The Real Deal
Encyclopedia
The Real Deal is a 1982 album released by The Isley Brothers
, 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.
, the Isley Brothers were finding themselves in a rut following a successful nine-year run of gold and platinum albums and a succession of hit singles that had made them one of the top-selling R&B/funk bands of the 1970s. After hearing the sounds of the Gap Band and Rick James, The Isleys (Kelly
, Rudy
, Ron
, Ernie
and Marvin
) and brother-in-law Chris Jasper
, whose role in the Isleys had grown to the point where he was adding background vocals himself alongside longtime lead vocalist Ron Isley and also added in a vocoder co-lead while playing synthesizers, which sometimes was overdubbed atop Marvin Isley's bass guitar riffs.
ballad "All in My Lover's Eyes", which peaked at number sixty-seven on the R&B chart in 1983, while Ron and Ernie are showcased heavy on the Jimi Hendrix
-inspired "Under the Influence", which showcased a more blues
ier approach than the group was used to. Despite hopes that the album will bring the Isleys back to the top of the charts, it stalled at number 87 on the Billboard 200
. A year later the group will bounce back with Between the Sheets, which became the last album to feature Chris Jasper. Though younger brothers Ernie and Marvin would also depart, forming Isley-Jasper-Isley
with Jasper, they eventually returned to the Isley Brothers fold in 1992 following the death of eldest brother Kelly Isley and the exit of Rudolph Isley. Ronald Isley has since remained the group's most consistent of the members.
and Chris Jasper
.
sampled "All In My Lover's Eye" on their song "Strip Club Luv" on their album The Wait Is Over
in 1998.
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
, the album is notable for the group's decision to alter their trademark funk rock
Funk rock
Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
sound in the 1970s with the then-current early 1980s electro funk scene dominated by Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Zapp
Zapp (band)
Zapp is a soul and funk band formed in 1978 by brothers Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman, Terry Troutman, Bobby Glover and Gregory Jackson [Cincinnati Ohio Funk Keyboardist]...
and The Gap Band.
Background
Following the releases of two 1981 albums, the gold-selling Grand Slam and the lesser-successful Inside YouInside You
Inside You is a 1981 album by The Isley Brothers recorded for T-Neck Records.-Reception:The title track was one of their notable hits in the beginning of the 1980s though it didn't return the Isleys to their past glory. The older and younger Isleys, in the meantime, were arguing over the group's...
, the Isley Brothers were finding themselves in a rut following a successful nine-year run of gold and platinum albums and a succession of hit singles that had made them one of the top-selling R&B/funk bands of the 1970s. After hearing the sounds of the Gap Band and Rick James, The Isleys (Kelly
O'Kelly Isley, Jr.
O'Kelly Isley, Jr. , better known as Kelly Isley, was an American singer and one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
, Rudy
Rudolph Isley
Rudolph Bernard Isley , better known as Rudy Isley, is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
, Ron
Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
, Ernie
Ernie Isley
Ernest "Ernie" Isley is a member of the iconic American musical ensemble, The Isley Brothers.-Life and career:Ernie was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his older brothers formed The Isley Brothers, first as a gospel group, then as a secular-singing group. In 1960 his family moved to Englewood and...
and Marvin
Marvin Isley
Marvin Isley was the youngest member of the family music group the Isley Brothers and its bass guitarist....
) and brother-in-law Chris Jasper
Chris Jasper
Chris Jasper is a former member of both the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley. He is also a successful solo artist and record producer, recording a number of his own solo albums, and producing artists, for his New York based record label, Gold City Records...
, whose role in the Isleys had grown to the point where he was adding background vocals himself alongside longtime lead vocalist Ron Isley and also added in a vocoder co-lead while playing synthesizers, which sometimes was overdubbed atop Marvin Isley's bass guitar riffs.
