Hot Buttered Soul

Do you want to hear 4 songs spread across 45 minutes? Surprisingly yes yes do

His voice and the music both sounded great.

hot buttered rum and chocolate salty balls?! sign me up. this album is so good. hot lengthy soul jams.

Smooth

I didn’t know this record or the artist. It has been a pleasant surprise finding great music, with a lot of feeling and taste. Makes me want to dive deeper into his discography. Man, I love Soul.

Eerste helft goed, 2e meh

Why is this on the list? Like it’s fine but it’s a chore and it’s not something I had to hear. At all.

Bleh.

Always meant to try Isaac's music after knowing him as Chef my whole life and here we finally are. I can confidently say I was SLEEPING on this man's musical talents oh my lord. Again, my frame of reference here are the silly songs he sang for any given South Park episode so I had no idea how intricate and beauitful his actually music would sound. Like already this man had an incredible singing voice, but fuck man these instrumentals are just so god damn pretty and funky all at the same time. I was intially intrigued by the fact there are only 4 songs here. Even with the length of all 4 it still was interesting to me. The moment Walk On By gets going though I knew I would really love this album. There is not a single dip in quality this entire record despite the length of any given song. Hayes' vocal delivery is smooth and buttery the entire time, hitting both soulful and sensual moods as called for throughout. Great vocals obviously do a lot for a soul record, but these instrumentals are just gorgeous underneath his performance. Every instrument here sounds incredible, the keyboards are loud and perfectly setting the mood. the percussion is setting the exact time to make everything fall in place, the guitars are lively and create electric moments, the bass is so clear here and the groove its setting is infectious. Every element here works together and build immersive pieces of art while still having their own identity and moment to shine. Glad this project finally gave me the push to stop procrastinating on this listen becuase I discovered an album I fully loved. What a talented creative this guy was and to think I only knew one small section of his work in entertainment. RIP Isaac (Chef) Hayes

Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul is a game of two halves. Side 1 is a masterclass in cinematic, psychedelic soul—dripping with funk and backed by the razor-sharp playing of The Bar-Kays. Unfortunately, Side 2 shifts into slower, traditional soul that loses that energetic momentum. Structuring the whole record around just four tracks—including 10+ minute versions of "Walk On By" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"—feels overstretched, especially since nearly the entire tracklist is made up of cover songs rather than originals. That said, Hayes has an incredible voice and the band is undeniably tight. Knowing the album was rushed out under immense pressure after Stax lost its back catalog adds interesting context, but overall, it didn't fully stick the landing for me

Didn’t expecr to hear the riff from Massive Attack? Never knew the original. Absolutely stunning album.

Would be better without the last song

An absolute classic

Smoooooth. Only four songs but all bangers

Fav song: Walk On By

Incredibly easy to listen. Just put it on and chill Best tracks: all are great Rating: 9.5/10

Fave💖 shoutout CHEF

bellissimo

very nice 8/10

Gold, been a big fan of Isaac Hayes since hearing his theme from Shaft. The sheer vibe that this album oozes is just too smooth.

Pelado capoeira

Walk On By - radio edit is on my favorite song list. The unedited version gets a bit meandering.

Sounds pretty good for the most part, definitely better consumed as an entire album with the long tracks, but the overall sound is pretty iconic.

Solidan albumcic. Soul uvijek dobro paše duši. Najbolja pjesma mora bit zbog imena: Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

Hey chef

By the time i get to Phoenix was absolutely mesmerizing, so glad i listened to it

I could have done without the ultra-long intro to By The Time I Get To Phoenix, but this was a nice smooth listen.

Had a good time listening to this one. Fav track: “One woman”

Very classic, clearly influential soul. Though goddamn are the songs long and there’s a lot of talking. It’s also very freeformy from time to time, which I like.

Omg, a non-white artist on this list? How did that happen!?

strong points were really really good, but overall felt a little flat, I imagine this album will get better with more listens

Overall, I feel pretty neutral about this album. It kind of faded into the background as I was listening. The bald head featured so prominently on the album art is a funny choice.

Parts were good

Unexpectedly cool album. Makes sense that this guy made the theme from "Shaft" cuz this music could go real well with a 70s crime thriller movie or something of that sort. Really good band and nice soul vibe

It does it's thing well. I can see how the last two tracks could be a bit divisive, and I personally wouldn't reach for it, but I get it.

