The Heat Is On (album)

Background and recording

Recording sessions for the album took place in 1975 at Kendun Recorders in Burbank, California. It was mixed at Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, California and mastered by engineer Kent Duncan. The album was entirely written and produced by the Isley Brothers. The group implemented many acoustic and electric instruments during its recording, including guitar, piano, and the ARP synthesizer, which was programmed by engineers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. The Heat Is On is the third album recorded by the Isley Brothers with keyboardist Chris Jasper, bassist Marvin Isley, and guitarist Ernie Isley.

Composition

Primarily a funk and soul outing, The Heat Is On features elements of quiet storm and rock. The latter musical style is mostly provided by the Jimi Hendrix-influenced guitar of Ernie Isley. The album is part of a succession of slickly-produced, successful soul records issued by the Isley Brothers during the 1970s that were divided between startlingly tough funk songs and subdued romantic ballads. This musical formula for the album serves as a development of the group's transitional sound last featured on their landmark tenth album, 3 + 3 (1973).

The Heat Is On is notable for its two radio singles, the album's angry funk opener "Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)" and the melodic soul ballad "For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2)". One critic cited the former song as the Isley Brothers' "most overtly political tune to date". According to writer Colin Larkin, the album's contrasting sides, with one side comprising uptempo funk and the other comprising a suite of smooth soul, represent "the pinnacle of both genres". Side one's closer, "Hope You Feel Better Love (Part 1 & 2)", contrasts both of the styles, as it contains melodic verses and a forceful chorus. Songs from The Heat Is On, including "Fight the Power" and "For the Love of You", were sampled extensively by the following generation of hip hop artists, including Slick Rick, Common, and Masta Ace.

Critical reception

Upon its release, The Heat Is On received positive reviews from music publications such as The Village Voice, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone. In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave the album a B rating, indicating "an admirable effort that aficionados of the style or artist will probably find quite listenable". Christgau described the music as "well-nigh flawless" and stated "Ronnie Isley isn't getting any less unctuous". Rolling Stone's Bob Palmer wrote favorably of the Isley Brothers' dance music sensibilities and cited The Heat Is On as "some of the best body music around". Palmer also praised guitarist Ernie Isley and his contributions to the album.

Since its initial reception, music critics have cited the album as among the Isley Brothers' best work. Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters praised Ronald Isley's interpretive skills and balladry, stating "Whereas the up-tempo workouts helped the Isley’s reach new audiences, it was their balladry, courtesy of lead vocalist Ronald, that distinguished them among other soul/R&B/funk bands of the era." In 2001, the album was reissued on compact disc by Epic Records with a live bonus cut of "Fight the Power".

Commercial performance

The album was released June 1975 on the Epic imprint-label T-Neck Records in the United States. It was also made available that same year in 8-track cartridge and cassette formats, while Epic issued an LP release for distribution in the Netherlands. The Heat Is On charted on June 14, 1975 and spent 40 weeks on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. It became the Isley Brothers' first album to hit number one on the chart, which had been considered a rare feat for a black band at the time (the only other black bands who scored a number-one album on the pop charts were their funk contemporaries The Ohio Players and Earth, Wind & Fire). The Heat Is On also peaked at number one on the Billboard Black Albums chart.

The album's first single, "Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)" was certified gold for sales of over one million copies. The single peaked at number one on the Billboard R&B chart for 3 weeks, longer than any other single of the year. "Fight the Power" was named the Top R&B single of 1975 in Billboard's year end issue. It also reached number 4 on the pop chart and number two on the Club Play Singles chart. The second single, "For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2)", reached number 10 on the R&B chart, and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Pop Singles. In its first month of release, it sold over 500,000 copies, and by 1992, it had shipped in excess of one million copies. On August 17, 1999, The Heat Is On was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States.

Track listing

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

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Sample use

The information regarding sampling of songs from The Heat Is On is adapted from TheBreaks.com.

Charts

Album

Singles

Release history

Information regarding the release history of The Heat Is On was adapted from Discogs.