Album Summary
Shaft is a double album by Isaac Hayes, recorded for Stax Records' Enterprise label as the soundtrack LP for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft. The album mostly consists of instrumentals composed by Hayes as score for the film. Three vocal selections are included: "Soulsville", "Do Your Thing", and "Theme from Shaft". A commercial and critical success, Shaft is Hayes' best-known work and the best-selling LP ever released on a Stax label.In 2014, the album was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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Jun 24 2021
Author
Oh yeah. Quick aside, if soundtracks are allowed on this list, then where's Saturday Night Fever? Because Saturday Night Fever is a 5. Also, the Spotify link here does NOT include the entire album, it only allows you to hear 4 songs from the album. If you intend to listen to Spotify, make sure you listen to the remastered Deluxe Edition, which has all 16 songs. Theme from Shaft (the song) is an all-time classic. The rest? Well, it's not Saturday Night Fever. Since I was already familiar with the theme song, the rest of it made me a bit disappointed. It's fine overall. I'm not sure it belongs on the list. It could get kicked off to make room for, gee, I don't know...Saturday Night Fever maybe?
Feb 23 2022
Author
There is no way this album should be on this list to me. It’s not because I hate the music.
The music is fine…for a soundtrack. You know…where there is a visual presentation ongoing simultaneously. This album is devoid of much meaning on its own.
Admittedly, I’ve never seen Shaft. So maybe the album would feel more tactile if I had the memory of the action to harken back to while listening. From the sound, I can tell that songs like Ellie’s Love Theme and Early Sunday Morning fit the mood the song title implies.
To me, an album shouldn’t be on this list if it is only impactful when paired with its movie. This album would be better fit for a list of movies with great soundtracks you must see/hear before you die, assuming it fits that mold.
I’ve definitely had a vastly more profound negative visceral reaction to some other albums on the list (The Cramps, System of a Down I’m thinking of you), but at least I can understand how someone can get into them. This album it’s hard for me to understand how this is a go to listen for someone without the movie. And it does not do anything to make me want to see the movie either.
I don’t get it.
Mar 05 2025
Author
Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?
Anyone who gives this less than 3 stars knows their chick would rather be eating chocolate salty balls then their limp bizkit.
Laid back funk and groove for days on this album. You're damn right this is 5 stars.
Jan 18 2021
Author
Instantly a classic. Fucking phenomenal, soulful and yet the times of psychedelic rock start showing near the end.
Dec 14 2021
Author
Such a soulful album. The use of horns and strings alternates between peeping you up and mellowing you out, much like Shaft himself when he’s on the job. I forgot how much gospel influence there is as well. Use of vocals is smart and timely without overdoing it. I loved this album!
Mar 15 2021
Author
I see no reason to listen to these songs other than if you are actually watching the movie...
Apr 04 2021
Author
Amazing album overall can not believe it had such a cultural impact as the score for a film 4.8
Feb 12 2021
Author
Gotta be my next find at the record store.
Dec 14 2021
Author
Anyone who doesn’t like this album doesn’t know 1) what great music is 2) how to have fun.
Apr 21 2021
Author
You know that Shaft is one bad mother...
(Shut your mouth!)
But I'm just talkin' about Shaft!
(We can dig it)
Jan 16 2025
Author
Wow! A special treat. Forgot about this album - As a kid, I loved the Oscar winning title track, and the album holds up with nice, smooth R&B/Jazz. nice . Man this is one "Mother-f*cking albu... WATCH YOUR MOUTH!!!"
Apr 28 2022
Author
A masterclass in soundtracks. Character-driven melodies and arrangements, so much pace and movement, long-form instrumentals and vocal pieces, and that chunky, solid full orchestral backing. Spot on.
Mar 29 2022
Author
Awesome soul/funk music. It’s weird to listen to Isaac Hayes because I always think of Chef from South Park, but the dude is legitimately talented. This album is a bop.
