I am a tad too young (or my parents were a tad too strict) for me to think of Chef when I think of Isaac Hayes, so at least we can all rest easy that this short three-paragraph blog post about Hot Buttered Soul is not going to be about South Park.
So what should we talk about instead? There are only four songs on this album, so it's not like we have a whole lot to go off of. How about, um, the fact that this appears to be one of the defining texts of the entire genre of "soul"? Yes, this might be important. But perhaps out of my league to talk about as well? Because then I'd have to talk about soul, and maybe I don't know a whole lot beyond this album or William DeVaughn or Baby Huey. I don't want to speak out of turn.
I just get the sense that this was the right album for me to listen to right now. The problem with a lot of the albums I cover on this blog comes down to something like, "Well, I should've listened to this other album first." Not so with Hot Buttered Soul. This has the feeling of a big bang, if not for music, then for me specifically for sure. (It was either this or the Superfly soundtrack, but I suppose I'll get to that eventually, now that I know what's up.)
I dunno, you tell me. Check out the epic lushness of "Walk On By" (which you might recognize partially since it was sampled on Beyoncé's "6 Inch"), laugh along with the silly success of the chorus of "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic," which features the backup singers actually singing that word. Come for the heartbreak of "One Woman," stay for the heartbreak (but in intro spoken-word format this time!) of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." Only four songs, but a lot to get out of 'em, up to and including a spark for a lifetime of soul music.
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