Eternal | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 7, 2001 | |||
Length | 75:37 | |||
Label | DreamWorks | |||
Producer | ||||
The Isley Brothers chronology | ||||
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Singles from Eternal | ||||
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Eternal is a studio album released by The Isley Brothers on DreamWorks Records on August 7, 2001. Now popular again with audiences, almost single-handledly for Ronald Isley's "Mr. Biggs" persona, Eternal included production from not only R. Kelly who gave the Isleys their biggest hit as leading artists in over two decades with "Contagious" but also from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq and Ronald's wife at the time, Angela Winbush.
Based on thesuccess of lead single "Contagious", Eternal peaked at number on the US Billboard 200 chart, while also topping number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually going Platinum. The first album the Isleys released as a duo in over a decade (the first as Ronald and Ernie), Marvin Isley left the group after suffering a bout with diabetes, which later caused both of his legs to be amputated), Ernie Isley also showcase his talents as a guitarist in songs like "Move Your Body" and the aptly titled "Ernie's Jam" while Ronald was still as vocally strong on this album as he had been throughout the Isley Brothers' legendary catalogue.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Blender | [2] |
Blender critic Dan Epstein wrote: "For this album, the two bring in friends R. Kelly, Angela Winbush, Jill Scott, Lucy Pearl’s Raphael Saadiq, and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – with lively results [...] The oldest hit machine in R&B still has it. [2] AllMusic editor Liana Jonas found that while "there is nothing groundbreaking on this recording, the longtime R&B legends prove they're still very much worth their salt and can keep up very well with the Joneses. Indeed, the Isley Brothers are eternal." [1]
Tamara Harris, writing for The Detroit Metro Times , concluded: "A hardworking track record of solid sounds and everything needed to call all fans of rhythmic blues is here; that is why they call this CD Eternal." [3] PopMatters editor Mark Anthony Neal found that it "is understandable that Eternal often lapses into contemporary black pop drivel. Perhaps it is a tribute to Ronald Isley that he can do so when others of his generation have long moved on the senior Circuit. Despite some shortcomings, Eternal is a fitting testament to the longevity of [the] group." [4]
Eternal debuted and peaked at number US Billboard 200 in the week of May 24, 2003, with first week sales of 225,500 copies, [5] becoming the Isley Brothers' highest-charting project since their 1975 number one album The Heat Is On . [6] It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 10, 2001. [7] By May 2003, the album had sold 1.2 million in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [6]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Move Your Body" |
| 5:15 | |
2. | "Contagious" | Robert Kelly | R. Kelly | 5:46 |
3. | "Warm Summer Night" |
|
| 4:54 |
4. | "You Deserve Better" | Steve "Stone" Huff | Huff | 4:02 |
5. | "Just Like This" | Huff | Huff | 4:18 |
6. | "Secret Lover" | Huff | Huff | 4:23 |
7. | "You're All I Need" |
| 4:49 | |
8. | "Settle Down" |
|
| 6:29 |
9. | "Eternal" |
|
| 8:30 |
10. | "If You Leave Me Now" | Peter Cetera |
| 7:02 |
11. | "Said Enough" (featuring Jill Scott) |
| Dre & Vidal | 5:08 |
12. | "You Didn't See Me" |
|
| 4:26 |
13. | "Ernie's Jam" |
|
| 4:49 |
14. | "Think" |
|
| 5:00 |
Total length: | 75:37 |
Notes
|
|
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [8] | 3 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [9] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [7] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a vocalist for the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with his brother D'Wayne and cousin Timothy Christian Riley in 1986. Along with his groupwork and solo career, he has produced and written songs for other R&B artists, including Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Total, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, TLC, En Vogue, Kelis, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi, Whitney Houston, Solange Knowles and John Legend.
Angela Lisa Winbush is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo René & Angela, also scoring hits as a solo artist. To date, Winbush has sold over 10 million albums and singles worldwide.
Ronald Isley is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.
Isley-Jasper-Isley was a splinter group of the Isley Brothers formed in 1984 by brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards), Ernie Isley, and Marvin Isley (bass), due to creative differences that arose among the group.
"Contagious" is a song by the Isley Brothers. It was released as a single from their 2001 album Eternal. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly, who was also featured on the song, and also features vocals by R&B singer Chanté Moore.
Angela Winbush is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Angela Winbush, released on March 15, 1994, on Elektra Records. The album features two versions of the Marvin Gaye classic "Inner City Blues"; the album version and a radio edit.
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Showdown is the sixteenth studio album by the Isley Brothers, released on April 22, 1978, on their T-Neck Records label. Singles released from the album include the #1 funk/disco hit, "Take Me to the Next Phase" and the top 20 R&B slower, "Groove With You". The album became another platinum album for the Isley Brothers. It was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983.
Grand Slam is an album by the Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint via CBS Records on March 21, 1981. The album was recorded and mixed digitally.
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Smooth Sailin' is an album by the American musical group the Isley Brothers, released in 1987 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the first album that the group released as a duo of Rudolph and Ronald after the untimely death of eldest brother O'Kelly, who died in 1986 due to occlusive coronary artery disease. Hooking up with R&B singer-songwriter Angela Winbush, the Isleys scored with the top 10 R&B title track and "I Wish", also an R&B top 40 hit.
Tracks of Life is an album by the American musical group the Isley Brothers, released in 1992. The group was made up of Ernie Isley and Marvin Isley backing up brother Ronald. The album peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200 and No. 19 on the Top R&B Albums chart. "Sensitive Lover" was released as a single.
Mission to Please is a studio album by the Isley Brothers. It was released on May 14, 1996, on Island Records and group's own label, T-Neck Records. The last Isley Brothers album to feature youngest brother Marvin Isley, who left the group in 1997 because of complications from diabetes and died in June 2010, it was a return to commercial glory for the group in the years following their platinum-certified album Between the Sheets (1983).
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"Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" is an R&B song about infidelity by American singer and songwriter R. Kelly featuring The Isley Brothers, released in 1995 from Kelly's second and self-titled album (1995). The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart for seven weeks, making it Kelly's fifth single to do so on the latter. It also gave the Isley Brothers their first Top 40 pop record since 1980's "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)", and was Kelly's third top 5 pop record. The lyrics are from the perspective of a man who has an affair with another man's woman and tells her to keep their relationship a closely guarded secret.
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