Jan 28 2022
Author
Every. 👏🏼Fucking. 👏🏼 Track. 👏🏼
Apr 29 2021
Author
Je me réveillai hier matin avec la même curiosité quotidienne : qu'allait me proposer aujourd'hui ce généreux générateur ? Mon doigt tapa soudain le lien de ce dernier dans la barre de recherche et, une fois ma critique de l'album précédent rédigée ainsi que les quelques étoiles attribuées, l'album Shaft apparut au milieu de l'écran. Je cliquai sur le lien Spotify lorsque je fus pris d'effroi ; seuls trois chansons étaient disponibles. YouTube fut dès lors ma seule alternative. Après quelques minutes d'écoute, la supercherie se découvrit progressivement : il s'agissait de la bande son d'un long-metrage. Je laissai échapper un long soupir amer. C'est désemparé que je poursuivis tout de même l'écoute.
"Comment as-tu trouvé la musique ?" me demanderiez-vous si j'étais en face de vous. "Pas mal" vous répondrais-je avec assurance. J'ai seulement regretté les trop nombreuses similitudes avec la bande-son du film Amélie Poulain, personnage qui intervient d'ailleurs à de nombreuses reprises dans le morceau de 19 minutes. Une belle collaboration en somme.
Dec 22 2021
Author
I *love* this album. Every track. Sure, everybody knows the theme song, but the real good stuff is on the B side.
Jun 14 2021
Author
I mean, it's Shaft, right? Baby, if you can't groove on this at least a little bit, I don't know if we can jive, dig? This is prime, buttered funk. But ... well, it's a bit dated at this point, you know? For example, "Cafe Regio" sounds like it should be playing in an elevator at some resort in Miami. Still a great album filled with sick grooves, though.
Apr 29 2021
Author
Vivement les 1001 comptines à écouter avant de s'endormir
Feb 23 2022
Author
Shaft was a bad mother (shut your mouth), but you wouldn't know if just from listening to Isaac Hayes' soundtrack. This album felt like chillin' in the jazz club, not chasing down some mobsters or risking his neck for his brother man.
There were some cool guitar elements on "Cafe Regio's," but overall I was surprised by the lack of excitement, pace, and action implied in most of these instrumentals, you dig?
Does most of the movie "Shaft" involve scenes of Shaft lying in bed relaxing with a good book or a post-coital cigarette? Or walking through the park on a sunny day?
The energy finally picks up at the end of "No Name Bar," and "Do Your Thing" does a lot of different things, some of which are pretty great.
Feb 23 2022
Author
I feel bad giving this a 2 considering the cultural significance and the fact that the sound is perfectly pleasant. The problem for me lies in the fact that it was designed to be background to what was happening on screen. It is not designed or intended to be digested on it's own.
Feb 02 2022
Author
Fun and groovy. Watch yo' mouth!
Dec 15 2021
Author
Surprised by how much I’m enjoying these funky jams. Great music to focus on work to as well.
Dec 02 2021
Author
Awesome album. Classic for a reason.
Nov 29 2021
Author
Really fun album. Great score
Feb 17 2021
Author
This was a funky album. But also... my life doesn’t need to have shaft music in the background? I’m not a black man with an Afro wearing a purple coat and a Steve Harvey mustache...
Jan 09 2025
Author
Kakav lik, kakav album ❤️ apsolutno obožavanje Hayesa! Da čak i album snimljen za potrebe filma može ovako dobro zvučati i uopće se ne činiti kao da je za film je meni fascinantno.
Dala bih mu najvišu ocjenu za bilo koji album, i sredinu palačinke 😂. Ne smijem ni reći šta bih mu sve dala jer mi je muž u projektu.
5/5, 9/10
Jan 15 2022
Author
It's amazing.
Jan 06 2022
Author
Really awesome jazzy funk. Instant classic.
Nov 09 2021
Author
Excellent. Added to list of favorites
Nov 06 2021
Author
Holy crap, Do Your Thing just GOES OFF. The rest of the album is pretty smooth and funky, but that track is GOLD.
Nov 05 2021
Author
Groovy as hell and smooth as a motherfucker
Jul 06 2021
Author
I was expecting this to be a "this is pretty good but not really my thing" type of review but I really ended up digging this. Do Your Thing is an epic jam. Most everything on here is ultra-groovy and funkalicious. 4 stars.
Mar 08 2025
Author
It’s great and perfect and funky.
Jan 09 2025
Author
9.5/10
Kakav album! Bas trazim nesto (polu)instrumentalno u ovakvom obliku i doslo je kao deseta piva u 5 ujutro ili dobar seks nakon duze nejebice!
Odlicne melodije i atmosfera kroz cijeli soundtrack, mogu zamislit da gruvam na ovo u bilo koje doba dana ili noci. Sve mi je toliko sjelo da film uopce ne trebam ni pogledati ali stavit cu ga negdje na popis!
Među većim favoritima za sad na ovom projektu i nešto s čime nisam bio upoznat. De toga još!
Jan 16 2025
Author
This album is smooth and creamy. Digesting a double album soundtrack should be daunting, but this one was quite pleasant and the time flew by. When the 19 1/2 minute funk fest of Do Your Thing came on, the party hit. Otherwise it’s mostly Sunday morning chill. It’s the first day of a vacation. It’s Friday night with the entire weekend in front of you. Glorious!
Jun 23 2021
Author
Chef from South Park is such a smooth, sensual, caring lover. I often dress up as Shaft for children's parties. They love it. I love it.
Jun 24 2021
Author
Very cool 70's vibes, feels like this must've been what set the tone for this to be riffed off so much. Love the theme, the rest is good, but still a movie soundtrack. Bumping up to a 4 for the influence.
Aug 29 2021
Author
Ja shaftar din mamma!!
Aug 09 2024
Author
Чернокожий мститель идет крошить черепушки врагам смотреть онлайн без регистрации
Feb 17 2021
Author
I..what..I don't understand. Maybe it was just too sexy for me.
Feb 24 2025
Author
I feel too white to listen to this but I also don't care. Cause this makes me feel like a baaaaad son of a something.
Feb 20 2025
Author
2 seconds and I already love this. This album is amazing oh my god, jazzy, funky, and a bit experimental. you bet I'd fell in love. Every part of the musical body is well fufilled, there's always something to keep the music going. the narrative and singing voice is amazing too. Beautiful. Can't tell it's a 1971 album, age so well! 5/5.
Dec 22 2024
Author
Isaac Hayes just got a new fan. Five stars and it's going in my Tidal library.
Jan 20 2022
Author
Шафт!!!!!!!!
Oct 19 2021
Author
Great soundtrack!
Oct 13 2021
Author
only brilliant. Loved it
Sep 28 2021
Author
The album that really shows the godlike genius that is Isaac Hayes. The arrangements are the equal of Per Sounds.
Sep 19 2021
Author
Spotify was missing about 9 songs from this album sadly.
Still a wonderful album!
Aug 29 2021
Author
Funky, soulful and keeps it up for the whole double album (though it could be one disc if not for "Do Your Thing"). You can't go wrong with it.
Jun 20 2021
Author
Прекрасный саундтрек. Осталось посмотреть фильм.
Jun 24 2021
Author
Holy hell this album is groovy.
Apr 21 2021
Author
soundtrack music is the best, why isn't there more
Feb 18 2021
Author
Knew and loved many of these tracks already. This was surprisingly fun to work to, and I expect I'll be coming back to it on occasion.
Jan 21 2021
Author
Good funk, Elevator music.
Jan 14 2021
Author
Amazingly good.
Feb 04 2021
Author
Never heard anything but the Shaft theme by Hayes. Some really good background vibing tunes.
Mar 30 2021
Author
Can you dig it? Best track: Theme from Shaft
Feb 19 2025
Author
Perfectly cheesy in every mother _______ (Shut your mouth) way!
Jan 12 2025
Author
I enjoyed this listen. The kind of music that makes me feel super cool, and like I should be driving my El Camino around shooting people. Perfect stylistically.
Sep 15 2024
Author
The name is Shaft, John Shaft, can ya dig? Shut your mouth! (but I'm talking about Shaft!)
