Instrumentals - Isaac Hayes

Advantages: classic soul
Disadvantages: not short to listen to

...Before Isaac Hayes was 'Chef' in South Park, he was 'Isaac Hayes - soul prophet'. 'Hot Buttered Soul' is one of the top ten soul albums of all time, and possibly the best ever soul debut album, most acts taking time to deliver their best in this genre. Hayes scores straight out of the blocks with an astonishing 12 minute version of 'Walk on By', the old Bacharach-David staple, except we've never heard it like this - riding in with the strings and choir from an imaginary western, cut with acid guitar and a razor-sharp backbeat. Isaac Hayes is unusual in that the longer one of his tracks is, the better it seems to be. His vocal style starts gentle and works up a head of steam into the middle of the cut, which is followed by an instrumental ending which starts softly and goes into a hammond organ and drum-driven rhythmic freakout featuring... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Superb singing and arrangements
Disadvantages: None

...Isaac Hayes, he of the booming yet sultry monotone, made famous again in the late 90's as the voice of Chef in South Park, brought out this album in 1968. It was a good time to be recording in Memphis; Stax records were revitalised with a new pounding soul sound and later that year Elvis would record probably the greatest album of his career "From Elvis In Memphis" across town at American Studios. With this one album Hayes, previously a staff writer and arranger at Stax, set himself up as a genuine mack daddy, going on to record the theme tune for the 1971 blaxplotation "Shaft" and the later modestly titled Black Moses LP of 1974. Hot Buttered Soul also showed that soul and R&B, normally the preserve of the black musician, could also stretch out a jam and explore new territory, much as the progressive rock bands were... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A high water mark for the great Stax label, and you can hear why.
Disadvantages: South Park fans may be dissapointed.

...Hayes revolutionised soul music with this, his second outing. The first symphonically orchestrated concept soul LP (blimey, quite a mouthful). It only contained four tracks, but four is more than enough with the sheer power and intensity on show here. The eighteen minute extravaganza of By The Time I Get to Phoenix is a standout matched by his twelve minute take on Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Walk On By. To give an idea of the standard of this record the bedroom baritone and future Chef outsold all other releases on the Stax label within three weeks of release and became the first gold release for the company, a big deal in 1969. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic (another mouthful) and One Woman keep the quality high and although the tracks are long, there is no sense of self-indulgence, helped by the shifting rhythms and tight... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful