Hot Buttered Soul is the second studio album by American soul musician Isaac Hayes. Released in June 1969, it is recognized as a landmark recording in soul music. Recorded with the Bar-Kays, the album features four lengthy tracks, including a 12-minute version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "Walk On By" and an almost 19-minute long version of Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix;" both songs were edited significantly and released as a double A-side single in July 1969.
Stax executive Al Bell decided to release an almost-instant back catalog of 27 albums and 30 singles at once, and ordered all of Stax's artists to record new material, encouraging some of Stax's prominent creative staff, including Hayes and guitarist Steve Cropper, to record solo albums.
| rev3 = Robert Christgau
| rev3Score = C
| rev2 = BBC
| rev2Score = (favourable)
| rev4 = MusicHound Lounge
| rev4Score =
| rev5 = Paste
| rev5Score = 9.7/10
| rev6 = Pitchfork Media
| rev6Score = 9.2/10
| rev7 = Rhapsody
| rev7Score = favorable
| rev8 = Rolling Stone
| rev8Score =
| rev9 = Stereo Review
| rev9Score = (favourable)
The album was released in June 1969 and peaked at number 1 on the top R&B chart, and at number 8 on the Billboard 200. The edited single version of "Walk On By" reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the edited single version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" reached No. 37 on the same chart.
Contemporary and retrospective reviews of the album were highly positive. AllMusic ranks Hot Buttered Soul as one of the best records of Hayes's career, perhaps second only to 1971's Black Moses, and said the album pioneered new developments in R&B music for the 1970s.
American punk rock musician Henry Rollins has frequently referred to Hot Buttered Soul as one of his favorite albums. Rollins interviewed Hayes in 1995, and the interview was reprinted in the 1998 book Do I Come Here Often? Black Coffee Blues, Part 2.
Evan Minsker of Pitchfork wrote in 2017: "Hayes didn’t have any grand sales ambitions for Hot Buttered Soul, but his long cuts and high drama made him a star, one who pried the creative doors open for the artists who followed."
Track listing
Personnel
- Isaac Hayes – vocals, keyboards
- Marvell Thomas – producer, keyboards
- Harold Beane – guitar solo on "Walk On By"
The Bar-Kays:
- Willie Hall – drums
- James Alexander – bass
- Michael Toles – guitar
Technical
- Al Bell – Producer, supervising producer
- Bill Dahl – Liner notes
- Kate Hoddinott – Package redesign
- Allen Jones – Producer
- Johnny Allen – Arranger
- Terry Manning – Engineer
- Bob Smith – Photography
- Joe Tarantino – Mastering
- Russ Terrana – Remixing
- Honeya Thompson – Art direction
- Christopher Whorf – Cover design
- Ed Wolfrum – Engineer, mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for Hot Buttered Soul
! Chart (1969)
! Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard Top LPs
| 8
|-
! scope="row"| US Hot R&B LPs (Billboard)
| 1
|}
Certifications
See also
- Album era
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1969 (U.S.)