Go for Your Guns
Studio album by
the Isley Brothers
ReleasedApril 16, 1977
Recorded1976–77
StudioBearsville, Woodstock
Genre
Length33:25
LabelT-Neck Records
ProducerThe Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers chronology
Harvest for the World
(1976)		 Go for Your Guns
(1977)		 Showdown
(1978)

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.

Overview

Recording

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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [4]
Christgau's Record GuideB[5]
Pitchfork8.7/10[6]

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", which was 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.

Track listing

Unless otherwise indicated, information is taken from Allmusic.com[3] and is based on Liner notes[7]

All tracks are written by Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper

Side one
No.TitleLength
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
Side two
No.TitleLength
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
2011 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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
2016 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
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

Personnel

The Isley Brothers
Guest Musician
  • Everett Collins - congas (3)

Charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums[13] 6
Billboard Top Soul Albums[13] 1

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[14]
US
Pop		 US
R&B
1977 "The Pride" 63 1
"Livin' in the Life" 40 4
"Voyage to Atlantis" - 50

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Isley Brothers". Billboard.
  2. ↑ "The Isley Brothers". Billboard.
  3. 1 2 "Go for Your Guns - the Isley Brothers | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. The Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: I". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (September 11, 2015). "The Isley Brothers: The RCA Victor and T-Neck Album Masters". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  7. ↑ The Isley Brothers. "Go For Your Guns" (Album notes). T-Neck / Epic. 1977.
  8. 1 2 3 Williams, Levon. "Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns (Review)". Black Grooves. 29 July 2016. http://blackgrooves.org/isley-brothers-go-for-your-guns/
  9. 1 2 Disco, Soul, Gold. “Happy Birthday, Rudolph Isley”. Facebook. 2 April 2015. https://m.facebook.com/DiscoSoulGold/posts/998121983534342
  10. 1 2 3 The Isley Brothers. "Voyage to Atlantis". YouTube: The Isley Brothers. 19 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4jWVon4iE
  11. ↑ The Isley Brothers. "The Pride, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 8 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZ-6HAdv7w
  12. 1 2 3 The Isley Brothers. "Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 18 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyq9zlYMw9g
  13. 1 2 "The Isley Brothers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  14. ↑ "The Isley Brothers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
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