Great post, Brad! The fleeing Taylor’s may have wanted some distance from the plural Durans, but they didn’t get that far! Immediately heard Duran Duran, guitars sans synth notwithstanding, in that cut! Fabulous sleuthing as always!
Thanks, Michael! Each of those covers were new to me....except, oddly enough, The Christians'. Oddly, because we, in the states, have never been exposed to them (thru domestically-released recordings and the possible resultant radio play). So, how'd I hear their "Harvest" cover? Karaoke!
When I noticed (about 8 years ago) that the club's karaoke jock and database had "Harvest for the World," I was surprised to see another name by the title: The Christians, and not the Isley Bros (this particular database had about 65,000 titles, I was told, so "obscure access" was their stock in trade...woo-hoo!! Anything to avoid being forced to sing "Royals" or "Don't Stop Believin'" for the 85th time on any given night)!
Well, of course, I had no idea who The Christians were, nor was I sure that might be the same song the Isleys did (and that I knew). I probably went home to look up this group and make sure the song was the same. It was, of course, so the next night, I sang it!
The karaoke arrangement (and, except for the vocals displayed on the Christians' cover) was virtually identical, or certainly close enough for me to do it justice, even though most of the assembled knew the song not at all!
I had not heard "Harvest" so I felt the same surprise you describe on first hearing it. Definitely different, and pretty good though I like the classic Isley sound more. Also interesting that you closed the article with a reference to Todd Rundgren. The Isleys did a cover of "Hello It's Me", which reverses the process: They took a white-bread song (one I always found truly awful and whiny), applied the Isley magic and turned it into something with swing and soul and actually quite good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ryexJGJXHRc
I think I knew the Isleys covered your hated Todd song (which he wrote at 18, by the way! While he was writing a song that sent you to the thesaurus looking for synonyms for "despise," I was still learning to tie my shoes....and, I wore loafers!), but it'd been a while since I heard it, so I appreciate the reminder play!
I wonder if there's a future article in covers recorded by the Isleys! So far, they seem to be classic rock'n'pop hits, like "Summer Breeze," and "Hello."
Methinks the Brothers don't get anywhere near the mad props they should for being as pliable and flexible as they've been....i.e. with all the left-field rock'n'pop covers, as well as the astounding notion (which I only uncovered a couple days ago!) that they laid down the belligerent "Fight the Power" and the bucolic "Harvest" IN THE SAME DAY! I can only assume they broke for lunch between!
I'm gonna rifle thru the Isleys catalog for similar rock covers, and see if a future article might be lurking! If I find some more gems, I'll holler to see if you might be interested in a collab!
I grew up thinking of the isley Bros. as a pretty straight-up soul act, but my gosh, they really covered a huge range. As big as they were, I think they have to be considered one of the great underrated groups of all time. And yes, keeping an eye out for collab ops, and I think the theme of covers is a good place to look.
Let's just say the pool is filled! As early as the early '70s, they were PLAYING ACOUSTIC GUITARS (posing with them, too...on the cover of their '71 "Givin' It Back" LP!), and covering Dylan, Carole King, James Taylor, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Hendrix, and Bill Withers! I saw this hinted at somewhere, and I fully agree: The Isleys (a recording entity since '54) were routinely covered by white artists, and (while not completely retaliatory) I think they got an early "jones" to cover white artists in return.
I haven't heard those covers yet, so I don't know if they filled them fully with funk, but if they played them fairly "straight," from a rock/pop vantage point, what a tremendous unknown (I think, anyway) gift to rock from the band who gave us the fully funk-tional "Shout," "Twist and Shout," and "It's Your Thing"! Well-known for R&B, and down'n'dirty funk, it might be cool to shine a light on their rock covers! We'll speak via e-mail about it, OK?
Great post, Brad! The fleeing Taylor’s may have wanted some distance from the plural Durans, but they didn’t get that far! Immediately heard Duran Duran, guitars sans synth notwithstanding, in that cut! Fabulous sleuthing as always!
Thanks, Michael! Each of those covers were new to me....except, oddly enough, The Christians'. Oddly, because we, in the states, have never been exposed to them (thru domestically-released recordings and the possible resultant radio play). So, how'd I hear their "Harvest" cover? Karaoke!
When I noticed (about 8 years ago) that the club's karaoke jock and database had "Harvest for the World," I was surprised to see another name by the title: The Christians, and not the Isley Bros (this particular database had about 65,000 titles, I was told, so "obscure access" was their stock in trade...woo-hoo!! Anything to avoid being forced to sing "Royals" or "Don't Stop Believin'" for the 85th time on any given night)!
Well, of course, I had no idea who The Christians were, nor was I sure that might be the same song the Isleys did (and that I knew). I probably went home to look up this group and make sure the song was the same. It was, of course, so the next night, I sang it!
The karaoke arrangement (and, except for the vocals displayed on the Christians' cover) was virtually identical, or certainly close enough for me to do it justice, even though most of the assembled knew the song not at all!
I had not heard "Harvest" so I felt the same surprise you describe on first hearing it. Definitely different, and pretty good though I like the classic Isley sound more. Also interesting that you closed the article with a reference to Todd Rundgren. The Isleys did a cover of "Hello It's Me", which reverses the process: They took a white-bread song (one I always found truly awful and whiny), applied the Isley magic and turned it into something with swing and soul and actually quite good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ryexJGJXHRc
I think I knew the Isleys covered your hated Todd song (which he wrote at 18, by the way! While he was writing a song that sent you to the thesaurus looking for synonyms for "despise," I was still learning to tie my shoes....and, I wore loafers!), but it'd been a while since I heard it, so I appreciate the reminder play!
I wonder if there's a future article in covers recorded by the Isleys! So far, they seem to be classic rock'n'pop hits, like "Summer Breeze," and "Hello."
Methinks the Brothers don't get anywhere near the mad props they should for being as pliable and flexible as they've been....i.e. with all the left-field rock'n'pop covers, as well as the astounding notion (which I only uncovered a couple days ago!) that they laid down the belligerent "Fight the Power" and the bucolic "Harvest" IN THE SAME DAY! I can only assume they broke for lunch between!
I'm gonna rifle thru the Isleys catalog for similar rock covers, and see if a future article might be lurking! If I find some more gems, I'll holler to see if you might be interested in a collab!
I grew up thinking of the isley Bros. as a pretty straight-up soul act, but my gosh, they really covered a huge range. As big as they were, I think they have to be considered one of the great underrated groups of all time. And yes, keeping an eye out for collab ops, and I think the theme of covers is a good place to look.
Let's just say the pool is filled! As early as the early '70s, they were PLAYING ACOUSTIC GUITARS (posing with them, too...on the cover of their '71 "Givin' It Back" LP!), and covering Dylan, Carole King, James Taylor, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Hendrix, and Bill Withers! I saw this hinted at somewhere, and I fully agree: The Isleys (a recording entity since '54) were routinely covered by white artists, and (while not completely retaliatory) I think they got an early "jones" to cover white artists in return.
I haven't heard those covers yet, so I don't know if they filled them fully with funk, but if they played them fairly "straight," from a rock/pop vantage point, what a tremendous unknown (I think, anyway) gift to rock from the band who gave us the fully funk-tional "Shout," "Twist and Shout," and "It's Your Thing"! Well-known for R&B, and down'n'dirty funk, it might be cool to shine a light on their rock covers! We'll speak via e-mail about it, OK?