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The Isley Brothers At Olympia, Friday, November 14

The Isley Brothers At Olympia, Friday, November 14 image The Isley Brothers At Olympia, Friday, November 14 image
Parent Issue
Day
3
Month
December
Year
1975
OCR Text

Apart trom the testimony provided by an enduring musical legacy that spans a decade and a half and includes hits the stature of "Shout," "Twist and Shout," "This Old Heart of Mine," and "It's Your Thing," proof of the Isley Brothers' musical capabilities is glowingly demonstrated on every cut of their latest album "The Heat Is On." The six-man team cooperatively writes, arranges, and produces their material and stage act themselves and with a sureness and expertise born of long experience. So one has to look elsewhere for the erratic, not to say weird, aspects of the Brothers' show at Olympia on Friday, Nov. 14.

The obvious first place to look is to the people behind this "Disco Happening." While there's no question that the Isleys are as hot as they've ever been, and that they filled Cobo Hall this past summer, still these producers might have exercised some caution before booking (in line with a trend moving many pop producers) this larger hall. Advance publicity was relatively scant and the 16,000-capacity facility was scarcely half-full.

The problems of good sound in that terrible old cavern are another prodigious stumbling block, and although groups like Elton John and the Spinners did a remarkable job taming the acoustics there, The Isleys suffered. Vocal mikes broke up, the overall sound was occasionally muddy, and the mix was terribly unbalanced (when guitarist Ernie Isley played he may as well have been up there alone). In addition, the lighting was poorly done and one was lucky if the lead player at any given moment was illuminated, let alone the rest of the group. Finally, due to a fuck-up by the airlines people in New York, much of the Brothers' equipment was left behind.

Despite all these problems, the show went over well. The Brothers alternated uptempo tunes and ballads in the time-honored tradition, and while it seemed rather abrupt to go from a raver like "Live It Up" to Todd Rundgren's "Hello, lt's Me," at least one segment of the crowd or another responded strongly to every change.

Two family members shouldered the bulk of the burden. Brother Ronald dominated the vocals. He is capable of drawing screams of delight from the women present during a tune like "Sensuality" by virtue of a sweet, smoldering, Al Green sexiness and ready then to turn around and charge through "Fight The Power" like Edwin Starr doing "War."

Meanwhile, Ernie Isley has taught his guitar every syllable of the Jimi Hendrix story, and he played each solo with an all-out, liberating emotionality rarely heard since the Great One passed away. Particularly moving was his work on the Brothers' striking medley "Ohio/Machine Gun," where he managed to evoke an air battle surely fierce enough to level Detroit.

Perhaps the ultímate testament to the Isley Brothers' current strength is that they were able to fight the powers that would keep them from getting across that strange evening and contrived to walk away with their fists held high.

-Bill Adler