I mean, yes this is dripping with soul. But the sexy talking takes me out of it

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

Opening song was kinda cool but this album was a drag. 17 minute song about Phoenix where he just talks for the first 9 minutes. I have sex with my shirt on this music isn’t for me

Ah ben ça fait plaisir de retrouver la voix originale de Chef dans la liste ! C'est dingue de se dire que quand South Park a commencé, Isaac Hayes avait déjà une longue carrière derrière lui et que son travail de doublage n'était même pas son activité principale ! Bref, si les deux derniers tiers de sa carrière ont l'air rempli d'albums plutôt dispensables (je me base sur les notes de Rate Your Music), ses débuts sont beaucoup plus populaires et bien notés. Hot Buttered Soul est son deuxième album et on a déjà une incroyable maturité musicale et des ambitions auxquelles Isaac Hayes est à la hauteur. Déjà, Isaac Hayes, c'est une voix. Une voix profonde, qu'on pourrait même qualifier de sensuelle (ce n'est pas pour rien qu'il a été sélectionné pour faire la voix de chef !). Il porte l'album rien que par son charisme, mais ça ne veut pas non plus dire que les compositions sont simples ou négligées. Parce que ce qui fait la force de cet album, c'est aussi la longueur de ses compositions. Elles sont savamment remplies par une instrumentation riche, on retrouve des parties plus ou moins orchestrales (je rappelle que je n'ai qu'une seule écoute au compteur, donc je suis parfois un peu hasardeux dans mes descriptions), de la guitare et, si je me souviens bien, on a même droit à de l'hammond (si je me souviens bien). C'est bien simple, impossible de s'ennuyer tant il se passe de choses sur cet album. Si je devais retenir un seul moment un peu plus faible, ça serait le début de By the Time I Get to Phoenix, qui est très long et est construit comme une montée en puissance, mais qui met pas mal de temps à démarrer et devient rapidement répétitive avant de décoller. Et c'est à peu près la seule chose négative que j'ai à dire sur cet album qui est à la fois ultra-classe et a étonnamment assez peu vieilli pour dire qu'il a presque 60 ans.

це бляха харашо

I must admit when saw the track lengths and starting listening I was ready to score low and move on. However, once I got into it, I really enjoyed this one, especially second time round. Excellent performance and musicianship from Hayes and his backing band, even thought the spoken word intro was great after my initial reservations. Will be definitely listening to this again after.

The good stuff was too.long and the stuff that wasn't good, even longer. Not great.

Smooth as butter … hot butter … hot buttered soul A smooth laid back approach to funk and soul. As in 8 minute songs that can be a bit rambling.

Top notch musicianship and composition and always, but I enjoyed the first half much more than the second

I found a new vibe of soul and funk with this this album

It's not chocolate salty balls

This is a soul album with an orchestral sound unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. The singer plays an amazing Hammond organ on it. On the opening track, "Walk On By"—which stretches out over 12 minutes—someone also plays a great electric guitar solo. The second song starts like a psychedelic, fuzz-laden Jimi Hendrix track, though delivered in a soulful, spoken-word style. "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" is a mouthful to pronounce. Midway through, the song breaks into a legendary instrumental jam—reminiscent of a live concert—featuring a hammering, almost percussive piano dueling with gritty wah-wah guitars and driving percussion. It’s incredible; I never would have guessed what this record held in store. "One Woman" is a classic soul song, complete with swelling walls of strings and lyrics about a painful relationship. That’s typical soul—something I can tolerate in small doses, but certainly not for a whole album. In that sense, this four-track record offers much more than just soul; the singer experiments with various genres. The 18-minute "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" opens with what is arguably the first rap in music history. In its own way, it is certainly far more bearable than the testosterone-fueled gangsta rappers of the modern era. As I said, I’m amazed by this album, but I wouldn’t want to listen to it again!

Funky and kind of cheesy.

Nice album, veel lange nummers en praat stukken

Это настоящая магия, первая песня просто фантастическая, да в целом песни записаны с таким светлым настроением, эта немного грязная гитара и чистые духовые, Бэк вокал, просто фантастически, единственный большой минус это последняя песня, я не понял этот концептуальный прикол на 20 минут где первые 10 минут даже не было инструментов

(6 estrellas)

Great experimental soul classic.

Hell yeah Chef! Not my usual stuff but soul jams are pretty rad.

Baby, I'mma butter your soul. This was a fun album to listen to. Not too many tracks, but longs ones. Too long for their level of complexity? Maybe for my listening tastes, but as ambient or sexy time music it's great (except for the last track, no good for sexy times).

The Grateful Dead/Phish of soul. Turns out I like songs that end. The vibes here were cool but every track was four minutes too long.

How could anyone not enjoy this?

Amazing

Not my style and it just goes on and on

é engraçado e incrível como esse álbum soa exatamente como o título o descreve. muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuito bom. é uma vibe tremenda. eu adorei o instrumental. me senti em um filme. muito good vibes.

