Day 218: Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul
Happy final day of easter holidays for all of those who celebrate, I’m sorry you have to go back to work tomorrow. I’m also sorry I have to work tomorrow, but such is life. To prepare for my return to the weekly toil, I wanted a relaxing album with good vibes, so I went for a bit of Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes.
Album cover courtesy of Stax Records
Isaac Hayes was a singer, songwriter and composer from Tennessee who started off his career as a session musician and in-house songwriter, penning hits for other artists with his writing partner David Porter. He wrote iconic songs like “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I'm Comin'” for Sam & Dave, before releasing his own debut album Presenting Isaac Hayes, which ended up flopping commercially.
His label underwent some troubles, first with the death of their most successful artist Otis Redding, then losing their entire back catalogue to Atlantic Records, so they ordered all their artists to put out new stuff. Hayes had been planning to return to a more behind the scenes role in music due to the disappointment of the lack of success of the first record, so he reluctantly agreed to record a second one, but only if he had full commercial control.
The resulting album, Hot Buttered Soul, was released in 1969 and became a critical and commercial hit. Hayes has a buttery smooth and deep voice that really captures your attention, and the songs are excellent. There’s only four songs on the album, which include a pretty fantastic orchestral sound with Hayes singing and playing the organ.
You can really hear the gospel influences from when he started off singing in church, especially on “By the Time I Get To Phoenix”, which practically sounds like a sermon with the theme of “women, eh?” But the 18-minute track is probably the high point of the album, along with “Walk On By”. It’s a very decent 8.5/10 that’ll accompany your evening as well as anything, I’ll buy it if I see it at a record store.
Fun fact: Isaac Hayes did a whole lot of film and TV work in his life, with one of his roles being Chef from South Park. However, he left the show after they made an episode satirizing the church of Scientology.