Go for Your Guns
Go for Your Guns | ||||
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Studio album by the Isley Brothers | ||||
Released | April 16, 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1976–77 | |||
Studio | Bearsville (Woodstock, New York) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 33:25 | |||
Label | T-Neck Records | |||
Producer | The Isley Brothers | |||
The Isley Brothers chronology | ||||
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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]
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
Recording
After 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
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
Unless 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
- 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
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
---|---|
Billboard Pop Albums[12] | 6 |
Billboard Top Soul Albums[12] | 1 |
Singles
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
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1977 (U.S.)
External links
- The Isley Brothers-Go For Your Guns at Discogs
- Go For Your Guns 2012
References
- ^ "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.
- v
- t
- e
- Shout! (1959)
- Twist & Shout (1962)
- Twisting and Shouting (1963)
- This Old Heart of Mine (1966)
- Soul on the Rocks (1967)
- It's Our Thing (1969)
- The Brothers: Isley (1969)
- Get into Something (1970)
- Givin' It Back (1971)
- Brother, Brother, Brother (1972)
- 3 + 3 (1973)
- Live It Up (1974)
- The Heat Is On (1975)
- Harvest for the World (1976)
- Go for Your Guns (1977)
- Showdown (1978)
- Winner Takes All (1979)
- Go All the Way (1980)
- Grand Slam (1981)
- Inside You (1981)
- The Real Deal (1982)
- Between the Sheets (1983)
- Masterpiece (1985)
- Smooth Sailin' (1987)
- Spend the Night (1989)
- Tracks of Life (1992)
- Mission to Please (1996)
- Eternal (2001)
- Body Kiss (2003)
- Baby Makin' Music (2006)
- I'll Be Home for Christmas (2007)
- Power of Peace (2017)
- Make Me Say It Again, Girl (2022)
- Live at Yankee Stadium (1969)
- The Isleys Live (1973)
- Live! (1993)
- Timeless (1978)
- "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door"
- "Shout (Part 1)"
- "How Deep Is the Ocean?"
- "Twist and Shout"
- "Nobody but Me"
- "Testify (Part 1)"
- "Love Is a Wonderful Thing"
- "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"
- "I Guess I'll Always Love You"
- "That's the Way Love Is"
- "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
- "Behind a Painted Smile"
- "Put Yourself in My Place"
- "It's Your Thing"
- "I Turned You On"
- "Keep On Doin'"
- "Freedom"
- "Love the One You're With"
- "Spill the Wine"
- "Lay Lady Lay"
- "Lay-Away"
- "Pop That Thang"
- "Work to Do"
- "It's Too Late"
- "That Lady (Part 1)"
- "What It Comes Down To"
- "Summer Breeze"
- "Live It Up"
- "Fight the Power (Part 1)"
- "For the Love of You"
- "Harvest for the World"
- "The Pride"
- "Livin' in the Life"
- "Take Me to the Next Phase (Part 1)"
- "Groove with You"
- "I Wanna Be with You (Part 1)"
- "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)"
- "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love) (Parts 1 & 2)"
- "Between the Sheets"
- "Choosey Lover"
- "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)"
- "Contagious"
- "Make Me Say It Again, Girl"
- It's Your Thing (1970)
- Category:The Isley Brothers
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