The Isley Brothers

The Isleys threw off the fancy duds and embraced Bill Withers' acoustic soul-rock sound on this 1971 stunner. The opening medley of Neil Young's "Ohio" and Hendrix's "Machine Gun" links lyrical outrage with musical grandeur, while their 10-minute reading of Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" is an unparalleled romantic epic. And they make it all funky. Genius.

An exciting album in theory--cover versions by a genuinely "progressive" (at least self-contained) soul act of eight (mostly) excellent (mostly) rock songs. But only "Spill the Wine" (previously a progressive r&b hit), "Love the One You're With" (previously a progressive rock hit), and "Ohio" (no complaints) are exciting in practice. Ernie Isley just can't match Jimi's "Machine Gun," and soul is wasted on "Fire and Rain" and "Lay Lady Lay," which are more powerful in their understated originals. (Grade - B)