There's no denying that soulman Isaac Hayes was a major influence on R&B, blues, funk, hip-hop, and rock music, and his landmark 1969 album Hot Buttered Soul was, perhaps, the most influential of all of Hayes' recordings.
On June 23, 2009 Stax Records will reissue a digitally-remastered version of Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul on compact disc with two singles-edits as bonus tracks. The much-anticipated reissue includes rare new photos and liner notes from noted music historian Bill Dahl as well as Hayes fan Jim James of My Morning Jacket.
In 1969, Isaac Hayes was better-known as one-half, with David Porter, of the Stax songwriting team that penned hits for folks like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others. Hayes released an unremarkable solo debut in 1967, but at four songs and forty-five minutes, Hot Buttered Soul turned the singles-oriented world of R&B on its collective heads just two years later.
Featuring three cover tunes, including extended takes of Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" (18+ minutes) and the Bacharach/David gem "Walk On By" (12 minutes), the album was a confident mix of soul, pop, and blues with lush instrumentation, some wicked fretwork courtesy of Harold Beane, and Hayes' imaginative keyboard flourishes and deep, bass-heavy vocals. By adding strings and things to the jams, Hayes took the songs beyond their three-minute pop roots and created an entirely new, album-oriented style of soul music.
Hot Buttered Soul is an essential showcase for Hayes' musical talents, an album of great musical depth and vision that opened the door for artists like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and many others to walk through. As Jim James says in his liner notes to the album, "everything is revealed when you open your mind to its secrets…."
Related Content: Isaac Hayes profile
Photo courtesy Stax Records
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