Givin' It Back

Track Listings

1. Ohio/Machine Gun

2. Fire and Rain

3. Lay Lady Lay

4. Spill the Wine

5. Nothing to Do but Today

6. Cold Bologna

7. Love the One You're With

Givin' It Back,The Isley Brothers,Sony,Funk,Pop,R&B,Soul,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues

Givin' It Back

Tracks:

Ohio/Machine Gun
Fire And Rain
Lay Lady Lay
Spill The Wine
Nothing To Do But Today
Cold Bologna
Love The One You're With

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting Experiment.......2007-08-02

1971's GIVIN' IT BACK explored the Isley Brothers' folksy-soul side by covering hits from prgressive rock acts of the day. Highlights of this album include the Isley's soulful readings of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" (although the single version is better than the long ten-minute version presented here), Stephen Stills "Nothing To Do But Today" and "Love The One You're With", Bill Wither's "Cold Bologna" and the album's stinging opener "Ohio/Machine Gun".

However, the brothers' version of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" is too bombastic for its own good, while their rendition of Eric Burden & War's "Spill The Wine" lacks the humor of the original. Despite these minor flaws, GIVIN IT BACK is a great album because of the soulful performances and the continued training ground provided for younger brothers Ernie and Marvin along with cousin Chris Jasper.

Rare Find.......2006-07-17

I have searched for this "album" for years. Should have come to amazon.com first.

I BOUGHT AND HEAR THE ORIGINAL VINYL RECORDING.......2006-03-06

I love this album. One song that is not talked about is their version of OHIO. I really love the entire album. Notice I said "album". I really love "Ohio". Living during that time of The Vietnam War protest, The Civil Right movement, Women's Liberation movement was so heady and intoxicating. I was in the Marines and did not know if I was going to war so I lived for the moment. This album reflected the times and I identified with it. I nearly worn the groove of this album. I have always wanted to own it again after it was stolen. Now I have the chance to not only own it but to hear it in a way the vinyl records could not bring out.

Between The Covers.......2003-10-11

Luther Vandross' amazing cover of Stephen Stills' Love The One You're With(from the Songs album) was inspired by The Isley Brothers classic reinterpretation.Even before "Lutha" recorded a covers album,Giving It Back was the brothers re-interpreting songs associated with rock musicians,and turning them into R&B classics.
Their melding of Crosby,Stills,Nash,and Young's Ohio and the Isley's former sideman Jimi Hendrix's Machine Gun is nothing short of amazing as well as their observation to the times.The sensuous treatment of Lay,Lady Lay is a far cry from Dylan's contrified original,and where Eric Burden spoke the words to Spill The Wine,Ronald Isley sings it in his signature tenor,transforming it into an altogether new song.He also nails the deep sadness that James Taylor's Fire and Rain brings to listeners.
If this album has any flaws,is that it took too long to be reissued,thus nearly burying this creative phase of the Isley Brothers music.Where most would pick 3+3 or The Heat Is On as classic studio recordings,Givin' It Back and Brother,Brother,Brother are just as essential.

