Thrifty Tunes 05.16.09: Isaac Hayes
Posted by Paul Hollingsworth on 05.16.2009
Long before he was known as Chef and even before he wrote that Shaft tune, Isaac Hayes was breaking new musical ground as a soul music pioneer. Hot Buttered Soul, Hayes' second, most influential disc, gets a fresh spin in this week's Thrifty Tunes.
The public persona of a musician or a band often unfairly colors the perception of the artist, particularly a musician who is far removed from their glory days. When I was a kid, I knew Isaac Hayes solely as the guy responsible for "Theme From Shaft." It never occurred to me to see if he had ever recorded anything else worthwhile. The movie itself as well as most of the music from the 70's was 'old' and 'outdated', in my 12 year-old, forward-looking, 80's living, incredibly naive mind. While I never doubted 'Theme From Shaft' was a great song, it stood to reason that if he had any other good songs I would have heard them on the radio. However, the 80's were mostly an Isaac Hayes-free decade, except for an occasional reference poking fun at Hayes and his most well known song. Each decade takes delight in tearing down the sacred pop icons of the decade which came before, and in the 80's, with our wind tunnel tested hairdos and incredibly skinny ties and parachute pants, we took special care to reject and demonize almost all music which came from the 70's, and especially anything which had the vaguest association with disco. (Disco, by the way, is still evil.) A lot of good music from the era was lumped in with the crap and all of it was shunned and unfortunately an entire generation grew up without knowing how awesome bands like Sly & The Family Stone , Parliament and The Commodores were in their prime. (Don't get me started on Lionel Richie's solo career, either. "Dancing on the Ceiling" is a poor offering from someone who once sang "Machine Gun.") Hayes was definitely in this list as well, as it took me many years to discover his music and to realize what a talented and visionary musician he was.
Hayes' solo debut, Presenting Isaac Hayes had flopped in 1967, and in 1969 ,Stax Records, where Hayes had worked as a songwriter and session player for years, split from Atlantic Records and lost the rights to its entire back catalog. Hayes agreed to release a new album only after he asked for and received total creative control. The resulting album, Hot Buttered Soul became one of the most influential soul albums of all time. Consisting of only four songs, (two covers and two originals) the album broke just about every rule in the pop songbook, and still managed to reach number 1 on the R&B and Jazz album charts and #8 on the Pop album charts. (This was, of course, back in the time when having a number 1 record meant something. Who was it this week? How many copies did it sell? How far will it fall next week? Will anybody care it was number 1 in a month?)
The record kicks off with a Burt Bacharach song called "Walk On By." I'm fairly certain Bacharach, even in Elvis Costello's wildest dreams, never sounded so smooth and so soulful. Although the lyrics are mostly unchanged, the song is pure Hayes, from beginning to end. There's an incredibly innovate guitar part during the opening, played by Michael Toles of The Bar-Kays which sets the mood for the rest of the album. What Hayes and The Bar-Kays were doing was creating a new form of music, and along with producer Marvell Thomas they laid the groundwork for much of the soul and pop music to come. By the time Hayes and his voice show up after the lengthy prelude, you should already be in music lover's heaven. Hayes' voice sounds as though he's sharing a story from his own life, inviting you to a take a glimpse into a small window of his heart. Unlike the majority of modern R&B, which is as plastic and uninspired as most all other forms of modern music, the song songs lived in and experienced. It's about as real as music can get, and no amount of auto-tune or other studio trickery can hold a candle to a song like this, honestly sung and performed by musicians who seem to be improvising and playing off of one another's talents. No computer, or even a thousand computers, could create a song as strong and as human as this one. (Personal rant: Music is dangerously close to becoming robotic, unfeeling and very impersonal. Auto-tune is mostly responsible for this. I don't understand why people think a singer sounding like a Cyclon is good music. There's nothing to connect to, especially since everybody is using it now. What makes music good is the uniqueness every musician and band brings to their work. If everybody sounds the same, what does it matter who happens to have their names on the front of the album? It's all going to be interchangeable anyway, right? Rant over.)
The second and final song is a nine and a half minute masterpiece called "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic." I don't have any idea what it means, either. However, its another great, great song and one that has found a second life as a sample standard from such hip-hop musicians as Public Enemy The Game and N.W.A. . While I think sampling is basically musical cheating, at least they picked a good song to steal from. If you've heard any of the songs that sample this song, ("Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos", "Remedy" or "Prelude") you should definitely check out the original. I used to wonder why critics and musicians themselves always talked about the 60's as a sort of golden age of music. It's easy to see why now, and this album is as good an example as any. It was a golden age because of innovation and experimentation. Some things worked, some didn't, but everybody was trying different things, mixing and matching musical styles and creating music which continues to influence and largely define everything which came after. There's no song on this album under five minutes long, and its obvious Hayes and his band weren't trying to make a radio-friendly hit. They were making music they enjoyed and could be proud of, and they often get lost in the moment Luckily, the listener is encouraged to get lost as well. (How many songs on that number 1 album this week, by whoever it is, have the same sense of joy in the music. I'm guessing maybe one at most.)
The final song, a cover of Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" is jazz-like in its improvisation and variations on a theme. Webb wrote lots of hits for a variety of artists, including people like Elvis , Frank Sinatra and Glen Campbell . The fact that Hayes gives the song such a soulful interpretation is another tribute to how universal good soul music can be. The spoken introduction, during which Hayes successfully builds up the background of the song, reminds me of being in church. Hayes, as preacher, is about to lay down the law to the congregation, but he also knows that buildup is the key. By the time the song proper starts, at eight minutes in, you're ready for the release and with a cacophony of strings, horns, organs, drums and vocals, Hayes is there to give you what you need.
Complete Track Listing (1969 release on Enterprise Records)
Side One:
1. Walk on By
2. Hyperbolicsyaabicsesquedalymistic
Side Two:
1. One Woman
2. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Landmark albums often have to wait years before they are properly discovered and revered. Hayes didn't have that problem with this album, as it was seen as groundbreaking by critics at the time and found an audience almost immediately upon release. (It peaked at #8 on the album charts.) Sometimes it takes a while for music to catch up to its avant-garde practioneers, but Hayes changed music almost immediately with this record. Other singers and musicians tried to keep up, but Hayes always seemed to be one step ahead. He went on to release several more influential albums during the seventies, but unfortunately became best known as the "Shaft" guy and the "Chef" guy and his music faded from the public eye. Due to his recent passing, his music has gained newfound and well deserved popularity. Hayes was one of the revolutionaries of soul music and a true musical genius, of a type which is sadly in short supply in current music.
