Winner Takes All (album)
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Winner Takes All is the seventeenth album by The Isley Brothers and released on T-Neck Records and their seventh record to be distributed by Epic Records on June 16, 1979. The album included the number-one R&B hit, "I Wanna Be With You" and the top 20 UK disco hit, "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)".
The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set "The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | C+ [2] |
| Smash Hits | mixed [3] |
The album continued the brothers' trademark of mixing uptempo funk numbers with softer soul balladry. However, their sound now included elements of disco. While some of their music had pioneered the genre, Winner Takes All was the first album to embrace disco rhythms.
The disco element helped songs such as "I Wanna Be With You" and "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" become hits. However, the band didn't release any ballads from the album, making it one of the few times since 1973 that they not released a ballad as a single. However, ballads like "You're Beside Me" and "How Lucky I Am" still received airplay on quiet storm radio formats.
The album was successful enough on both the pop and R&B album charts where it reached #14 and #3 respectively and eventually went gold after selling past 500,000 copies.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley and Ronald Isley
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Wanna Be with You (Parts 1 & 2)" | 6:20 |
| 2. | "Liquid Love (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:17 |
| 3. | "Winner Takes All" | 4:18 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Life in the City (Parts 1 & 2)" | 7:55 |
| 5. | "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop) (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:13 |
| 6. | "(Can't You See) What You Do to Me?" | 4:09 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Fall in Love (Parts 1 & 2)" | 4:39 |
| 2. | "How Lucky I Am (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:38 |
| 3. | "You're the Key to My Heart" | 3:26 |
| 4. | "You're Beside Me (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:32 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Let Me into Your Life (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:10 |
| 6. | "Love Comes and Goes (Parts 1 & 2)" | 5:07 |
| 7. | "Go for What You Know" | 3:24 |
| 8. | "Mind Over Matter (Parts 1 & 2)" | 6:00 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" (12" Disco Version) | 8:44 |
Personnel
- Ronald Isley: lead vocals
- O'Kelly Isley, Jr.: background vocals
- Rudolph Isley: background vocals, lead vocals on "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)"
- Ernie Isley: guitar, drums, percussion, congas, timbales, maracas
- Marvin Isley: bass, percussion
- Chris Jasper: piano, keyboards, clavinet, ARP synthesizer
Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[4] | 14 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[4] | 3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions[5] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B | ||
| 1979 | "I Wanna Be With You" | - | 1 |
| "It's A Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" | 90 | 27 | |
External links
References
- ^ Lytle, Craig. The Isley Brothers: Winner Takes All > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 03 September 2011.
- ^ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
- ^ White, Cliff. "Albums". Smash Hits (July 26 – August 8 1979): 25.
- ^ a b "The Isley Brothers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ^ "The Isley Brothers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
