Go for Your Guns

After four albums that were assisted by producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff in California, the Isley Brothers decided to stay in the East Coast choosing to record at upstate New York's Bearsville Studios, not too far from the brothers' T-Neck label in neighboring New Jersey at Chris Jasper's insistence. The album was engineered by John Holbrook assisted by Tom Mark.{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/go-for-your-guns-mw0000653379/credits|title = Go for Your Guns - the Isley Brothers | Credits | AllMusic|website = AllMusic}} It was mixed at Mediasound in New York City with Holbrook as mix engineer.

The album also noted Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads, though he still performed lead on some of the band's funkier recordings on the album. Though they had changed their location and had some minor changes during production, most of the direction of the album remained the same as it had for other albums, with stronger emphasis on rock music as evident in the songs "Climbing Up the Ladder" and "Livin' in the Life" than they had on previous albums.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 =AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{AllMusic |class=album |id=r9945 |tab=review |label=The Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns > Review |first=Andrew |last=Hamilton |access-date=3 September 2011}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = B{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: I|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=I&bk=70|access-date=February 27, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

|rev3 = Pitchfork

|rev3Score = 8.7/10{{Cite web | last = Erlewine | first = Stephen Thomas | title = The Isley Brothers: The RCA Victor and T-Neck Album Masters | publisher = Pitchfork | access-date = December 23, 2015 | url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20989-the-isley-brothers-the-rca-victor-and-t-neck-album-masters/|date=September 11, 2015}}

|rev4 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

|rev4score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=346}}

}}

Released in 1977, the album became one of their longest-running chart successes on the album chart staying on the charts for 40 weeks and spawning several singles including "The Pride", "Livin' in the Life" and the ballad "Voyage to Atlantis", while the funk ballad "Footsteps in the Dark", although never released as a single, became one of the brothers' most popular songs in their repertoire and would be sampled constantly, most famously by rapper Ice Cube in his hit, "It Was a Good Day". The album was certified platinum in July 1977, then eventually went double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with shipments of two million copies.

Unless otherwise indicated, information is taken from Allmusic.com and is based on Liner notesThe Isley Brothers. "Go For Your Guns" (Album notes). T-Neck / Epic. 1977.

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_writing = Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper

| title1 = The Pride (Part 1 & 2)

| length1 = 5:33

| title2 = Footsteps in the Dark (Part 1 & 2)

| length2 = 5:07

| title3 = Tell Me When You Need It Again (Part 1 & 2)

| length3 = 5:06

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title4 = Climbin' Up the Ladder (Part 1 & 2)

| length4 = 6:39

| title5 = Voyage to Atlantis

| length5 = 4:32

| title6 = Livin' in the Life

| length6 = 4:15

| title7 = Go for Your Guns

| length7 = 2:16

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2011 reissue bonus tracks

| title8 = Voyage to Atlantis

| note8 = Alternate Version

| length8 = 6:33

| title9 = The Pride (Part 1)

| note9 = Single Version

| length9 = 3:25

| title10 = Voyage to Atlantis

| note10 = Single Version

| length10 = 3:53

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2016 reissue bonus tracks

| title8 = The Pride (Disco Mix)

| note8 = Bonus Track

| length8 = 5:29

| title9 = Voyage to Atlantis (Mono Single Version)

| note9 = Bonus Track

| length9 = 3:54

| title10 = Livin' in the Life/Go for Your Guns (Disco Version)

| note10 = Bonus Track

| length10 = 6:29

}}

;The Isley Brothers

• Ronald Isley - lead vocals (1–6), background vocals
• Rudolph Isley - lead vocals (6), background vocals
• O'Kelly Isley - lead vocals (6), background vocals
• Ernie Isley - background vocals (2, 5), congas (2, 5), 12-String guitar (2, 5),The Isley Brothers. "Voyage to Atlantis". YouTube: The Isley Brothers. 19 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4jWVon4iE electric guitar (1–2,The Isley Brothers. "The Pride, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 8 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZ-6HAdv7wThe Isley Brothers. "Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1 & 2". YouTube: The Isley Brothers - Topic. 18 February 2017. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyq9zlYMw9g 5), rhythm guitar, drums
• Marvin Isley - background vocals (2, 5), bass
• Chris Jasper - background vocals (2, 5), tambourine (2, 5), piano (2, 5), synthesizer (2, 5), keyboards

;Guest Musician

• Everett Collins - congas (3)

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1977 (U.S.)

• [http://www.discogs.com/Isley-Brothers-Go-For-Your-Guns/master/82647 The Isley Brothers-Go For Your Guns at Discogs]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120711003935/http://soundcloud.com/goforyourguns Go For Your Guns 2012]

{{Reflist}}

{{Isley Brothers}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1977 albums

Category:The Isley Brothers albums

Category:T-Neck Records albums