At Wattstax

Uncut - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A thrilling counterpoint to his complex studio opuses, the performance feeds off the post-Civil rights mood of black power and highlights the full glory of his extraordinary 15-piece band The Movement..." Uncut (6/03, p.137) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A thrilling counterpoint to his complex studio opuses, the performance feeds off the post-Civil rights mood of black power and highlights the full glory of his extraordinary 15-piece band The Movement..."

Though Stax records had previously released albums featuring outtakes from Wattstax, a festival of black music held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1972, ISAAC HAYES AT WATTSTAX, a full-length recording of the soul star's hour-long set, was not issued until 2003. The festival's headliner, Hayes was at the peak of his popularity at the time of Wattstax; his impassioned performance and the screams of 112,000 fans corroborate his mantle as the "Black Moses" of music.
Hayes and his backing band, the Isaac Hayes Movement (including a full string section), kick off their set with a blazing rendition of "Theme from SHAFT", replete with the song's archetypal wah-wah guitar line. "Soulsville", a protest song about life in the inner city, showcases Hayes's rich baritone, as does his stirring reading of "Never Can Say Goodbye". The nearly 20-minute medley of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" and Ray Charles's "Lonely Avenue", which features extensive alto work by the frontman (Hayes began his career as a saxophonist in the Stax house band), is the show's centrepiece. The finale, a rousing rendition of "If I Had a Hammer", puts the cap on this impressive performance by one of the era's top soulsters.|