(April 4, 2024) A noted singer, songwriter, musician and producer, Isaac Hayes was one of the most important soul music icons of the second half of the 20th century.
As a key contributor to the South’s answer to Motown, Stax Records, Hayes served for nearly a decade as an in-house songwriter/producer with partner David Porter, penning such monster hits as Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man,” before breaking out as a top recording artist in his own right. His 1969 opus Hot Buttered Soul is simply one of the greatest soul music albums of all time, and his 1971 album Black Moses solidified his position among the soul music royalty.
Despite his great R&B success on those two albums, Hayes became best known for the killer title track of his 1971 soundtrack to the movie Shaft. It won for him a #1 song, an Academy Award, and some of the most repeated lyrics in soul music history.
Now a new vinyl collection celebrates this legend. Isaac Hayes – The Best Of brings together 10 soulful cuts from Stax Records’ incomparable creative force on this Stax Recordings store exclusive “Red Smoke” color LP. Featuring newly remastered audio, the album will be available on 1-LP, standard digital, hi-res digital, and — for the FIRST TIME EVER — Dolby Atmos® spatial audio. The project includes the Academy Award Winning “Theme From Shaft” with its distinctive wah-wah guitar intro, “Walk on By,” and “Never Can Say Goodbye” all newly mastered by Paul Blakemore. It is available for pre-order.
Side A:
1. Theme From Shaft
2. Walk On By
3. Never Can Say Goodbye
4. The Look Of Love
5. Theme From The Men
Side B:
1. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
2. Joy (Pt. 1)
3. Do Your Thing
4. I Stand Accused
5. Wonderful