Reception
For their next album, 1982's The Real Deal, the group went for a more minimalist funk sound with the title track, which hit the top 20 of the R&B charts, Ron Isley, Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper showcase "Stone Cold Lover", the vocoderized "Are You With Me", the mid-tempo "It's Alright With Me" (with Chris Jasper being the only other vocalist beside Ron Isley singing on the song) with the smoother pop rockPop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
ballad "All in My Lover's Eyes", which peaked at number sixty-seven on the R&B chart in 1983, while Ron and Ernie are showcased heavy on the Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
-inspired "Under the Influence", which showcased a more blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
ier approach than the group was used to. Despite hopes that the album will bring the Isleys back to the top of the charts, it stalled at number 87 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. A year later the group will bounce back with Between the Sheets, which became the last album to feature Chris Jasper. Though younger brothers Ernie and Marvin would also depart, forming Isley-Jasper-Isley
Isley-Jasper-Isley
Isley/Jasper/Isley was a splinter group of the Isley Brothers formed in 1984 by brother-in-law Chris Jasper , Ernie Isley and Marvin Isley , due to creative differences that arose among the group....
with Jasper, they eventually returned to the Isley Brothers fold in 1992 following the death of eldest brother Kelly Isley and the exit of Rudolph Isley. Ronald Isley has since remained the group's most consistent of the members.
Track listing
All songs were written, arranged, composed and produced by The Isley BrothersThe Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
and Chris Jasper
Chris Jasper
Chris Jasper is a former member of both the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley. He is also a successful solo artist and record producer, recording a number of his own solo albums, and producing artists, for his New York based record label, Gold City Records...
.
- The Real Deal (Part I And II) 7:03
- Are You With Me? 4:48
- Stone Cold Lover 5:12
- It's Alright With Me 5:32
- All In My Lover's Eyes 5:13
- I'll Do It All For You 4:20
- Under The Influence 5:42
Personnel
- Ronald IsleyRonald IsleyRonald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
: Lead and Background vocals - Rudolph IsleyRudolph IsleyRudolph Bernard Isley , better known as Rudy Isley, is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
, O'Kelly Isley: Background vocals - Chris JasperChris JasperChris Jasper is a former member of both the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley. He is also a successful solo artist and record producer, recording a number of his own solo albums, and producing artists, for his New York based record label, Gold City Records...
- Keyboards, Percussion, Vocoder, Co-lead vocals on "It's Alright with Me" and background vocals - Ernie IsleyErnie IsleyErnest "Ernie" Isley is a member of the iconic American musical ensemble, The Isley Brothers.-Life and career:Ernie was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his older brothers formed The Isley Brothers, first as a gospel group, then as a secular-singing group. In 1960 his family moved to Englewood and...
- Drums, Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Marvin IsleyMarvin IsleyMarvin Isley was the youngest member of the family music group the Isley Brothers and its bass guitarist....
- Bass, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Kevin Jones - Congas
- Everett Collins - Drums
- Fred Zlotkin, Jonathan Abramowitz - Cello
- Fred Buldrini, Gerald Tarrak, Guy Lumia, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, Marilyn Wright, Winterton - Violin
- Alfred V. Brown, Mitsue Takayama - Viola
Charts
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
87 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
9 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
|||
| 1982 | "The Real Deal" | 14 | |
| "It's Alright With me" | 59 | ||
| "All In My Lovers Eyes" | 67 | ||
Samples
69 Boyz69 Boyz
69 Boyz is a platinum selling Miami bass and hip hop group originating from Jacksonville, Florida, but now based largely in Orlando, Florida. The group was initiated by producers C.C...
sampled "All In My Lover's Eye" on their song "Strip Club Luv" on their album The Wait Is Over
The Wait Is Over
The Wait Is Over is the second album by the Southern rap group 69 Boyz, released in 1998. It was a moderate success, peaking at number 114 on the Billboard Hot 200; however, it didn't chart as well as the group's previous album, 199Quad...
in 1998.