What It Comes Down To

The Isley Brothers and "What It Comes Down To": Soul Sophistication on T-Neck Records

By late 1973, The Isley Brothers had undergone one of the most remarkable artistic reinventions in the history of American popular music. The group had originated in the late 1950s as a gospel-rooted vocal act whose "Shout" had introduced them to mainstream audiences in 1959. Through the 1960s, they navigated relationships with multiple labels, recorded for Motown without achieving the commercial breakthrough the label's biggest acts enjoyed, and eventually founded their own T-Neck Records in 1969. It was through T-Neck, distributed by Epic Records, that they would achieve their greatest creative and commercial success.

The 1973 album 3+3 was the pivotal document of this reinvented Isley Brothers. The "3+3" designation referred to the expanded lineup that incorporated the younger generation of the family: Ernie Isley on guitar, Marvin Isley on bass, and Chris Jasper on keyboards joined the original trio of Ronald, Rudolph, and O'Kelly Isley. This expanded configuration gave the group a live band sensibility that changed the texture of their recordings entirely. Where earlier Isley recordings had relied on session musicians and the sonic conventions of whatever label they were recording for, the T-Neck era sound was built from the inside out, rooted in a tight family ensemble that had developed its own musical language through years of performance together.

"What It Comes Down To" was released as a single from 3+3 and entered the Billboard Hot 100 on December 29, 1973, at number 98. Its climb through the chart was patient and methodical: from 98 to 96, then 88, 78, 71, 63, continuing upward through the winter of 1974 until it reached its peak of number 55 on March 2, 1974. The 11-week chart run reflected the kind of sustained airplay that quality album tracks could generate in an era when adult R&B and soul radio stations were willing to develop records over extended periods rather than requiring immediate commercial impact.

The 3+3 album itself was a commercial phenomenon. The previous single from the album, "That Lady (Part 1 & 2)," had reached number six on the Hot 100 and established the new Isley lineup as a major commercial force. Ernie Isley's guitar work on "That Lady" was widely recognized as one of the more distinctive electric guitar performances to appear in mainstream soul music, drawing on the influence of Jimi Hendrix (with whom the Isleys had briefly worked as a backing band in the mid-1960s) while developing a voice that was entirely the band's own.

"What It Comes Down To" demonstrated a different facet of the group's capabilities. Where "That Lady" led with Ernie's electric guitar, this track showcased the group's ensemble sensibility and Ronald Isley's vocal sophistication. Ronald had developed into one of the most expressive lead vocalists in soul music, capable of conveying a wide range of emotional states with a control and musicality that distinguished him from the more extroverted vocal styles that had dominated soul in the 1960s. His approach to melody was rooted in gospel but refined through decades of professional experience into something entirely his own.

The production approach on T-Neck recordings of this period was carefully considered. Rather than adopting the elaborate string arrangements and symphonic production of contemporaries like Philadelphia International Records, the Isleys kept their sound rooted in the band. Keyboards, bass, and guitar provided the primary textural elements, with horn accents deployed selectively rather than as constant orchestral presence. This approach gave the recordings a warmth and directness that connected to audiences who had grown up on the intimate soul recordings of the 1960s while sounding contemporary and sophisticated.

The period represented by 3+3 and its singles constituted the most critically and commercially successful era in The Isley Brothers' long career. The album has been cited repeatedly by subsequent artists as a defining influence, with its combination of funk guitar, sophisticated harmony, and emotionally direct songwriting setting a template that informed soul, R&B, and funk throughout the remainder of the 1970s. "What It Comes Down To" was a smaller-scale commercial success than "That Lady," but as part of the album's overall statement it contributed to a body of work that would prove enormously influential.

The number 55 peak position on the Hot 100, combined with presumably stronger performance on the R&B chart where the group's primary audience resided, confirmed that the 3+3 era Isley Brothers had established a commercial foundation capable of sustaining multiple singles from a single album. That foundation would support further significant chart success through the mid-1970s, as the group continued to develop the musical language they had established on this remarkable album.