Mar 07 2024
Author
There’s a lot of other funk I’d rather listen to.
Jan 18 2024
Author
5/10 - 3/5
I was surprised to see a soundtrack come up. It sounds pretty good, but it does just end up being background music. I struggled to stay present and invested.
Jan 08 2024
Author
Bland
Oct 26 2023
Author
Before going any further, I salute Charles Pitt for ruling the wah-wah with a precision that puts alongside demi-machine Jaki Liebezeit - imagine that band! - and who led me on a short digression to The Isley Brother's It's Your Thing, where he plays one of those riffs that you could listen to for hours.
I bought this album more than twenty years ago, and never had much time for it, title track aside. It's gorgeous as pure soundtrack, too much so: it's decorative, mise-en-scene, and therefore faintly anonymous - there's a style, personality, but barely any voice, melodies and riffs designed for ambience rather than focus. Cafe Regio's is a relaxing type I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon in a bar with. The near 20-minute Do Your Thing is the standout oddity, and might be close to the Can-collaboration I imagined earlier: I like it a lot, though I cannot remember any particular moments from it as I type this. Anonymity strikes again.
This is the second double-album in a row that we've been dealt, and I note that this passes a lot quicker and easier than Ryan Adams' grand statement of nothing.
Oct 26 2023
Author
This was very entertaining, if not very engaging outside of the vocal tracks. Never seen the movie but I bet it's lots of fun! Love me some Isaac Hayes in general. RIP Richard Roundtree
Jun 12 2025
Author
This inclusion makes no sense to me. It feels like background music at best, elevator music at worst. While it probably goes well with the visuals of a 70s film, it offers little for the listener. With so many great albums left off the list, I am astonished this made the cut. That said, it wasn’t unlistenable.
Jan 07 2024
Author
A soundtrack? Really?
Jan 07 2024
Author
Album 281 of 1001
Issac Hayes - Shaft Rating : 2 / 5
Aside from the theme song, this is nothing but background music. No songs to be found here.
Nov 12 2025
Author
For a Movie soundtrack it was actually pretty relaxing to listen to. The two songs with lyrics are definitely products of their times. Went and watched the movie as well and the music fit solidly with it.
Nov 12 2025
Author
The music is fantastic... the only minor gripe is that it runs a bit long. I was going to give it a 4, but after reading all the dipshit comments whining about it being a soundtrack, it’s a 5 out of spite.
Nov 12 2025
Author
Excellent soul record. I didn’t realize it was primarily instrumental but that makes sense as a movie soundtrack. Just a fantastic listen. Isaac Hayes is a genius and The Bar-Kays are amazing.
Nov 09 2025
Author
Isaac Hayes was perfect for this soundtrack. Like Shaft, he was always (in till he went all in on Scientology) the coolest cat in the room. This is easily the greatest movie theme ever, and the rest of the album is just soulful awesomeness.
Nov 09 2025
Author
I did not realize that this was a Stax production, but the moment I read that, it clicked into place. Hayes and the session musicians on this album are making slight tweaks to that house formula, vamping it up here, adding some extra flourishes there. Not going to a place that is unrecognizable, but feeling eons ahead of what came before it.
Nov 03 2025
Author
I really enjoyed this one start to finish. I love a good soundtrack, and I definitely see how someone like Isaac Hayes would make a good sountrack - something atmospheric and tone-setting - especially for a cool and groovy movie like Shaft.
