Album Review: Isaac Hayes — Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It?
Finally we have an Isaac Hayes career retrospective that is both succinct and sprawling. Of course “The Theme from Shaft” is here; it leads off the first disc on this two-disc, non-chronological compilation of Black Moses’ finest and most commercial offerings. Isaac Hayes is the ideal example of a performer’s artistic aspirations dovetailing perfectly with the zeitgeist, resulting in both critical and commercial success.
Hayes, as presented on Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It?, provides something for every taste. The romantic soul balladeering of slow jams like “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” flows smoothly into his legendary reinvention of pop hits like the epic “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “The Look of Love;” Hayes truly makes the songs his own. His soundtrack work on blaxploitation films like The Men and Three Tough Guys strikes just the right vibe.
The two discs are sonically packed to the limit with classic Hayes, mostly from the Stax era (1966-1975) with a few important later pieces thrown in. A bonus DVD completes the lavishly-appointed set, and includes an excerpt from Hayes’ legendary 1972 performance at the Wattstax festival. Bring things up to date, the DVD includes a clip from South Park, featuring Isaac Hayes in his role as Chef performing the immortal “Chocolate Salty Balls.”
Isaac Hayes’ music is classified as soul. He covered white pop standards. His songs made it onto the charts of soul, R&B and pop. His music is widely sampled by current artists. You can — and should — dig Ultimate Isaac Hayes.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4500-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.