Go For Your Guns kicks off with the powerhouse funk track “The Pride (Part 1 & 2)." This super-charged groove was bumped at parties and clubs everywhere back in the day. It features a furious bass line, percolating keyboards and a massive beat. The song is about maintaining dignity and perseverance in the face of life’s many adversities. It stresses the importance of self-esteem, inner strength and fortitude. The song also touches on how political leaders often have to straddle a fine line between representing the people and capitulating to the pressures of their position, as well as battling the seductive lure of power and big money.
“Footsteps in the Dark (Part 1 & 2)” is a superb slow jam. It’s beautifully arranged, produced and performed. The song features some ace guitar work from Ernie Isley, and Ronald Isley delivers an exquisite lead vocal performance. The song’s narrator expresses some doubts he has about his love relationship. He’s uncertain if it is strong enough to weather the inevitable rough patches that often occur in relationships. This is one of the Isley Brothers' best-known tracks and was famously sampled on Ice Cube’s 1993 hit “It Was a Good Day.”
“Climbing Up the Ladder (Part 1 & 2)” is a scorching rock-fueled groove. It's about striving to achieve your dreams and reaching higher ground spiritually and mentally–and not allowing circumstances or life’s many obstacles to deter you. The track features blistering guitar work from Ernie, who also kills it on the drums.
“Tell Me When You Need It” is a smooth, solid groove. The track is expertly arranged and produced. It’s elevated by Ronald’s sterling vocals and features an irresistible bass line and sweet keyboards.
The Isley Brothers go hard on the electrifying “Livin’ in the Life.” The funk doesn’t let up on this fearsome hard-hittin’ groove. The track features an explosive beat that’s enhanced by thunderous handclaps, as well as funky keyboards and a powerful bass line. The song’s narrator is living his life to the best of his abilities and continues to push forward through tough times and hardships. And he basically tells those who think he had it easy to kick rocks because they haven’t walked a mile in his shoes: “You ain't me and I ain't you/Check out the difference between the two.”
Ronald serves up an incredible vocal performance on the majestic “Voyage To Atlantis.” This sonic gem is another example of the Isley Brothers’ absolute mastery of the R&B ballad. They never missed on their slow jams. The song boasts an impeccable arrangement that’s elevated by Ernie’s amazing guitar work. The song is about a stormy relationship with the two lovers seriously contemplating going their separate ways. The narrator considers undertaking a pilgrimage to self-discovery and envisioning a life in “paradise” in the mythical Atlantis. He's torn between staying with his lover or undertaking the journey alone and possibly starting a new relationship with someone else. However, he knows deep down that he'll always return to his one true love.
The album closes out with the scorching “Go For Your Guns," which is basically an instrumental part two of “Livin in the Life.” Ernie unleashes a face-melting guitar solo on this funky high-voltage groove.
Go For Your Guns is widely considered one of the Isley Brothers’ best albums. It’s definitely a must-have for Isleys fans as well as lovers of great R&B and funk music. The album was a huge commercial success. It topped Billboard’s R&B album chart and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It remained on the charts for 40 weeks, making it one of the Isley Brothers’ longest-running chart successes. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA with sales of more than two million copies. And album singles “The Pride” and “Livin’ in the Life” performed extremely well on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, peaking at #1 and #4, respectively. However, “Voyage to Atlantis” had a rather disappointing showing on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, only climbing to #50. But the song is now recognized as a classic and one of the great R&B slow jams of the ‘70s.
The album was written, arranged and produced by the Isley Brothers. It was released on T-Neck Records, which was founded by the Isleys in 1964. And it was the band’s fifth album to be distributed through their deal with Epic. The full personnel on Go For Your Guns was Marvin Isley (bass and background vocals), Ronald Isley (lead and background vocals), Ernie Isley (guitar, drums, congas and background vocals), Rudolph Isley (lead and background vocals), Chris Jasper (keyboards, background vocals and tambourine), O'Kelly Isley Jr. (lead and background vocals) and Everett Collins (congas).
Following Go For Your Guns, the Isley Brothers continued to release top-quality music and scored more big hits. They left behind an incredible musical legacy that spanned several decades. The Isleys still tour and have some upcoming concert dates posted at their official website.
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