Search - Isaac Hayes :: Branded

This is one "brand" that we all should possess!

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 08/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Possessing one of the most distinctive voices in recorded music history, Hayes's "Branded" is a cool collection of up-tempo tracks and mellow ballads. Mixing his traditional and passionate love songs (such tracks as "Thanks to the Fool," and "Soulsville," a remake of his classic from "Shaft") with funky jams (a reworking of "Summer in the City" and "I'll Do Anything (To Turn You On," to name a few), Hayes shows what made him an icon of the 70's and 80's and a sought after "voice" frequently heard today.Each of the first four songs that start the album segues into each other, making for an extended fourteen-minute masterpiece, containing Sting's "Fragile," performed in a manner that only Hayes could do. The presentation is a triumph of vocal and instrumental arranging. This release is the companion piece to "Raw & Refined," released the same year. Both complement each other and are essentials for fans of the artist.Why he is not a continued presence on the music charts is one of the great mysteries of the new millennium."