Landmark Albums By Soul Icon Isaac Hayes Come To 180g Vinyl
Soul singer, songwriter and producer Isaac Hayes will have his mighty legacy honoured by Craft Recordings’ 2 March release of remastered vinyl editions of his landmark albums Hot Buttered Soul, Shaft and Black Moses.
The reissues come in the wake of the year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of Stax Records, the legendary Memphis institution of which Hayes was such a key part, as a writer, producer and then as a superstar in his own right. 2017 saw the release of the deluxe 4CD box set Isaac Hayes: The Spirit of Memphis (1962-1976).
Here, Cooley discusses his remastering of the Hayes catalogue:
Each of the new LP editions, cut on 180-gram vinyl, has been remastered from the original analog tapes at Elysian Masters by the noted engineer Dave Cooley. They are housed in faithfully-reproduced package, complete with an old-school style tip-on jacket. Black Moses will feature a replica of the four-foot cross-shaped fold-out image of Isaac as the titular character.
Hot Buttered Soul, a game-changer in the world of R&B, topped the US soul chart and made the pop top ten in 1969, featuring Hayes’ unforgettable remakes of ‘Walk On By’ and ‘By The I Get To Phoenix.’ The Grammy and Oscar-winning Shaft, from the summer of 1971, was a phenomenal crossover success that remains, for many, Hayes’ most celebrated work, especially for its chart-topping flagship single ‘Theme From Shaft.’ Black Moses followed it just a few months later, towards the end of 1971, and remains a much-sampled opus that also topped the R&B chart. Shaft won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack while Black Moses won its Grammy for Pop Instrumental Album.
Pre-order the 180g vinyl editions of Hot Buttered Soul, Shaft and Black Moses, and watch Cooley below reflecting on Hayes’ indelible musical legacy with the artist’s son, record producer Isaac Hayes III.
Explore our Isaac Hayes Artist Page.
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