Hot Buttered Singles Volume 2 1972-1976

第1弾が大好評!第2弾はSTAX、ENTERPRISE、HOT BUTTERED SOUL時代のシングルA面とB面を年代順に、オリジナルのシングルバージョンで収録した編集盤!

1960年代にライター、キーボード奏者としてスタックス入り、1970年代にはスタックスを代表するソロ・アーティストとして活躍した鬼才。その後、ABCレコードを経由して自身のレーベルHOT BUTTERED SOULから楽曲をリリース。

今作には、サンプリングされた『HUNG UP ON MY BABY』や『CHOCOLATE CHIP』、この時期の最大ヒット曲『JOY』、『SHAFT』に続く2曲目の全英トップ20ヒットをもたらした1976年の人気曲『DISCO CONNECTION』を含む8曲の全米R&Bチャート・ヒットを収録!

In chronological order, this sequel to Hot Buttered Singles 1969-1972 dutifully presents the A-sides and B-sides of Isaac Hayes ten singles from late 1972 through 1976. These were Hayes last five 45s for Stax subsidiary Enterprise and the first five for the vanity imprint HBS, under ABC Records. Post-Shaft and Black Moses, landmark double albums released only four months apart in 1971, Hayes had also just celebrated his 30th birthday with a set at the historic Wattstax concert. He could not have been expected to stay on top. Though he didnt, he was prolific and visible during the period this disc covers, producing eight albums that included the gold-sellers Live at the Sahara Tahoe, Joy, and Chocolate Chip, and the soundtracks for Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner, Black films in which he either co-starred or starred. The proper studio albums were generally heavier on Hayes own compositions, and the longer numbers they contained were for the dancefloor more often than the bedroom, informing disco music as it developed underground and then embracing it as a mainstream phenomenon. The few re-interpretive sides are all notable. "Rolling Down a Mountainside," a motivational number with a positive message, was written by Leon Ware and Jackie Hilliard. It was recorded around the same time by short-lived Motown act Third Creation, and the Main Ingredient later turned it into a Top Ten R&B hit. Its flipside, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Dont Want to Be Right," came from the Stax stable but had just been popularized by Luther Ingram when Hayes gave it a straightforward reading. The B-side of "Wonderful," a middling non-album cut, saw Hayes revisit the doo wop era with a remake of the "5" Royales "Someone Made You for Me." The biggest A-side was easily the sultry number 30 pop hit "Joy," 16 minutes long on the like-titled LP, and split into abbreviated parts for the 45. Second to that was the late-1972 single "Theme from The Men," a dashing instrumental that cracked the Top 40. "Hung Up On My Baby," a B-side taken from Tough Guys, is another one of Hayes outstanding instrumentals, and it was artfully sampled by Scarface for Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" and by DJ Quik for 2nd II Nones "If You Want It." Later A-sides such as "Chocolate Chip" and "Disco Connection" saw Hayes court dancefloors aggressively and effectively. (The latter reached the upper half of Record Worlds disco chart.) Also not to be missed is the B-side "Body Language," a deep quiet storm gem off Chocolate Chip. Not for nothing did Patti Austin cover it a few years later for the title song of her fourth CTI album. ~ Andy Kellman

スタックスが生んだ〈ブラック・モーゼ〉のシングル集に第2弾がリリース。ここではスタックス/エンタープライズ～ABC～自身主宰のホット・バタード・ソウルというレーベルを跨いだ72～76年のシングル曲が網羅されている。同時代のマーヴィン・ゲイやスティーヴィー・ワンダー以上にアルバム・アーティストとしての側面が強く、アルバムのサイズを活かした長尺の楽曲が重要視されてきた人だけに新鮮な気もするが、ヒットした"Joy"やアイザック・ヘイズ・ムーヴメント名義の"Disco Connection"、サンプリング人気の高い"Chocolate Chip"など、時代の流れに伴う作風の変遷もまとめて楽しめる。
bounce (C)轟ひろみ