Shaft
Isaac Hayes
1971
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."
WikipediaOh 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?
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.
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...
I see no reason to listen to these songs other than if you are actually watching the movie...
Instantly a classic. Fucking phenomenal, soulful and yet the times of psychedelic rock start showing near the end.
Amazing album overall can not believe it had such a cultural impact as the score for a film 4.8
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!
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.
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.
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.
Never heard anything but the Shaft theme by Hayes. Some really good background vibing tunes.
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.
You know that Shaft is one bad mother... (Shut your mouth!) But I'm just talkin' about Shaft! (We can dig it)
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.
The album that really shows the godlike genius that is Isaac Hayes. The arrangements are the equal of Per Sounds.
Holy crap, Do Your Thing just GOES OFF. The rest of the album is pretty smooth and funky, but that track is GOLD.
Anyone who doesn’t like this album doesn’t know 1) what great music is 2) how to have fun.
Surprised by how much I’m enjoying these funky jams. Great music to focus on work to as well.
I *love* this album. Every track. Sure, everybody knows the theme song, but the real good stuff is on the B side.
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.
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.
Every bit as cool as its reputation – and maybe even cooler. “Do Your Thing” is elevated and epic – just about as good as rock/soul/pop music can be. The title track completely unmistakable, truly one of a kind The instrumentals work every bit as well as those cuts where the nonpareil voice (casual, knowing) comes. Awesome in every way as it can be. 4.8 / 5
Along with 1993, the 1001 randomizer has recently gifted me with soundtracks. This one I have actually heard before. It is a double album and mostly instrumental and was scored by Isaac Hayes. The album was #1 on the charts, had a #1 song on the charts and won an academy award. It incorporated using R&B and soul into a soundtrack and was highly successful. Due to this, it had a huge influence on both soundtracks and R&B music (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye). Hayes recorded the rhythym tracks with the Stax Studio band The Bar-Kays in one day, the orchestral tracks the next day and then the vocals on the third day. The songs were later re-recorded at Stax Studios. This album is one of those added to National Recording Registry by The Library of Congress for being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. The album starts out with iconic "Theme from Shaft". Got to love the intro with guitar and cymbals. For the next set of songs, it sounds like a soundtrack, with Hayes doing a great job combining jazzy guitar and rhythm with horns and strings to sound like a cinematic score. A great song in this set is "Cafe Regio's." The ability of Hayes to do this should come as no surprise if you've ever listen to his "Hot Buttered Soul" from 1969. The second half of this album is where it really takes off and separates itself from other soundtracks; I did think I was listening to "Hot Buttered Soul." It starts with "Soulsville" which is one the few songs with vocals. Next is "No Name Bar" with a great groove mixing in horns and strings and then "Bumpy Blues" with its piano and bluesy feel. And then...the highlight for me " Do Your Thing" which is a total R&B, soul and psychedelic jam. At 19 minutes long it didn't seem long enough. The guitar solo alone is epic, seemingly clocking in at 10 minutes. Who doesn't also love an organ solo? The song ends in like a psychedelic haze.... Amazing. The album ends with an instrumental of the "Shaft" theme. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie but after listening to this, I need to see where all these songs fit in.
Even though most of this is instrumental, it is fantastic. I love the Theme from Shaft.
I’ve never seen the movie Shaft, but I do remember watching the Academy Awards the night that Isaac Hayes won 2 Oscars - one for the now legendary theme song & one for the best dramatic score. Hayes was a mainstay of Stax Records during the 60’s - a great musician & composer and he had started a solo career in 1968. Four solo albums preceded Shaft but there’s no doubt that his career peaked with the soundtrack. Hardly surprising. A double album, it is thoroughly engaging, whether you’ve seen the film or not. It is soulful, funky and jazzy. Hayes enlisted the great Stax band The Bar-Kays to provide the instrumentation. I listened to the album from go to whoa & loved it. Here was a man who was only the 3rd Black American to win an Oscar, with a style of music that the Academy had never celebrated before. And 25 years before Salty Balls.
It's a little strange to see a soundtrack on this list, but fuck it starts out strong. After that it just kind of chills out and fades into the background the way a soundtrack is supposed to. It's really good though. 4/5
Excellent example of an effective motion picture soundtrack. Cafe Regio makes me feel like I'm at a late 60s Californian pool party.
Never listened to this whole soundtrack before. It was a nice listen! Great vibes, of the era.
Wasn't expecting a soundtrack. They're not typically my favorite, but I thought this was still pretty groovy tho ngl
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.
Theme from Shaft is rad. 3 songs in and I am hooked! Great song structure, interesting motifs, and a sense of grounding and authenticity in the sound. Man what a pleasure to listen to.
Its a good album but odd that a movie soundtrack made this list. I think the importance of the album speaks to its high ranking. Had head Theme From Shaft before and its interesting to learn more about it. 3.5 but rounding up for influence.
Shoutout to making a soundtrack sound fun. I find that most soundtracks tend to fall into the background and have no life to them outside of the intended movie, but Hayes clearly wanted music that could be enjoyed at home as well. That kicks ass! Thank you Issac Hayes. The penultimate track Do Your Thing is also a certified 19-minute banger and deserves to be immortalized.
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.
Some great, original sounds + music. Encumbered by it being a film soundtrack rather than an independent work of music.
This soundtrack is not only an eclectic collection of sound, but an evolution of feelings - the ups, the downs, the bops, the orchestra. :chef’s kiss:
really need to watch this movie. If it's half as good as the soundtrack it's 4.5 stars easy
More of a passive listen, given that it's a film soundtrack. Even so, each track is dripping with funk and evocative beats. It all feels very iconic; weirdly so given that I've never actually watched the movie all the way through.
So groovy. Enjoyed it quite a bit. I can't get over the fact that chef has such a great voice, but he did have some memorable songs on the show. Smooth and easy listen.
I enjoyed this a lot. Every song was good. I think it's really good background music and i will be revisiting a lot of the songs again. 4/5 stars.
-Cool bass in "Walk From Regio's" -"No Name Bar" is quite grooving -"Do Your Thing" has great guitar solos and awesome guitar throughout. The lyrics are nice as an addition. It keeps my interest well for a 19 minute song -This is a great album, lots of grooves and jams. Would probably be a 5 if it had lyrics. I get that it's a soundtrack, so it's not going to have many lyrics, but I just prefer music with lyrics. -Basically all of this album is going onto my study playlist
81. De um tarolo para um tarolo. MotA: Theme From Shaft "Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?"
Heel gave muziek vandaag. Je voelt de soul en als je dan Samuel L. Jackson erbij bedenkt is het plaatje compleet. Ik heb ook wel iets met filmmuziek, ten minste een groot liefhebber van Ennio Morricone. Het is gewoon geniaal als je een bepaalde sfeer in je hoofd kan visualiseren door alleen de muziek te luisteren. Beste nummer uiteraard "Theme From Shaft" zelf die de sfeer meteen goed neerzet. Binnenkort de film nog eens kijken. ****
I, like much of my generation, really only knew Isaac Hayes from South Park. Glad to have gotten this and checked out the record. Tight, funky, soulful music that's engaging to listen to despite it being background music for a film score. Favorite tracks: "Ellie's Love Theme", "No Name Bar", "Do Your Thing"
My first time listening to anything beyond the theme song. It's impossible not to like this, right? The musicianship/swagger combo is almost unparalleled. It takes its time with each song building endlessly into such a masterpiece. Layers add at the end of each bar. No tambourine yet? Just wait 16 beats, or so...
Pretty great tunes actually, to have in the background. Never knew this film had this good of a soundtrack.
Of course I've heard the theme song to Shaft, but the rest of the soundtrack was new to me. It is a delight to hear a proper soundtrack and not one of those "song written for a fictitious film that does nae exist" situations. The Shaft soundtrack doesn't just feel like a movie soundtrack. There's some interesting things going on with the prog soul sound, capturing the gritty feeling of early 70s New York City, a place with a beating heart. And really, it's still worth asking and answering the most important question - who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?
Not the first time I've heard this album. It is great. Every song is great. I love the progressive soul sounds! Solid 4/5.