Oct 26 2025
Author
Relaxing☺️
Oct 20 2025
Author
very cool, great music for working
Oct 17 2025
Author
Wah-wah pedal meets Ravel. Two perfect tracks bookending rich evocations of the sexy-sexy ‘70s, with lush orchestrations that make Barry White look like a square, hinting at the think-y Odd Couple theme, casually tossing in some Wes Montgomery vibes. The many loose, fluid melodies risk seeping off the vinyl. Theme song is just all-time – "he's a bad mutha / shut your mouth / just talkin about Shaft" is borderline performance art in the best possible way. "Ellie's Love Theme" is brilliant. "Early Sunday Morning" sounds like the Saturday-night lovin' went late and quite satisfactorily indeed. And “Do Your Thing” is seriously underrated as an all-time jam tune, much cooler and more soulful than basically all comers. "Soulsville" is only a slightly different angle than "In the Ghetto." Maybe wanders a touch and it must be acknowledged that Hot Buttered Soul is superior. but what a record overall and how cinematic in scope and vibe, and rounding up because (obvs) Isaac Hayes is the coolest man who ever lived, seeming to have single-handedly invented both the slow jam and the quiet storm.
Oct 15 2025
Author
Funky, well produced. I had to remind myself this was a soundtrack album, it feels like a creative explosion caught on audio.
Oct 08 2025
Author
Great soundtrack for an awesome movie.
Oct 08 2025
Author
Look, I loved this stuff a lot but it’s made me so frustrated at this list. Put a film score in here but just one? I can think of 1001 film scores to put above Shaft, as much as I like it.
I would never recommend this experience, unless you’re a masochist like me
Sep 19 2025
Author
Very surprised by the quality of this album. Obviously knew the Shaft theme. Never had listened to the rest of the album before.
Sep 18 2025
Author
There isn't much to say about this album that hasn't already been said. It was the first of it's kind in many different ways. From beginning to end it is an absolute masterpiece (yes, I already have a copy of it and listen to it regularly).
Sep 14 2025
Author
Of course I knew the theme song, but the rest of this soundtrack is delightful, both as a snapshot of the moment and as a harmonic dive into the funk of the moment. Normally I go to like an Alphonse Mouzon album but of course this is a bit more accessible. The drums are so present and a main character that you can't help but focus on. This is now one of my favorite "now that's a pocket" albums.
Sep 12 2025
Author
Setting the standards for music for years. High quality
Sep 07 2025
Author
This was great! I was familiar with Isaac Hayes album Black Moses which I’d recommend checking out. He’s a fairly iconic artist for a lot of musicians that grew up in the black community in North America. I’ve never heard of the movie Shaft but listening to the music for it I’m interested in checking it out.
Sep 01 2025
Author
Instead of listening to this one right away, I actually went ahead and checked the movie out first. And the first thing I noticed was that the movie was fine, but the soundtrack was BANGING. then I went back to check out the album and needless to say it was also banging. Overall? Banging.
Sep 01 2025
Author
BANGER record dripping with sex, funk and soul. I did watch the movie to get the full context, but this soundtrack cooks just as well on its own, especially the longer cuts that don't get to fully shine in the film. I honestly wouldn't have minded a scene of John Shaft shaggin' and ass-kickin' to Do Your Thing's full 20 minutes, because that's where Isaac Hayes *really* busts the funk faucet wide open.
– What'd you get, Shaft?
– I got *laid*.
Standouts: Theme From Shaft • Café Regio's • No Name Bar • Do Your Thing
Aug 15 2025
Author
Insanely groovy. A little bit too long, but still I looved it. What's with these movie soundtracks from these amazing artists? I think it deserves a 5 despite the length
Aug 13 2025
Author
Flash back to years ago. Loved it and the memories
Aug 08 2025
Author
If your movie soundtrack works for someone who has never seen the movie it’s perfect.
Jul 25 2025
Author
4.7
Jul 09 2025
Author
So many amazing tracks on this album. Loved every bit of it.
Jun 17 2025
Author
Man, this is a groove.
May 29 2025
Author
Well know I HAVE to watch the film. Particularly loved 19 mins of intermittently shouting ‘Do your thing!’ in between smooth smooth bars (nb: this is very sincere)
May 12 2025
Author
Great album.
May 04 2025
Author
A classic and still holds up
Apr 22 2025
Author
extremely fabulous.
Apr 11 2025
Author
amazing chill
Apr 05 2025
Author
The late 60's sonically epitomized and performed masterfully. What a wonderful and moving romp.
Apr 01 2025
Author
Damn right! One of the best albums ever.