This set from the venerable
Ace
label gathers the A-sides and B-sides of nine 45s
Isaac Hayes
released on the
Stax
subsidiary
Enterprise
during a fertile four-year period. Due to space, it stops short of including
Hayes
' last single of 1972, "Theme from 'The Men'" b/w "Type Thang." These are the singles from the chart-topping albums
Hot Buttered Soul
,
The Isaac Hayes Movement
...To Be Continued
Shaft
, and
Black Moses
, plus a non-LP collaboration with songwriting partner
David Porter
and a
-penned Yuletide offering. It's a condensed representation of a hot streak during which the singer/songwriter and keyboardist -- supported by
the Bar-Kays
, a few extra players, and arrangers such as
Johnny Allen
Dale Warren
Pat Lewis
-- radically rethought soul music by utilizing the album format to extend original compositions and covers across the majority (sometimes the entirety) of one side. Having co-authored hits by the likes of
Sam & Dave
Mable John
Carla Thomas
also knew how to keep it snappy. That explains why the edits of "Do Your Thing" (essentially side four of
) and similarly epic-length takes of
Burt Bacharach
and
Hal David
's "Walk On By" and
Jerry
Billy Butler
's "I Stand Accused" sound fully formed rather than compromised for radio and jukebox play. Other tunes, such as the number one pop hit "Theme from Shaft" and smoldering "Never Can Say Goodbye" (released only a month after the
Jackson 5
original), required less in the way of excision. Sweetening the deal are two numbers that almost qualify as obscure. "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," a devastated and unrecognizable reading of
Hank Williams
' 1951 recording, makes a rare appearance since its origin on the flipside of "Never Can Say Goodbye." A bonus 19th track is the instrumental B-side version of "Soul-A-Lujah," recorded for the
duets project
Boy Meets Girl
, featuring
on clavinet. The track is so deep in the catalog that not even
Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & The Best of the Rest
dredged it up. ~ Andy Kellman