Customer Reviews

This Old Heart of Mine / Soul on the Rocks

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Isley Brothers achieved their greatest American success with other labels, especially Epic, yet their two biggest UK hits came during their time with Motown. The brothers (O' Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald) didn't enjoy their time with Motown because they didn't have control over what they recorded or how, yet the quality of their Motown music is outstanding as this twofer with bonus tracks shows.

The biggest hit here is This old heart of mine, an American top twenty hit and minor UK hit in 1966, which made the UK top three when re-released in 1968. Rod Stewart's cover of the song made the UK top five in 1975. I guess I'll always love you, also a minor UK hit for the Isley Brothers in 1966, just missed the UK top ten early in 1969. Behind a painted smile became a UK top five hit later that year. Put yourself in my place completed their run of UK Motown hits, making the top twenty.

Those hits are all here, together with covers of three other Motown classics - Nowhere to run (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas), Stop in the name of love and I hear a symphony (both Diana Ross and the Supremes) - and many other excellent songs.

The Isley brothers took control of their recordings in the seventies, recording such classics as Summer breeze and Harvest for the world, yet even those classic songs didn't do as well in the UK charts as their biggest Motown hits. Those tracks can be found on a separate compilation, but if you're looking for their Motown recordings, this is the best single CD there is.

The other reviewer did such a good job on this one! I agree with him completely this is the true motown sound. And the boys were forced to perform whatever motown told them too. That's a bad thing for their creative process which they relized and left motown over. But they did record two great motown soul discs for the label that did have the classic 'this old heart of mine' hit single and more uk hit's as well. It is full of the standard motown songs that were charting then. It saved the label money to have numerous people record 'nowhere to run' for instance. The album cover of 'this old heart of mine' was very badly chosen with no isleys on it , instead a young white couple on it! that couldn't have gone over very well with the band at the time. (although certainly half their audience was white!) The second disc has them on the cover. This is midsixties motown soul and if you love that music and everyone should, then this set is worth owning. Of course the boys really hit their stride when they left motown and began to mix soul and rock to make funk! This isn't as great as lets say the temptations output of the same time or the four tops but it's close and it's motown so it's good music of that type.

THIS OLD HEART OF MINE (1967)
"Nowhere to Run", "Stop! In the Name of Love", "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", "Take Some Time Out for Love", "I Guess I'll Always Love You", "Baby Don't You Do It", "Who Could Ever Doubt My Love", "Put Yourself in My Place", "I Hear a Symphony", "Just Ain't Enough Love", "There's No Love Left", "Seek and You Shall Find","Got to Have You Back"

SOUL ON THE ROCKS (1967)
"That's The Way Love Is", "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)", "Tell Me It's Just a Rumor Baby", "One Too Many Heartaches", "It's Out of the Question", "Why When Love is Gone", "Save Me From this Misery", "Little Miss Sweetness", "Good Things", "Catching Up on Time", "Behind a Painted Smile"