hot buttered soul

Isaac Hayes got his own thing and brought it on down to soulsville with the sweet satisfaction of this slow bubbling thick molasses of orchestrated ecstasy.  A child prodigy, he taught himself to play piano, organ, flute, and saxophone and became a session man for Stax Records.  Hayes and songwriting partner David Porter became the force behind the Stax sound and with Stax in house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s produced monster hits like 'Soul Man' and 'Hold On I'm Comin''.  His debut album 'Presenting Isaac Hayes' was the first release on Stax' Enterprise label; but Hayes was disappointed by the decision to edit 'Precious, Precious' from eighteen minutes to just under three.  Hayes was ready to go back to his established role as producer and songwriter when Stax split with Atlantic Records, losing their complete back catalogue.  Al Bell decided to simultaneously release twenty-seven albums and thirty singles to fill the void and commissioned every artist on the label to record new music.  Hayes would only agree to do another album if he could have complete creative control and Bell agreed.  'Hot Buttered Soul' was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and Tera Shirma Studios in Detroit, Michigan with producers Al Bell, Marvell Thomas, and Allen Jones.  The sessions featured Isaac Hayes on vocals and keyboards;  Marvell Thomas on keyboards;  with The Bar-Kays (Willie Hall on drums; James Alexander on bass; and Michael Toles, on guitar);  and arrangements by Johnny Allen. 

Hayes would reveal:    "All the time I was writing hit songs with my partner David Porter, I always had the yen to perform. Sure did. And when the opportunity came, I took it. The first album, Presenting Isaac Hayes, didn't do so hot, but it was like a prelude for what was to come. When I was given an opportunity to do things the way I wanted to, without any restrictions and no holds barred, that's when I did Hot Buttered Soul. Which changed a lot of things...with the horns and the strings, and that selection of tunes. And just the way I presented myself. I'd always thought if I did my own album, I'd do it like this...I'd always loved strings. When I was in high school and saw strings playing on stage, an orchestra or a symphony, all those bows moving at the same time… wow. [Laughs.] I like that sound, man. So I just kept it in my head. David and I tried some strings with Sam & Dave, but it didn't go over too well, because people didn't want to accept that. They wanted to hear what they first heard, with those horns and driving rhythms. So when I had a chance to do my thing, I did it. I did what I wanted to. I just heard those strings, and I expressed myself through those. And I heard the horns. I kept the funky rhythms underneath, but I put the strings on top and made them speak. With authority. And I did it long because I felt what I had to say could not have been said in two minutes and 30 seconds. I took some liberties. It was kind of selfish on my part. But you know, there were 26 other albums released at the same time mine was. [Laughs.] So I just did what I wanted to do, you know? It just so happened other people liked it too...Those were songs I liked. And I felt like I could do something with them. Because a hit song is a hit song. Take it apart and put it back together, it still stands, if it's put together right. So I did those tunes, because they were tunes I liked and that I could readily relate to...I was a pop freak. I love music. Of course, I knew soul because I grew up in it. Writing it and everything. I love soul. But I love a tune that has some meat in it. Something I could hang my hat on. Because music is universal. Therefore I felt no boundaries."

 'Hot Buttered Soul'  made it to number eight on the US pop album chart; and number one on the US R&B and jazz charts.   







http://www.isaachayes.com/












"Walk On By"









 'Hot Buttered Soul' 
full album:





"Walk On By" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 12:03
"Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" (Isaac Hayes, Alvertis Isbell) – 9:38
"One Woman" (Charles Chalmers, Sandra Rhodes) – 5:10

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (Jimmy Webb) – 18:42