I have heard some of Isaac Hayes' work and at least the "Theme from Shaft" from this album, if not more. In general I think I like Hayes. With his quality of voice, I was a little surprised that there was so few vocals on this album. (At the same time, this is the soundtrack for a movie, so I shouldn't be too surprised that the music is mostly instrumental). Overall I liked listening to the album. A couple songs felt like they were straight from a TV show in the 70s. "Be Yourself", "Do Your Thing", and "No Name Bar" were the tracks I liked the most. There was enough to remember from this album that I might thing about playing it again some time.
Some really fun stuff in here, only complaint is it felt kind of long but it is a soundtrack so I DUNNO
Funky and smooth. I love the hi-hats, the jazz, the strings. Overall, most of the album is better suited for background listening (which makes sense given that it's a movie soundtrack), but there are a couple tracks that really make my head bop. Favourites: Theme from Shaft, Ellie's Love Theme, Do Your Thing, Soulsville
This album holds up even if you haven't seen Shaft. Speaking of which, I really ought to see Shaft.
Now here is a classic album and hopefully a promising start to the week. I can dig it! One of the few albums I had already listened to prior. This theme song is iconic.
i could only hear like four of the songs but we love jazz my tastes are not incredibly discerning if it's jazz i like it
Great soundtrack. I don't think I've listened to it beyond the Theme. Some of it sounds like it could have come from yesterday's Moon Safari.
Taiten tehty letkeä rnb-jamittelu on mun heikko kohta, vaikkei tässä mitään mieletöntä olekaan.
Quite enjoyable. Struggling between a 3 and a 4, but I could see myself putting this on again so I'll be nice.
This was quite fun. Not for everyday, but nice enough to put on again. Also the minimal amount of vocals makes it good work background music.
It's a shame not all of this is streaming on Spotify because from what I heard, this was great. Really good funk-soul, I would pick it up if I saw it at my record store.
Cool, another hour of mostly instrumental album, but this time it's literally a movie soundtrack. I'm not familiar with the movie, "Shaft" (1971). Apparently a "blaxpoitation" film, which means that it's like poverty porn but instead of slum inhabitants, it is focused on urban African-American people. But I won't judge the movie since I haven't seen it. Nor will I judge this album as a soundtrack. After all, this project involves listening to albums, not watching some movies. This album is... great. I liked it. Perhaps because it's admittedly better than "Let's Get Killed" that I listened to yesterday. I love the chill and soulful vibes of the tracks, and I can see why it was such a successful hit. I think I'm loving soul. This one is a so-called "progressive soul". Probably, this genre is culturally tied to African-American music. Think about the kind of movie that it is based on. And if it does, then this album is definitely a culturally significant work of art.
You know shaft is one bad mother.. Surprised to see this here. Pretty funky if a bit dated.
This soundtrack pretty much sets the bar any soundtrack after it, and after enough listens, it's understandable why so many other movie soundtracks fail to make the cut.
How many babies were made while this album was turning on the turntable in the early 70's? Great R&B / progressive soul album. Every song is smooth and cool. The Theme from Shaft is an absolute classic but the rest are great as well. Stand Out: Theme from Shaft. 4/5
Great theme song - other instrumentals were interesting and had a good funk/soul vibe.
Great album, that brings back so many great memories of the era. Hayes is why I love Neosoul today.
Cette musique/film a tellement défini la fierté noire du début des années 70. Avec Super fly, il défini un son pour un genre de soul funky auquel on arrête pas de faire référence depuis. Il y a des choses super inventives là dessus. L’harmonie prend souvent des directions inattendues. La flûte ajoute un petit côté cool. On se tanne un peu des brass à l’unisson à mesure que l’album avance par contre et la guitare maringouin sur « Do your thing » fini par taper sur les nerf, mais c’est quand même vraiment cool comme album.
Shaft is one of my favourite tunes ever so for that reason alone this album gets a 4* rating !
Way more chill than I was expecting. Perfect amount groovy and funky to make work fly by. Here and there it sounded a little 70's and cheesy, which was also fun. I especially liked Be Yourself and Bumpy's Blues.
