3+3 The Isley Brothers

• 1That Lady, Pts. 1 & 205:34
• 2Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight03:59
• 3If You Were There03:23
• 4You Walk Your Way03:06
• 5Listen to the Music04:05
• 6What It Comes Down To03:53
• 7Sunshine (Go Away Today)04:22
• 8Summer Breeze, Pts. 1 & 206:12
• 9The Highways of My Life04:17
• 10That Lady, Pt. 103:09
• 11Summer Breeze, Pt. 103:05
• 12The Highways of My Life03:17
• 13Sunshine (Go Away Today)04:32
• 14Summer Breeze06:17
• 15That Lady (Interview, Pt. 1)06:34
• 16Listen to the Music (Interview, Pt. 2)05:12
• 17Summer Breeze (Interview, Pt. 3)02:26
• 18The Highways of My Life (Interview, Pt. 4)03:26
• Total Runtime01:16:49

Info for 3+3

Though the Isley Brothers recorded some excellent material in their original line-up as a trio, their sound and vision expanded when the group itself expanded to a sextet in the early '70s. 3+3 marks the inception of the Isleys' new incarnation, one that features, in addition to Ronald, O'Kelly, and Rudolph, younger brothers Ernie (guitar) and Marvin (bass), and cousin Chris Japser (keyboards). On 3+3 the band's slick, besuited Tamla/Motown soul was replaced by grittier, funkier stuff with some truly spectacular instrumental prowess.

The Isleys had always been given to performing reverent, stretched-out covers of songs they loved, and 3+3 has its share, with treatments of Seals & Crofts's 'Summer Breeze,' James Taylor's 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,' and the Doobie Brothers' 'Listen to the Music.' The Isleys' 'That Lady Pts 1 & 2' and 'The Highways of My Life,' among other originals, showcase the pyrotechnics of funk monster Marvin and the Hendrix-inspired excursions of Ernie. The Isleys' mixture of rock, funk, soul, and R&B was at its peak here, and 3+3 stands as one of the best albums in the group's lengthy discography.

„Recorded in 1973, 3 + 3 was a major turning point for the Isley Brothers. With this album, the Isleys moved their T-Neck label from Buddah to Epic/CBS (which became Epic/Sony in the early '90s), and it was at Epic that they unveiled their new lineup. Lead singer Ronald Isley and his siblings O'Kelly and Rudolph remained, but the Isleys became a sextet instead of a trio when cousin Chris Jasper and younger brothers Ernie and Marvin were added. This new lineup was called 3 + 3, and the addition of Jasper on keyboards, Ernie on guitar, and Marvin on bass added exciting new elements to the Isleys' sound. One of finest R&B bassists of the 1970s, the ever-so-funky Marvin is in a class with heavyweights like Larry Graham and Louis Johnson -- and Ernie is a stunning guitarist who is heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix but has a distinctive style of his own. the Isleys had always been lovers of rock, but with the addition of Ernie, their sound became even more overtly rock-influenced. Nonetheless, the rock and pop elements didn't alienate R&B audiences, which ate this album up. The single 'That Lady' (which is based on an Impressions-like gem they had recorded in 1964) was a major hit, and the Isleys are equally captivating on soul interpretations of Seals & Crofts' 'Summer Breeze,' James Taylor's 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,' and the Doobie Brothers' 'Listen to the Music.' With this superb album, the Isley Brothers sounded better than ever -- and they gained a lot of new fans without sacrificing the old ones.“ (Alex Henderson, AMG)

Ronald Isley, vocals
Rudolph Isley, background vocals, lead vocals (on track 8)
O'Kelly Isley, Jr., background vocals, lead vocals (on track 8)
Ernie Isley, guitars
Chris Jasper, piano, electric piano, clavinet, ARP synthesizer
Truman Thomas, organ
Marvin Isley, bass
George Moreland, drums

Recorded 1973 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, California
Engineered by Bob Margoleff, Malcolm Cecil, John Holbrook
Produced by Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley

Digitally remastered

The Isley Brothers
Born and raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, The Isley Brothers--O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley and a fourth brother, Vernon Isley (who died a couple of years after their first incarnation)--began performing as a gospel-based vocal group in 1954. Moving to the New York City area in the late 1950s, The Isley Brothers scored some modest regional chart successes before their fourth single (and first for RCA Victor), "Shout"--written by O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald--catapulted them into the pantheon of pop immortality in 1959. One of the most immediately identifiable and infectious party anthems ever written or recorded, The Isley Brothers "Shout"--with its irresistible call-and-response structure--combined gospel heat and doo-wop soul with a high-powered rock 'n' roll energy. The much-covered "Shout" was inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame in 1999 and placed No. 118 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The Isleys followed up "Shout" with a variety of tracks (including their Top 20 single, "Twist & Shout," a song later famously covered by The Beatles).

Perhaps the most musically adventurous vocal ensemble in American pop history, The Isley Brothers were adding rock, funk, R&B, soul and ballad elements into the gospel and doo-wop music at the foundation of their sound.

In the 1960s, while The Isley Brothers bounced between various labels (including Atlantic, United Artists and Motown), they briefly employed a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix (aka Jimmy James) as their lead guitarist, buying him a white Fender Stratocaster guitar and moving him into the Isley home. Though Jimi's stint with the Isley Brothers was brief, his musical sensibilities remained in the group, with younger brother Ernie Isley carrying the fiery experimental rock 'n' soul guitar sound they shared into the Isley Brothers future.

Tired of labels that didn't fully understand or support their R&B/rock fusion musical vision, The Isley Brothers launched their independent T-Neck imprint with distribution through Buddah Records. At T-Neck, the Isleys finally enjoyed the freedom to make music the way they wanted, recording and producing their own material as well as assisting in the distribution and promotion process. The T-Neck label's lead single, the irresistible Grammy Award®-winning funk hit "It's Your Thing," instantly established the band and label as a commercial powerhouse, its lyric a mantra for the trail The Isley Brothers would blaze in the next decade.

The Isleys' ever-expanding musical repertoire in the 1970s included funky covers of pop/rock favorites ("Love The One You're With," "Lay, Lady, Lay") that helped spread these songs through urban markets. The group would hit a new peak with the album 3+3 and single "That Lady" in 1973.

They added younger brothers Ernie Isley (lead guitar, drums) and Marvin Isley (bass guitar) and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards, synthesizers) into the mix, turning The Isley Brothers vocal trio into a self-contained pop/rock/R&B/funk ensemble, writing, producing, performing, arranging, distributing their own works on T-Neck Records throughout the 1970s into the early 1980s.

With Ernie, Chris and Marvin leading the way creatively, the group pushed the barriers of soul music, bringing funk and laid-back quiet storm into the mainstream and earning the band three gold and seven platinum or multi-platinum albums--including 3+3 (1973), the #1 chart-topping The Heat Is On (1975) and 1983's Between The Sheets--and 14 Top 10 R&B albums (seven of which hit No. 1). In the world of R&B, only Parliament-Funkadelic and Earth, Wind & Fire have achieved success rivaling the Isley Brothers.

The Isley Brothers have had 19 Top 10 singles (7 of those at #1) in the US Billboard R&B chart, with 16 Isley albums hitting the Top 40. 13 of their albums have achieved RIAA gold, platinum or multi-platinum status. The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. They got their star on the Hollywood Rockwalk in 1997 and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

The Isley Brothers, through an unprecedented seven decades, have remained one of the most consistently successful groups of all time. The Isleys were present at the birth of rock and roll, their biggest hits have influenced R&B, rock and roll and funk music from the 1950s onward while their deep grooves helped form the rhythmic backbone of hip-hop, a sound the Isleys would embrace in the 1990s and 2000s.

This album contains no booklet.