Stax soul man sings songs for sexy lovers

Concord’s “For Lovers” series features catalog selections from vocalists and instrumentalists that exploring the joys and heartbreaks of love. Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer Isaac Hayes proves himself a natural fit for this series with this hand-picked set of soulful originals and drastically reinterpreted covers. The latter includes a dramatic reading of Bacharach and David’s “The Look of Love,” pared from the album’s original 11-minute production to the single’s lyrically-focused 3’19; even more impressive is Hayes’ reconstruction of David Gates’ soft-rock hit “Baby I’m-a-Want You” into a Stax-styled mid-tempo soul tune.

Hayes works a similar magic on The Carpenters’ “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” reproduced here at its full nine-minute album length with lyrics stretched across romantic orchestrations, and a duet with David Porter gives a Sam and Dave spin to Johnnie Taylor’s hit, “Ain’t That Lovin’ You (For More Reasons Than One).” Highlights of Hayes’ originals include the string introduction and carnal vocal of “Joy (Part 1),” the light funk “I Can’t Turn Around,” and the thoughtful “Let’s Don’t Ever Blow Our Thing.” With only eleven tracks clocking in at fifty-eight minutes, there was room here for a few more items, such as the hit singles “Walk on By” and “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

Those only familiar with Hayes’ early classics, Hot Buttered Soul and Black Moses, will discover some new sides here. Several of these tracks are cherry-picked from post-Shaft albums of the mid-70s, including Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) and Chocolate Chip, giving listeners a taste of Hayes’ post-peak work without having to pick through entire albums. Four other tracks are selected from the 2006 collection Wonderful, which anthologized earlier non-LP singles and compilation cuts. None of these provide a full substitute for the early full-length LPs, but the selections provide a good helping of soulful love without having to wade past through the mid-70s disco inflections. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]