My wife and I went to my company’s Christmas party last weekend where the theme was “rock and roll.” For dinner, they had food named after famous rock songs. For entertainment, they had a karaoke dj and in the main ballroom a cover band called Crazy Delicious. For table settings, they had real 45s and vinyl lps along with their corresponding album jackets.The table my wife and I sat at for dinner had a real Beatles 45 with the swirly yellow and orange Capitol records label. When we went to the main ballroom of the Marriot, there was a copy of Isaac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul album on the neighboring table.
It looked lightly scuffed, but surprisingly playable for an album nearly forty years old.
I took it home, having remembered that Hank Rollins thought the world of this album and having enjoyed what little I heard of the record beforehand.
Side one is totally awesome, with two songs including a twelve minute version of “Walk On By.” There’s the uber-funky “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” which closes out the first half with complete perfection.
The ballad “One Woman” which begins side two isn’t necessarily bad-it just doesn’t fit well with the rest of Hot Buttered Soul’s easy and rhythmic flow that organically weaves in and out of the record at the most perfect spots. The ballad slows down the record’s momentum and, ultimately, becomes the one stumbling block that keeps the album from truly being an essential piece of vinyl.
Essential or not, it’s the album’s epic track-the 18 minute closer “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” which makes Hot Buttered Soul a very worthy record. Hayes gives a love monologue for the first third of the song-turning it from Campbell’s simple tale of broken love into a novel of heartbreak.
The strings and wide arrangements found throughout the album are a unique touch, but what’s even better is how Hayes just lets the band The Bar-Kays just have their way with his record, sometimes allowing them to go off of extended jams and just work a groove to dead on other occasions.
Look, I caught a break with my copy of Hot Buttered Soul, but rest assured if the grooves wear out, I’d have no quarrels at digging in my pocket to fund a replacement copy.
6 comments:
A classic, indeed.
Yeah, I dig this one, too. There are stories of record stores being broken into in this time period and the only thing stolen were copies of Hot Buttered Soul.
I want to get To Be Continued... next; his long version of The Look Of Love is amazing.
Btw, you are mentioned--and quoted--in my Decade in Review post:
http://kikojones5.blogspot.com
It has been my experience that if Henry Rollins recommends it, I'm probably gonna like it.
Bless you for the nod Kiko. Sometimes the shit that comes from my dome makes me laugh and sometimes it happens to give others a chuckle too. Your end of decade list is massive. Mine will be smaller but will evoke your rath the moment you see where I've place Animal Collective. ;)
Murph, that's a great story.
Tanja, I would agree to a point, but Hank was a big fan of the Black Sabbath reunion which, to my ears, the ensuing document of their reunion was pretty lame.
For the record, I chose your quote as a fave because it reminded me of the great J.D. Considine and his "Short Takes" in Musician magazine back in the day. To be witty, scathing, funny, and concise in ten words or less, is art in my book. (Is that why Twitter is so boring?)
Looking forward to your '00s wrap up, sir. Regardless of what we agree on (or not), I'm sure it'll give me both something to think about and enjoy.
Cheers.
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