The Isleys, '90s-Style

`Mr. Biggs' Upstaged At Constitution Hall

When the 1990s version of the four-decade-old Isley Brothers act was unveiled to the music industry last May, there were lots of references to "Mr. Biggs," the no-nonsense gangster Ronald Isley plays in R. Kelly's hit video "Down Low."

Since then, the transformation from iconic singer to video character has been completed. In the video for his own single, "Floatin' on Your Love," he continues his brutal Mr. Biggs role. Some admiring younger artists -- Kelly, Babyface and Keith Sweat produced cuts on the new album -- call him "the don."

But on the Isley's national tour, which stopped at Constitution Hall Friday night, his mob image was at odds with his status as legendary soul man. The veteran singer showed that ruthlessness has nothing to do with the heart necessary for a 55-year-old man to get on his knees in his good suit and sing some of the steamiest love songs ever written -- like "Hello It's Me," "Between the Sheets," or the current "Mission to Please You."

Mr. Biggs is just an entertaining celluloid wrapping, one that gets mucked up as soon as Isley pours on his hot chocolate tenor and a falsetto that trails to a whisper. The show fused slick '90s marketing and '70s showmanship; trench-coated dancers carrying plastic machine guns parody mob life. Mr. Biggs is a powerful image that draws young fans attracted to wealth and power and older fans who simply like to see a man dressing sharp.

Isley changed his suits three times during the show, going from bright red to bright yellow to candy green, and offered the audience the improbable vision of Mr. Biggs singing the '70s anthem "Fight the Power." At another point he was suddenly a transformed into a slick preacher, raising the audience to its feet for the 1959 classic "Shout." For that number, dancers first donned choir robes, then stripped to spandex lace for a wayward-woman look.

For the substantial portion of the concert devoted to the Isleys' new love songs -- "Living for the Love of You," "Lay Lady Lay," "Let Me Know," "Let's Lay Together" and "Tears" -- the Biggs image and Isley artistry merged with the aid of four dancers. He might have shown sensitivity, but the lingerie-clad dancers showed more, a slavish devotion -- gyrating around and fawning over him as if he were Adonis, a supreme Mack Daddy, the don. The evening's entertainment sometimes bordered on ridiculous soft porn.

When the spotlight wasn't on Ronald Isley, it often fell on Ernie Isley, who showed his ferocity on lead guitar, taking extended solos that alternated between his trademark wails and recognizable funky phrasings.

At the end of the show, Ronald Isley strode onstage for his finale, which included "Down Low." The band played the intro, which is reminiscent of "The Godfather" soundtrack. Isley poured his voice into the lyrics, which urge clandestine lovers to be discreet. Then he jolted the audience, raising his hands as if in victory, asking, "How y'all like Mr. Biggs?"