Go for Your Guns | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 16, 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1976–77 | |||
Studio | Bearsville (Woodstock, New York) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:25 | |||
Label | T-Neck Records | |||
Producer | The Isley Brothers | |||
the Isley Brothers chronology | ||||
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Go for Your Guns is the fifteenth album by the Isley Brothers. Released on April 16, 1977, on their T-Neck label, it was also the band's fifth album to be distributed by their deal with Epic. Released in mid-April 1977, the album peaked a month later at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Soul chart, [1] and at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. [2]
The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959–1983.
After four albums that were assisted by producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff in California, the Isley Brothers decided to stay in the East Coast choosing to record at upstate New York's Bearsville Studios, not too far from the brothers' T-Neck label in neighboring New Jersey at Chris Jasper's insistence. The album was engineered by John Holbrook assisted by Tom Mark. [3] It was mixed at Mediasound in New York City with Holbrook as mix engineer.
The album also noted Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads, though he still performed lead on some of the band's funkier recordings on the album. Though they had changed their location and had some minor changes during production, most of the direction of the album remained the same as it had for other albums, with stronger emphasis on rock music as evident in the songs "Climbing Up the Ladder" and "Livin' in the Life" than they had on previous albums.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B [5] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10 [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Released in 1977, the album became one of their longest-running chart successes on the album chart staying on the charts for 40 weeks and spawning several singles including "The Pride", "Livin' in the Life" and the ballad "Voyage to Atlantis", while the funk ballad "Footsteps in the Dark", although never released as a single, became one of the brothers' most popular songs in their repertoire and would be sampled constantly, most famously by rapper Ice Cube in his hit, "It Was a Good Day". The album was certified platinum in July 1977, then eventually went double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with shipments of two million copies.
Unless otherwise indicated, information is taken from Allmusic.com [3] and is based on Liner notes [8]
All tracks are written by Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Pride (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:33 |
2. | "Footsteps in the Dark (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:07 |
3. | "Tell Me When You Need It Again (Part 1 & 2)" | 5:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
4. | "Climbin' Up the Ladder (Part 1 & 2)" | 6:39 |
5. | "Voyage to Atlantis" | 4:32 |
6. | "Livin' in the Life" | 4:15 |
7. | "Go for Your Guns" | 2:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
8. | "Voyage to Atlantis" (Alternate Version) | 6:33 |
9. | "The Pride (Part 1)" (Single Version) | 3:25 |
10. | "Voyage to Atlantis" (Single Version) | 3:53 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
8. | "The Pride (Disco Mix)" (Bonus Track) | 5:29 |
9. | "Voyage to Atlantis (Mono Single Version)" (Bonus Track) | 3:54 |
10. | "Livin' in the Life/Go for Your Guns (Disco Version)" (Bonus Track) | 6:29 |
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
---|---|
Billboard Pop Albums [12] | 6 |
Billboard Top Soul Albums [12] | 1 |
Year | Single | Chart positions [13] | |
---|---|---|---|
US Pop | US R&B | ||
1977 | "The Pride" | 63 | 1 |
"Livin' in the Life" | 40 | 4 | |
"Voyage to Atlantis" | - | 50 | |
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".
"Fight the Power" is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the first single off their landmark album, The Heat Is On. The song is notable for the usage of the word bullshit, which was censored during radio airplay.
3 + 3 is the eleventh album released by the Isley Brothers for the Epic label under their T-Neck imprint on August 7, 1973. In 2020, the album was ranked at 464 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Winner Takes All is a studio album by the Isley Brothers, released on T-Neck Records on August 21, 1979. It was their first and only double album. The album included the number-one R&B hit, "I Wanna Be With You" and the top 20 UK disco hit, "It's a Disco Night ".
Brother, Brother, Brother is the tenth album released by American group The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 2, 1972. It was to be the Isleys' last studio record with Buddah Records before moving on to Epic in the middle of 1973.
Live It Up is the twelfth album by the Isley Brothers, released on September 7, 1974. It was their second major-distributed album with Epic Records under their T-Neck subsidiary.
The Heat Is On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul and funk group The Isley Brothers, released June 7, 1975, on T-Neck Records and Epic Records. Written and produced entirely by the group, the album was recorded in 1975 at Kendum Recorders in Burbank, California. The Heat Is On features musical elements of rock, and is divided between uptempo funk songs and soul ballads.
Harvest for the World is the fourteenth studio album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 29, 1976.
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.
Go All the Way is an album by the Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint on April 19, 1980.
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.
Inside You is the 20th album by the Isley Brothers, released on T-Neck Records on December 1, 1981.
The Real Deal is an album by the Isley Brothers, released on August 7, 1982. The album is notable for the group's decision to alter their trademark funk rock sound in the 1970s with the then-current early 1980s electro funk scene dominated by Rick James, Prince, Zapp and the Gap Band.
Between the Sheets is the 22nd album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on April 24, 1983. The album is notable for the title track, the follow-up hit "Choosey Lover", and the ballad "Touch Me".
"Harvest for the World" is a 1976 single released by American musical group The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint. It was the title track from their 1976 album Harvest for the World.
"Choosey Lover" is a 1983 soul song by The Isley Brothers.
"The Pride" is a 1977 funk song by The Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint. The song, which was the first single released from their album, Go For Your Guns, was written as a warning to politicians to be the leader that the people need and to others who want change reminding them that "the pride makes (them) feel that (they) belong". The song was one of several socially conscious political songs the Isleys recorded throughout the 1970s including "Fight the Power Pts. 1 & 2" and "Harvest for the World". While the song peaked at sixty-three on the pop charts, it reached number-one on the R&B singles chart becoming the group's third number one on the chart.
"Footsteps in the Dark" is a 1977 slow jam recorded by The Isley Brothers as an album track featured on the group's album Go for Your Guns. It was the B-side to "Groove with You", which reached number 16 on the R&B singles chart. The song is noted for its unique guitar timbre which can be heard on other Isley Brother tracks such as "Voyage to Atlantis", as well as marking Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads compared to the band's earlier funk approach.
"Livin' in the Life" is the second song released from The Isley Brothers' 1977 album, Go for Your Guns. It was also the next-to-last song on the album, which only included seven tracks, with the last track actually a "part two" version of the song under the title of the album, in which was led by Ernie Isley, brother Marvin and Chris Jasper.
"It's a Disco Night " is a 1979 club hit for The Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck label as the second single from their gold-certified album Winner Takes All. The song is notable for being one of the few disco-based songs the Isley Brothers released. Beforehand, the group were known for their mixture of funk, rhythm and blues and rock. The song was led by brother Ronald Isley while his brothers Kelly and Rudolph Isley chanted "rock don't stop" in the background. The song briefly charted on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 90, hitting number 27 on the R&B chart. Outside the US, "It's a Disco Night" reached number 14 on the UK Singles chart.