Reading on mobile? Listen to these tracks on Spotify here 6. Best of all was this molten medley of two contemporary protest songs, Neil Young's Ohio and Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun, which married Ron's wracked, mournful gospel moan to Ernie's fiery guitar excursions, the younger Isley proving himself a worthy successor to the recently deceased Hendrix. Ohio/Machine GunĪt the height of their funk success, the Isleys changed direction again with 1971's Givin' It Back and 1972's Brother, Brother, Brother LPs, covering hits and deep cuts by rock artists, including long, languid takes on Dylan's Lay Lady Lay and Carole King's It's Too Late, and a rousing reading of James Taylor's Fire and Rain. 1969's It's Your Thing and the attendant It's Our Thing LP were their biggest smashes, but this seven-and-a-half minute epic from 1970 – with its chicken-scratch guitars, steroidal horns and instrumental breakdowns – is the one hip-hop's crate-diggers sought out. They also changed musical direction, coining a muscular funk – influenced by Sly Stone, James Brown, and the Temptations' work with Norman Whitfield – that proved as irresistible to record buyers as it did to dancefloors. Instead, they formed their own record label, T-Neck, and welcomed aboard younger brothers Ernie and Marvin on guitar and bass, and brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keyboards. Released from their Motown contract in 1968, the Isleys wasted little time moping. But what a hit – a magical synthesis of Motown's deft pop orchestrations and Ron's earthy, unvarnished vocal that reached No 12 on Billboard's pop charts and remains an unimpeachable joy today.
But even with the cream of Motown behind them, chart success proved elusive for the Brothers indeed, this Holland/Dozier/Holland gem was their only hit for Motown. The Isleys signed to Motown in 1965, at a time when Berry Gordy's mellifluous pop factory was churning out new soul superstars every other week. One of only a handful of tracks Hendrix cut with the Isleys, 1964's Testify is a furious, entertaining romp enlivened by Jimi's guitar breaks and Ron Isley's gift for mimicry, as he tries to convince us that Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jackie Wilson and even the Beatles joined the Brothers in the studio for this track.
They remained an enduring concert attraction, however, thanks in part to their energetic new guitarist, a former paratrooper from Seattle named Jimi Hendrix. The Isleys struggled to follow Shout even a top 40 hit with Twist & Shout in 1962 – a year before the Fabs got their hands on it – couldn't keep them in the charts for long.
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