Photo credits: T-Neck/Epic Records
The Isley Brothers’ thirteenth studio album, The Heat Is On, is a classic soul, funk, and R&B ensemble. T-Neck Records and Epic Records partnered to release this 12-track album, which premiered on June 7, 1975.
The album was recorded in 1975 at Kendum Recorders in Burbank, California. The songwriting and production were handled solely by the members of the band. Throughout the recording process, the band used a variety of acoustic and electronic instruments, including guitar, piano, and synthesizer. It is mostly classified as a funk and soul album. The Heat Is On has rock music components that are split amidst upbeat funk tunes and muted sweet soul melodies.
In its first month of availability, The Heat Is On garnered the sale of 500,000 units. The album existed for 40 weeks on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in the United States. It was the Isley Brothers’ first number-one album. Initially, magazines such as The Village Voice, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone gave the full-length record positive reviews.
Since then, music critics have hailed the album as one of the Isley Brothers’ greatest. With two million copies sold, The Heat Is On was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999. Epic Records released it on compact disc in 2001.
For placement as a part of the 2015 CD box set “The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983,” the album’s sound was digitally restored and a song was added.
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