Isla was
Mike Pinera's long overdue solo album, self-produced for Capricorn in 1978. Recorded with what
Pinera fans might easily describe as an all-star lineup (keyboardist
Duane Hitchings and drummer
Donny Vosburgh were his bandmates in
Thee Image;
Hitchings also played alongside him in
the New Cactus Band), it is very much a successor to the two
Thee Image albums that preceded it. With its strongest moments cut in a similar mold to mid-period
Doobie Brothers, or even recent
Eric Clapton, its ten songs include the Spanish language title track, alongside the gorgeous "Nobody Wins" and "Lady Divine," while the opening "Alone with You" leans strongly, and successfully, into rock-disco territory. Overall, however, it's a very laid-back set, which -- like contemporary
Clapton LPs -- might render it a shock for anyone coming in from
Pinera's already legendary past with
Blues Image,
Iron Butterfly, and
Ramatam. But it will still delight guitar aficionados, and
Pinera's voice remains unmistakable.