Shaft

Description

Of the many wonderful blaxpoitation soundtracks to emerge during the early 70s, Shaft certainly deserves mention as not only one of the most lasting but also one of the most successful. Isaac Hayes was undoubtedly one of the eras most accomplished soul artists, having helped elevate Stax to its esteemed status; therefore, his being chosen to score such a high-profile major-studio film shouldnt seem like a surprise. And with Theme from Shaft, he delivered an anthem just as ambitious and revered as the film itself, a song that has only grown more treasured over the years, after having been an enormously popular hit at the time of its release. Besides this song, though, there arent too many more radio-targeted moments here. Soulsville operates effectively as the sort of downtempo ballad Hayes was most known for, just as the almost 20-minute Do Your Thing showcased just how impressive the Bar-Kays had become, stretching the song to unseen limits with their inventive, funky jamming. For the most part, though, this double-LP features nothing but cinematic moments of instrumentation, composed and produced by Hayes while being performed by the Bar-Kays some downtempo, others quite jazzy, nothing too funky, though.