It's a music-biz truism that albums of pop standards can revive a stalled career like few other concepts. The Isley Brothers had already celebrated a Number One seller (Body Kiss) earlier in 2003 when frontman Ron took a detour into the songbook of veteran writer/arranger Burt Bacharach. Working side by side, the pair made Here I Am much more than another holiday-shopping cash-in. Isley turned in some of his most subtle vocal performances ever, coming within striking distance of various classic originals (by the likes of Dionne Warwick, among others). He surpassed at least one, turning "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" into a treatise on perseverance in the face of hurt. A couple of obscurities and one new song ("Love's
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