weeks and spawning several singles including "The Pride", "Livin' in the Life" and the ballad "Voyage to Atlantis", while the funk ballad "Footsteps in the Dark", although never released as a single, became one of the brothers' most popular songs in their repertoire and would be sampled constantly, most famously by rapper Ice Cube in his hit, "It Was a Good Day". The album was certified platinum in July 1977, then eventually went double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with shipments of two million copies.
Track listing
editUnless otherwise indicated, information is taken from Allmusic.com[3] and is based on Liner notes[8]
All tracks are written by Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Pride (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:33 |
| 2. | "Footsteps in the Dark (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:07 |
| 3. | "Tell Me When You Need It Again (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:06 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Climbin' Up the Ladder (Part 1 & 2)" | 6:39 |
| 5. | "Voyage to Atlantis" | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Livin' in the Life" | 4:15 |
| 7. | "Go for Your Guns" | 2:16 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Voyage to Atlantis" (Alternate Version) | 6:33 |
| 9. | "The Pride (Part 1)" (Single Version) | 3:25 |
| 10. | "Voyage to Atlantis" (Single Version) | 3:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "The Pride (Disco Mix)" (Bonus Track) | 5:29 |
| 9. | "Voyage to Atlantis (Mono Single Version)" (Bonus Track) | 3:54 |
| 10. | "Livin' in the Life/Go for Your Guns (Disco Version)" (Bonus Track) | 6:29 |
Personnel
edit- The Isley Brothers
- Ronald Isley - lead vocals (1–6), background vocals
- Rudolph Isley - lead vocals (6),
- O'Kelly Isley - lead vocals (6), background vocals
- Ernie Isley - background vocals (2, 5), congas (2, 5), 12-String guitar (2, 5),[9] electric guitar (1–2,[10][11] 5), rhythm guitar, drums
- Marvin Isley - background vocals (2, 5)[9][11], bass
- Chris Jasper - background vocals (2, 5), tambourine (2, 5), piano (2, 5), synthesizer (2, 5)[9][11], keyboards
- Guest Musician
- Everett Collins - congas (3)
Charts
edit| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[12] | 6 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[12] | 1 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart positions[13] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B | ||
| 1977 | "The Pride" | 63 | 1 |
| "Livin' in the Life" | 40 | 4 | |
| "Voyage to Atlantis" | - | 50 | |
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Isley Brothers". Billboard.
- ^ "The Isley Brothers". Billboard.
- ^ a b "Go for Your Guns - the Isley Brothers | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ Hamilton, Andrew. The Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: I". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (September 11, 2015). "The Isley Brothers: The RCA Victor and T-Neck Album Masters". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 346.
- ^ The Isley Brothers. "Go For Your Guns" (Album notes). T-Neck / Epic. 1977.
- ^ a b c The Isley Brothers. "Voyage to Atlantis". YouTube: The Isley Brothers. 19 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4jWVon4iE
- ^ The Isley Brothers. "The Pride, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 8 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZ-6HAdv7w
- ^ a b c The Isley Brothers. "Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 18 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyq9zlYMw9g
- ^ a b "The Isley Brothers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ^ "The Isley Brothers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.