Forty-five minutes of classic soul music, but just 4 tracks. Interesting. Many soul songs are just three to four minutes long, so this is surely a different approach. I think I only know Isaac Hayes from Shaft, which I really like to be honest, especially in relation to the classic movie. These tracks are really long, leaving plenty of room for the musicians to shine and show off. It is a good listen, but you really have to get in the groove to truly enjoy it; for an occasional listen or as background music, it is not really suitable. I like the funky guitar and piano work, though. I understand this album was a goldmine for many East Coast rap and hip-hop acts for samples, but I'd rather listen to the originals. Especially the first two tracks are great, but the other two were much less interesting. "One Woman" is too much of a cheesy ballad, and the 10-minute spoken-word intro on "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" bored me out quite a bit. 3/5

i need to relisten but i have it at a 2

The album was good but quite same-y; however, By The Time I Get to Phoenix is amazing and pulls this up from a 3 to a 4.

Hell yeah

Awesome album and dope sound. Songs are looong though, i think if they were shorter and more varied this might’ve been a 5. definitely have to relisten though

this was amazing

This is a lot like listening to Chef from South Park sing R&B/Soul music because, well, it’s Chef from South Park singing R&B/Soul. It’s pretty decent, but it’s a little tricky to take seriously because I’ve watched a ton of South Park. 7/10

Loved it! Truly some hot Buttered Soul.

Mmmmm now that’s smooth

He is sexally masculinity through music defined, walk on by turned into a 12 minute epic is showing what music can be

JL : 3, Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

"I'll tell my story and feelings about it the way I want to" - basically the theme of this album. Some real good grooves, but can be long in parts.

Chef before he was Chef. Isaac being smooth as all hell, with extended funk workouts on just about every song. Only 4 songs but you definitely get your money's worth on each one. The prolonged intro to Phoenix is a bit much for my ears, but when it finally gets going, the song is worth the wait.

Hot buttered beautiful bald head. I got goosebumps multiple times.

Oh yes, finally an album with tracks to live in. Long tracks which grow on you. Never heard an album by Isaac Hayes, but man what a revelation this is.

Belle surprise, allez 4!

3/5. Some recognizable samples, but nothing I'd listen to out of the rest.

Music from Isaac Hayes I hadn't heard before. Nice background story and intro. Different and worth a listen to.

Excellent

This was a really interesting listen. Since each song was like 10+ minutes long, each one was really able to breath and extend out. I really liked the instrumentals and they never felt like long songs. It was almost like progressive soul hahaha.

Glad it was on the list. Very glad I listened to. Very laid back. Enjoyed. However the long tracks is a draw back. I kept thinking land the plane.

At times too much talking, but all in all not bad. Typical very early 70’s album even though it was 1969.

Beyoncé's "6 Inch" samples Walk On By! Like, in a big way.

Wow. Sooooo many great samplings of 'Walk On By'...here for the original also. I wish they made albums like this still. Influential, groovy, artistic. All the things.

eh

Albums with 6 songs or less from the late 60s stay winning. Rating 9/10

4.5/5

Smooth and a great listen

Nice soul album, the tracks on this one were on the longer side, and i liked how they progressed throughout their runtime, the grooves felt really great to settle into. The last track also was a standout, with how he told an entire story before the song to add context to it, really interesting I liked it.

The big band accompaniment is superb

This is a quiet soul album with some real hits.

I was a little nervous about 4 tracks and 45 minutes, but I love how most of this turned out. The last track was a bit slow to get going for me. But overall really enjoyed this.

Remarkable.

Bra soulalbum men inte något jag skulle lyssna på igen tror jag.

too much talking... but the parts where he shuts up and plays the music are really good :)

“Walk on By” just takes Bacharach around the corner. This album does this consistently. The guitar, organ, and horns define the funk to come. Four songs each clocking in overtime and laying down a groove that holds up throughout. After writing songs for Stax that others like Sam & Dave sang, Hayes stepped out from behind to produce a deep voice that flows smoothly over every song.

I liked it. It managed to pull off really long songs while still keeping me interested.

very very cool. it's a recipe with two ingredients: hot buttered vocals, and almost orchestral soul. the first half is the strongest; the big closer really only hits if you dial in and listen. favorite is obv Walk On By. soft 4

Rating: 7/10 It seems really cool but it was hard to enjoy consistently even though sounds like it's such a well made piece of music. I can do a long progressive song but also the passages in tracks 2 and 4 particularly felt like I had to wait and endure to really get to the good stuff. Obviously some world class vocals on display here and cool orchestration. Walk On By was my favorite and had me thinking I would REALLY be into this shit and I was only kinda into it. That track is 12 minutes long and had me enjoying every second of it. Maybe I got filtered just a little bit, I also think I'll be checking out more Isaac Hayes

started extremely strong

This was phenomenal. I can’t believe Walk on By had eluded me all my life.