Happy 45th Anniversary to The Isley Brothers’ thirteenth studio album The Heat Is On, originally released June 7, 1975.
No matter what the lineup is now, it seems almost inconceivable to be talking about the Isley Brothers in the present tense, given they were formed 66 years ago in 1954 in Cincinnati, Ohio. To say they have staying power is the understatement of the century—they are dynamos of the music world. Almost no one can compare with their longevity and very few can compare in terms of quality of material.
With their fourth single “Shout” selling north of a million copies, they attracted the attention of a certain Berry Gordy and signed with Motown, releasing the all-time classic “This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)” along the way.
Yet everything was not so rosy in the garden. Seemingly constrained by the restrictions Gordy put on the familial band, they longed for greater freedom.
That freedom came with a break from the behemoth that was Motown and the formation of their own T-Neck Records to release the ultimate kiss-off in the shape of “It’s Your Thing.” Leaving Motown was a massive gamble and an enormous test of the faith they had in themselves—nothing, at that point, was bigger than Motown after all.
By 1975 though, The Isley Brothers had hit their stride and found their place in the musical ecosystem—to say a groove had been found would be both a terrible pun and a very accurate summation of where they were. Now comprised of multiple Isleys in the shape of vocalist Ronald, guitarist Ernie, bassist Marvin, vocalists Rudolph and O’Kelley and cousin Chris Jasper on keyboards, The Heat Is On was the thirteenth album released in the family name.
A look at the original gatefold album reveals peak 1970s fashions and attitudes—rhinestone studding galore, wide-brimmed hats aplenty and collars wider than the Grand Canyon reveal a band luxuriating in the glitz and glamour of the time. Opening up the gatefold though reveals more and places the band even more firmly in the zeitgeist of the mid-1970s. Below each member’s astonishingly funky picture is the birthdate and star sign of each band member. As a snapshot of the era, it captures it perfectly.
Beyond the assorted Isleys and cousin Jasper, another pair of key players lay in the co-production credits. Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff had blown the minds of musicians with their pioneering “Tonto” synthesizer that helped Stevie Wonder in the early part of his impeccable, golden run of the ‘70s and their work had caught the ear of the Isleys (among many, many others). This resulted in them working with the family from 1973’s 3+3 up to The Heat Is On two years later.
The sound of the Isleys had shifted enormously from their early days as a vocal trio. The addition of Ernie, Marvin and Chris Jasper had transformed them into a tight, urgent funk powerhouse with the huge bonus of the amazing vocal abilities of Ronald. They were a juggernaut, churning out a winning combination of massive funk grooves and slinkily seductive slow jams.
The Heat Is On is no exception to that guide. It opens with the surging, irresistible funk of “Fight The Power”—not only does it foreshadow (and influence) Public Enemy’s use of the same mantra, but it is infused with the same visceral energy, in lines like, “Time is truly wastin’ / There’s no guarantee, yeah / Smile is in the makin’ / We gotta fight the powers that be / And I’ll do what I can to fight the power.”
It chugs like a supertanker and the bass bubbles in surges, while Ronald infuses the lyrics with a snarled lip of resistance while sliding in and out of his higher register with the slickness of crude oil. This is followed up by the title track, which is another relentless orgy of a fully primed rhythm section, but this time with the added bonus of a rip-snorting solo from Ernie Isley. The bass (courtesy of Marvin) pops like a roll of bubble wrap being jumped on from a great height.
“Hope You Feel Better Love” is blessed with another Ernie solo that underlines the sheer genius of his guitar work to a driving, mid-tempo groove. On the flip side of the album comes a trio of those dreamily sensual ballads that made appearances on all their albums at that time. Ronald’s voice is so suited to the lush warmth of Jasper’s Moog and the lyrics are prime romance fodder, as embodied on “For The Love Of You” (“Driftin’ on a memory / Ain’t no place I’d rather be than with you, lovin’ you / Day will make a way for night / All we’ll need is candlelight and a song, soft and long”). Just typing the lyrics as I listen to the song has made me a little bit pregnant and I’m a man.
To follow that up with “Sensuality” seems, frankly, irresponsible to maternity care providers the world over. The steamy intensity gives Jasper the chance to show the full range of “Tonto” and his assorted Moogs and keys. They add layers of warmth to a song that simmers indecently, persuading the listening ear to abandon all else but thoughts of loving.
Completing the tale of two halves is the album closer “Make Me Say It Again Girl.” It is another “lights down low, shut the door” bedroom beauty. What seems clear throughout the three ballads is that the woman in question is placed high on a pedestal—she is the center of the world as far as the Isleys are concerned. There is barely a hint of bruising masculinity and the songs are that much more inclusive and successful for it.
The Heat Is On spent 40 weeks on the Billboard pop albums chart and hit number one, creating history along the way. At that point only The Ohio Players and Earth, Wind & Fire had been able to secure that level of success for a black group. Just as it seems ludicrous to still be able to refer to them in the present tense, so it seems equally ridiculous to have to extol the individual virtues of the players and the band as a whole.
Ronald Isley’s voice is imperious, equally at home fighting the power as he is romancing and Ernie Isley’s guitar playing should stop appearing on lists of underrated guitar geniuses—he should be held in higher regard than that multitude of white rock guitarists who seem to magically garner much more praise than him.
But beyond those obvious individual strengths, the band itself deserves to be heralded more widely and trumpeted to all corners and this album proves why. They were tight, they were funky and they were lushly romantic. In short, they brought the heat.
LISTEN: