SOME STUFFS: Isaac Hayes gets the reissue treatment courtesy of Concord
Vinyl junkies should already have these albums, maybe multiple copies, but Concord (who purchased the entire non-Atlantic Stax catalog years ago) will be reissuing two classics by soul legend Isaac Hayes on February 24th.
Black Moses is the classic 1971 2-record set, known for its great music as much as it is known for its cover art. Upon ripping the cellophane, you could unfold the panels into a cross, showing Hayes in his robe as the holy man of music. This new 2CD reissue, newly remastered and featuring liner notes by Rob Bowman, will duplicate the original panels. The album featured a number of classics, including his renditions of “Never Can Say Goodbye”, “(They Long To Be) Close To You”, “Going In Circles”, “Never Gonna Give You Up”, and “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, some of which have become sample fodder for countless hip-hop DJ’s and producers in the last 20 years. No bonus tracks unfortunately.
Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) is the album he recorded when Stax finally closed shop, moving over to ABC with his own boutique label, Hot Buttered Soul. It wasn’t as popular as the albums he did in the first half of the 1970′s, but it did pave the way for what he would do for the remainder of the decade. It may have turned off a few diehard soul and funk fans, but time has allowed it to simmer a bit so that people can take in the flavors from afar. This is the first time the album has been released on compact disc, and it features liner notes by Bill Dahl.
You can pre-order both of them right now through the following links, courtesy of CD Universe:
Black Moses
Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)
What do you think?