| Review by muzikman April 14, 2003
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Performance:  Sonics: |
Issac Hayes created a soul and rhythm and blues masterpiece on the premise of going into the studio to do things exactly as he pleased. It seems that approach is the best for diversely talented artists with the wherewithal to pull it off while recording in the studio. Some of the best music we have had the pleasure to hear over the years has had that magical spontaneity as the driving force behind it. Hayes had some of the best musicians in the world helping him from the Stax studios to record “Hot Buttered Soul,” although he was already riding high from the initial success of the previous year and was an established musician and songwriter, this album put him into the pantheon of superstars.
With four songs done in the most unconventional manner, the crossover success of this album was unprecedented. Considering it was primarily soul and the fact that it broke the top-forty in the pop charts and found a place on the jazz charts as well, speaks highly of its impact at the time of its release. Today this album remains an important landmark release defying any genre pigeonholing.
Clocking in at 18:40, “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” was an incredibly long track with long spoken word interludes and lush orchestration mixed with pop and soul; it was the pinnacle of this session. It was necessary to trim the song down to seven minutes for consideration as a single, which brings another point of reference to light. Singles were never more than three minutes long, so this once again broke all barriers and standards in the music industry and shattered any beliefs that a single had to be three minutes or under to get a spin by jocks. Another peculiarity at the time was an artist such as Hayes performing a Burt Bacharach song, the opener “Walk on By.” Hayes and his band mates enjoyed the fluffiness and pop sensibility of the songs and the flexibility they offered for improvisation.
This amazingly clear and detailed reproduction of this classic album accentuates every facet found on the four tracks. If you already have a copy of this in your collection you must have this SACD, you will be absolutely floored by how great it sounds.
©"Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
03/30/03
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| Review by Croc September 23, 2003 (0 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Great music.
super great quality.
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| Review by Marc P January 16, 2004 (0 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
This album is fun, has great music on it, and sounds wonderful.
Another great release by MOFI.
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| Review by DeSelby May 9, 2005 (1 of 5 found this review helpful)
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Sonics:  |
| stereo sonics: psychodelic-hippie-soul from 69 with good sound
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| Review by vonwegen November 7, 2005 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Only four tunes, and none are overlong? Amazing, but true! HBS is a soul/funk classic that Mobile Fidelity has really done justice to. I've rarely heard high-end this good on anything 1969-era that didn't have Glyn Johns or Eddie Kramer producing or engineering.
The bass sound is not as big as on some 1969-era releases (see Credence Clearwater's "Bayou Country"), but it's still pretty darned good. What really astounds are the spacy echo effects on the percussion and vocals, years ahead of their time. The orchestral overdubs sound really nice without ever being syrupy or venturing into kitch territory, which is a good thing, because he covers both Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach here (albeit, both in a _very_ unconventional way).
Musically, this Lp grooves, but seriously. Hayes has a bass/baritone voice that fits the funkiness of the music perfectly, and best of all, he never overdoes things, either with his vocals or his keyboards. Rhythm section is by ace studio stalwarts the Bar-Kays, so the tunes have a lot of punch, even during the quiet, introspective sections. There are lots of nice sonic touches that make every listen a different experience.
Synopsis: if you like the Theme From Shaft SACD, you'll love this one too. Grab it now, because it's going out of print!
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| Review by analogue March 7, 2009
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Performance:  Sonics: |
This is another terrific sacd transfer done by mobile fidelity. If you are familiar with this album and have it on cd I can assure you without hesitation that this is the one to own. Mofi did a pure dsd transfer from the original master tapes and it sounds great. There are some tape anomalies to be sure but the sound of this sacd more than compensates for those small problems.
This is Isaac Hayes second album and it made him a star overnight. His deep, baritone voice is rendered very realistically and the music has weight, substance and dimension. One can hear the little reflected overtones of the studio from which this was recorded. There is something special about a Mobile Fidelity sacd. They just seem so relaxing to the ears no matter what kind of music you are listening to. And the volume always has to be turned up a notch for the music to really come to life. This is a very good thing because it means they did not compress or increase the volume of the transfer. So many regular cd's on the market suffer from this problem.
There are only four tracks on this album but they have real substance. If you want to be grooved I highly recommend this sacd to you with no reservations.
Note: This sacd is now out of print so you may only be able to get it on ebay.
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| Review by pvcmusiclover January 16, 2013
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Performance: Sonics: |
| One of the best sounding MFSL SACD releases out there. There's a lot of depth in the reverb and intricacy to the mix. Unlike a lot of Mobile Fidelity's other releases, the treble is bright and the midrange is just right (bass as well) and everything is very tight.
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