I won't be getting rid of my NM/NM original anytime soon, but will probably end up playing this one more often. Again superior work at keeping the feel of the original record and adding today's quality standards on to it. The rest of the package (especially the gatefold jacket) are all welcome upgrades to the original. Absolutely no surface noise and pristinely quiet in all the right spots (it's especially groovy on Side B, which thrives in those still spaces of those slow jams). But the big difference here is the pressing by Pallas. The instruments feel a little more upfront and present. The SC is cut louder Side B especially you can see the effects as the groove take up a lot more space when you compare side-by-side. But the Speakers Corner reissue takes it up a notch when it comes to the cut and pressing. The music essentially "sounds" the same there's no loss in the performance but there's also no "like hearing it with new ears" revelation. This reissue does an excellent job at preserving all the things that made the original mastering great. The original was recorded pretty hot and has always sounded fantastic. But recently I've been impressed with Speakers Corner and went for this one out of curiosity. Having an original for some time I never felt like I would need a reissue. The synth masterminds of TONTO's Expanding Head Band, Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, took their engineering to new heights with this one (Stevie, excepted.) Required listening for the ages. That says a lot, given that the core members were 25 years deep in the game by the time this album was released. Also, it's important to note that this was the first of several full-length albums where the band shook off their distinctive knack of reinterpreting cover material and flexed their songwriting muscles. I can't think of a better way to devote 35+ minutes of your day than to slip this disc in your rotation and get a whiff of the Isleys' indomitable heat. And who can forget those sterling, silky smooth, Ronald Isley-led ballads that can strip paint off walls and melt ice instantly? There's a whole side of them and it's virtually flawless, too. The timeless socio-conscious anthem that has been sampled and alluded to in popular culture and several popular music staples, especially hip-hop? Check. But, this acclaimed 1975 classic, The Heat is On, may very well mark the culmination of their watershed 3+3 period, as it distills everything that made the family unit a well-oiled soul, funk, and rock band way into the early 80s, before their formula began to slip. Too many historic events, reinventions, sea changes, and albums to name in their honor. On a good day, you may catch me fist-pumping while blasting Go For Your Guns, 3 + 3, or Get Into Something. Other times, it's Showdown, Givin' It Back, and Go All the Way. One day, it's Live it Up, Harvest for the World, and Winner Takes All. Worst of all, it's sacrilegious to pick a single favorite. For Isley-philes and music enthuatists like myself, it's difficult to point to a Rosetta Stone of the Isley Brothers' extensive canon.
0 kommentar(er)
