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The Isley Brothers Album - Body Kiss
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Release Date:2003-01-01
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Type:Album
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Genre:R&B, Funk, Classic Soul
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Label:DreamWorks
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Explicit Lyrics:No
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Review - AMG :
Body Kiss is one of those Isley Brothers recordings. Feeling more like a return to the T Neck years than anything else, Body Kiss is an album of the prime seductive variety harking back in terms of tempo, song structure, production, and pace to releases like The Heat Is On and Harvest for the World. Produced and almost completely written by R. Kelly, Body Kiss features Ron and Ernie Isley taking the soft soul approach to decidedly urban love songs. Kelly understands the dynamics inherent in the Brothers' approach and has constructed a set of songs that plays to those strengths. While Ron's voice has lost none of its deep emotional expressionism, Ernie's guitar playing is more restrained here, though no less imaginative. There's less Hendrix and more Isley. On the title track, his dovetailing lead lines tie off the ends of Ron's sung lines and open up on to the next one. On "Superstar," his lilting tone is affected just enough to add to the rich textural palette of the vocal and basslines. "What Would You Do?" features his Stratocaster painting the vocal just enough. If seduction is the M.O. for these tunes, they flower not only in steamy eroticism, but also in honest and deeply moving romanticism. Isley makes even the most suggestive love song seem like a paean to commitment and endurance. Kelly's particular ability to write for the strength of conviction in the grain of his voice also turns back the clock on urban soul tropes but simultaneously brings the Isleys' signature sound into the 21st century. The shimmering, laid-back funk in "Prize Possession," with its tapered flute fills, is the kind of song Aaron Hall would have given his right arm to record. And in Ron Isley's silky tenor, every word is believable, no matter how macho. Body Kiss is a better Isleys record than listeners had any right to expect and it is a signature collaboration between the band and Kelly; given that this is a first outing for the team, one hopes that the creative field that exists between will be further explored. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music GuideReview - Yahoo! Music - Dan Leroy :
As rock legends age, audiences stay fiercely loyal, even as they generously lower expectations. But who'll notice that soul pioneers the Isley Brothers, who predate every bunch of '60s groaners still on the stadium circuit, have a new release as strong and relevant as almost any in their storied catalog? Finally indulging Ronald Isley's fictitious "Mr. Biggs" persona at album length, the brothers' Body Kiss is the soundtrack to the greatest Blacksploitation flick never made, a gangsta primer that takes every would-be thug lover back to school. More than that, however, it's that rarest of all marriages: between a great singer and material his equal. The latter is provided almost exclusively by R. Kelly, and whatever you think of his on-camera exploits, these languid gems find him at the height of his powers, effortlessly melding classic melodies and modern groove. And as he approaches 62, Ronald Isley remains the finest loveman in R&B, slick enough to pull off a between-the-sheets ballad named after a breakfast cereal, and with a tenor that still skirts the edge of heaven. If Body Kiss doesn't teach urban music fans to respect their elders, it's doubtful anything will.
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