Search - Isaac Hayes :: Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It (W/Dvd) (Dig)

You Should Dig It...

Thomas D. Ryan | New York | 11/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Damn, where's he been? For thirty years, Isaac Hayes has apparently been one of the coolest people on the planet Earth, but he's rarely seen, and only heard as a voice on a crazy cartoon show. This CD lets us hear what we've been missing for the past thirty years. At the start of his career, Hayes wrote hit songs for the Stax/Volt label. That by itself is enough to label him as one of the planet's coolest people, but this collection doesn't even bother with his career as a songwriter for others. Instead, it picks up at the point that Hayes decided to become a solo performer on his own, and the diversity of his career is nothing less than mind-boggling. With no sign of strain, he seamlessly incorporated stone cold experimental jams, psychedelia, orchestral soul and funk, inspirational music, jazz reminiscent of the Ramsey Lewis school, and `love-man' R&B.

"Hot Buttered Soul" was the kick-off for a career that eventually came to define mid-seventies soul music, and it still stands as an all-time classic. It is amply represented here by standout extended jams like "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Walk On By". It also moves through eleven subsequent albums, with mixed results that are nonetheless continually fascinating. At times, he sounds like a spitting image for Barry White, but with an unconventional flair for going further than any other funk soul brother would risk. Photos show Hayes wearing clothing that would make the king of the pimps jealous (head to toe in fur, or head to toe in leopard skin...you get the idea), while being referred to as `Black Moses'. It was a singular, unforgettable image that suits every track on this disk.

As a visual aid, Disk One represents the sound of mink pants and an open-chested shirt while cruising in a gold-tinged Cadillac with pink naugahyde interior. "The Theme from Shaft," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Hyperbolicsyllabic-Sesquedalymistic" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" all capture Hayes at his glorious, over-the-top peak. Disk two, meanwhile, is the aural equivalent of carelessly discarded chain mail, crushed velvet sofas, red light bulbs, and a bottle of Mateus Rose. "Walk On By," "If Loving You Is Wrong", "Baby I'm-A Want You" and "Let's Stay Together" all stress the love-man vibe like burning incense. Far from consistent, though, there are a few mis-steps. Like everything else here, though, even the clunkers are spectacular in their badness. "Three Tough Guys" and "Come Live with Me" are both trite, incredibly overwrought, and poorly written - clunkers of astounding proportions, and all the more fascinating for it. The videos on the DVD disk are fabulous, though, both musically and historically, featuring three great songs/visuals from the often out-of-print film "Wattstax", plus the incredibly funny and ridiculous "Chocolate Salty Balls" video, from the `South Park' cartoon. Inconsistent but always fascinating, this is one CD collection that should not be missed.

B+ Tom Ryan"

Great Album

Robert J. | 12/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation distills the clever genius of Isaac Hayes into two audio discs, covering the whole range of his early career. It contains pure unadulterated emotion, clever humor and incredible smoothness all at once in a very unique style. Isaac is one of the few artists who can make you feel his genuine emotions right with him. The remastered tracks sound better than ever. Packaging is good and there is a bonus DVD with some rather inspiring concert footage from the 70s. I'm pretty sure this is the best compilation set ever from "the Sinatra of soul.""

Excellent collection

Ernest C. Goins | GREENSBORO NC | 01/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"2 cd and dvd all excellent. you will not be unsatisfied. all the songs are beautiful and thorough. includes his best from the sixties and seventies and later hits.hayes was allways good and this is a good collection."