CLASSIC ALBUM: HOT BUTTERED SOUL

"Hot Buttered Soul" stands out as a landmark album in Soul Music today. Back in 1969, Isaac Hayes rose to fame with his four track masterpiece despite the release of his debut album in 1967, and songwriting credits on some of Stax records most definitive records.

This amazing set begins with a re-envisioned version of Dionne Warwick's 1964 smash "Walk On By," in which Hayes transformed this song into a twelve minute magnus opus featuring an entirely new arrangement and full background vocals with slight changes in lyric and time. Warwick's version of "Walk On By" was already a musically progressive song in its own right for 64', but Hayes completely remolded the record into a psychedelic soul piece out of this world with more emphasis on the composition than lyric. The new track on the album gave listeners a taste of funk and blues. "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" is unusual in every way but hip, cool, and fresh. "One Woman" and the eighteen minute rendition of Jimmy Webb's composition "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" show Isaac's tender side as a real Soul balladeer. The songs are carried by their compositions and lyric with Isaac and his background vocalist giving amazing performances that are truly in sync with everything else going on in the songs.

This album really stood out for its time. There wasn't much production at the time that had so much force and depth as Hayes work in addition to it being ahead of its time. Its a culmination of Jazz, Blues, Soul, Rock, and has some pop appeal. It's influence can greatly be seen in some of Norman Whitfield's production work for the likes of The Temptations and Gladys Knight and the Pips and later work from Barry White which in succession influenced the creation of disco. The influence of this record not only touches just one decade after its release but also has been used for sampling on several Hip-Hop records. Nevertheless, this album is timeless and will always sound fresh and interesting.

Here is a video below of Isaac performing the radio edit of "Walk On By" on TV in 1969: