3 + 3

Why it matters

The title is a headcount — three older Isleys plus three younger players, and the arithmetic pays off the instant Ernie Isley's fuzz-and-wah guitar tears through "That Lady, Pts. 1 & 2."

That solo is the sound of a family act deciding it could be a self-contained band, no longer renting other people's grooves. The proof is in the covers scattered across the record — a James Taylor tune in "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," a Seals & Crofts hit in "Summer Breeze" — songs the Isleys strip to velvet and reassemble with a rhythm section that never rushes and a Ronald Isley vocal that treats every line like a slow reveal. Where the originals drift, these versions smolder, the guitar coiling underneath instead of politely accompanying. By the closing minor-key ache of "The Highways of My Life," the band has made the borrowed material sound like it was theirs all along.

Listen

Tracklist

1. 01That Lady, Pts. 1 & 25:34
2. 02Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight4:03
3. 03If You Were There3:22
4. 04You Walk Your Way3:06
5. 05Listen to the Music4:05
6. 06What It Comes Down To3:53
7. 07Sunshine (Go Away Today)4:22
8. 08Summer Breeze, Pts. 1 & 26:12
9. 09The Highways of My Life4:23
10. 10That Lady, Pt. 1 (Single Version)3:15
11. 11Summer Breeze, Pt. 1 (Single Version)3:10
12. 12The Highways of My Life (Single Version)3:22
13. 13Sunshine (Go Away Today) [SQ-Quad Mix]4:34
14. 14Summer Breeze (SQ-Quad Mix)6:19
15. 15That Lady (Interview, Pt. 1)6:33
16. 16Listen to the Music (Interview, Pt. 2)5:12
17. 17Summer Breeze (Interview, Pt. 3)2:26
18. 18The Highways of My Life (Interview, Pt. 4)3:26