The middle part of their second phase..........2002-12-24

The reviewer below who tried to judge a book by it cover, obviously didn't get it. The Isleys had already made history by the time this album debuted in 1971. Their prolonged workout on "Shout" (1959) cemented the path from Gospel to Soul. And their cover of "Twist And Shout" from 1962 was both funky and cool and inspired The Beatles' OWN cover version. The brothers'
(O'Kelly, Rudolph, and Ronald) search for fame, fortune, and independence led them to Motown Records in the mid-sixties. While they were only a second-line act there, The Isleys learned a lot about the workings of a Black-owned record label. They also recorded another classic, "This Old Heart Of Mine." Toward the end of the sixties, they launched their own label, T-Neck, with the smash hit "It's Your Thing." The album that followed, The Brothers Isley, neatly closed the book on the group's soul years. With the 1970 release, Get Into Something, the brothers ditched their suits in favor of "hip" new clothes, and their new music showed the influence of Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix. Now they were ready to CHANGE history. Joining the group for this new phase were younger brothers Ernie (guitars), and Marvin (bass) and brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards). Giving It Back was the next step in the group's evolution. The guys had established a fresh new sound, for a new decade. Now they would use this new approach to tackle songs (and issues) that White kids were listening to and concerned with. "Ohio/Machine Gun" was a biting commentary on the tragic riot at Kent State University. The drums alternate between a military cadence and rapid-fire drumrolls that simulated gunfire. Add in the incendiary guitar work of Hendrix disciple Ernie, and you had a song that sounded like it was recorded on the front lines of a war zone! On "Fire and Rain" and "Lay, Lady, Lay" they showed their understanding that the changing times were having a devastating effect on people and their relationships. They latch on to "Thought I'd See You/Thought I'd See You Again" on "Fire And Rain" and keep this statement of confusion in the forefront. The cover of "Spill The Wine" illustrated how in touch The Isleys were with other musicians on the cutting edge. Eric Burdon (of Animals fame) had a hit with the song fronting the band War, another Sly-influenced act that was the first successful Black band to reflect the saturation of British Invasion acts in American rock music. The Isleys' version "gives this song back" to Black listeners (and thus inspired the name of the album). The closing number, a cover of Stephen Stills' post-Woodstock classic, "Love The One You're With," puts the brothers right back in the church, where they are clearly celebrating their ability to take these songs and make them their own. The Isley Brothers would no longer be a vocal group, but a self-contained musical unit that was grounded in the foundation of more than a decade of paying dues on the Chitlin' Circuit, and of the profound musicality of the younger members. One more album (Brother, Brother, Brother) would complete this second era in Isleys history. That album was so full of hits ("Pop That Thing" "Work To Do" "Lay-Away" and a testifying take on Carole King's "It's Too Late" that would have fit in nicely on Giving It Back), that when The Isleys shopped for a new marketing deal for their label, CBS opened up the check book. "Who's That Lady" followed, and by then all six members of The Isley Brothers were pictured on the cover of the new album, 3+3. They were a band now. They had arrived. Giving It Back was in important step in that journey and, in retrospect, a turning point in the career of the Isley Brothers.

Givin' It Back/Brother, Brother, Brother

Average customer rating:

Givin' It Back/Brother, Brother, Brother
The Isley Brothers
Manufacturer: Acadia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000SQKZTC
Release Date: 2007-07-30

Tracks:

Ohio/Machine Gun
Fire And Rain
Lay Lady Lay
Spill The Wine
Nothing To Do But Today
Cold Bologna
Love The One You're With
Brother, Brother
Put A Little Love In Your Heart
Sweet Season/Keep On Walkn'
Work To Do
Pop That Thing
It's Too Late
Love Put Me On The Corner

Album Description

2007 digitally remastered two-fer featuring a double dosage of the Soul legends on one CD. Givin' It Back was originally released in 1971 at the height of the civil rights movement in the USA. It is also the first Isley Brothers album to rely entirely on outside material with songs by Hendrix, Dylan and James Taylor. Brother Brother Brother is a mixture of original material and covers and was released in '72. Acadia.

Album Details

2007 Digitally Remastered Edition of Two Original Albums Combined on to a Single CD. "Givin' it Back" was Originally Released in 1971 at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. It is also the Group's First Album to Rely Entirely on Outside Material with Songs by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills and James Taylor. "Brother, Brother, Brother" is a Mixture of Original Material Along with Covers of Songs by Carole King and Jackie Deshannon.

Average customer rating:

Givin'it Back
Isley Brothers
Manufacturer: Pid
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

R&B | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000005K27
Release Date: 1997-08-12

Album Description

Unavailable in the U.S., this is a German reissue of their1971 covers album featuring their top 20 remake of StephenStills' 'Love The One You're With', plus Bob Dylan's 'LayLady Lay', James Taylor's 'Fire And Rain', War's 'Spill TheWine', a medley comprised of Jimi Hendrix's 'Machine Gun' &Neil Young's 'Ohio' and more! Seven tracks total.

Soul Music:

Soul Music

soul music

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