I must’ve missed the track ‘Chocolate Salted Balls’, but I say each as good as the other- a great listen
One of the most specific period albums of the past 50 years. When you hear it, you know exactly what year it is and what the conditions look like.
One of the few excellent movie scores that stands entirely on its own. People 3 or 4 generations removed from this film still quote and parody the title theme (I'm just talkin' 'bout Shaft!) Isaac Hayes's "Shaft" deftly blends funk/soul and orchestral themes to create 18 tracks of eclectic and beautifully-recorded music. Anyone familiar with the Stax recording studio's legacy will likely be interested to learn this was the highest-selling LP ever on a Stax label. That's no small feat. I could listen to this record just about any time.
Well this was a fun shakeup on this list. Loved the mostly instrumentals and the pure funkiness
Je connaissais l'album pour sa signification culturelle ainsi que pour sa chanson theme. MAintenant après avoir tout écouté, certaines de ces chansons sont vraiment de bonne composition. Ca commence très fort et termine fort aussi. Il y a un petit creux dans le millieu je trouve et c'est un album double, donc au dessus de 60 min. C'est quand même une trame sonore de film, mais le groove, le funk, l'impro, le rock et même le psychédélique est là. C'est bon ! 4.25
I don’t listen to movie soundtracks really, but I enjoyed this. Good for working quickly
The whole record is a progressive soul masterpiece. Issac Hayes’ soundtrack is a slick mix of soul, funk and rock that conveys a wide range of moods. Hayes masterfully creates and resolved tension and weaves tense passages together to create the perfect backdrop for a blaxploitation film. Hayes is a skillful arranger and of course a great singer. The biggest drawback is the length, but seeing that this is a movie soundtrack, one cannot expect a popular music style album.
The album that made America get bit by the Blaxploitation bug. Despite not getting the part of the suave, cooler than cool John Shaft, Isaac Hayes still embodied the spirit and swagger that the character had in spades. A blueprint for how Black music would sound throughout the 70s and what it would mine through and pine to recreate in the decades afterward, Shaft is stellar as a standalone but one would need to see the original movie to full assess its impact. Favorites: Theme from Shaft, Café Regio's, Early Sunday Morning, Be Yourself, A Friend's Place, No Name Bar, Do Your Thing.
I have seen the film and always loved the theme song, but listening to the music on its own is an experience unto itself. Much love for this one.
I haven't seen the movie but I really ought to. This soundtrack really works on its own though. Fantastic, experimental soul.
Hello there children! Right from the first song you know you're in for a fun ride. Favorite tracks: Theme from Shaft (shut your mouth!), Be Yourself (this one really caught my attention every time), No Name Bar (really like the horns), and Do Your Thing (ahhh, yeah...smooth singing from the man himself, followed by an awesome extended jam).
I went down a rabbit hole, looking up info about the Shaft films (yes, films plural). There's part of me that wants to watch the film and see how the songs fit in. Maybe I will. A number of the songs, as instrumentals, work except they feel like they need vocals. And the few songs (except for the Theme from Shaft) feel a bit clunky because... well... because of the lyrics. "Soulsville" in particular felt a little cringe-y. I mean, the topic was one that transcends the song itself about abject poverty. I don't know, maybe it was the delivery? I can't tell. One that caught my eye was "Be Yourself." It felt like it needed lyrics, and all I could think of was that the Audioslave song "Be Yourself" would somehow fit in there somewhere. I think the highlight for me was "Do Your Thing". The guitar solos were amazing. I didn't realize it was 20 minutes when I first started listening. A _DOUBLE_ album?! Wow, it's interesting that there was so much music in the movie like that. Definitely going to come back to this, especially "Do Your Thing."
Ah, the entire album rather than the song. Who's heard it all the way through and expected that? Proper soundtrack with a catchy title song.
Fun to discover where all the 70s funk TV intro parodies come from. Which is what my first response was, due to my generational roots. The rest of the album is fantastically mixed and curated.
I don’t know much about soul and funk music but this could be one of the crowning achievements of the genre. The orchestration is lush and the production is superb. The Theme From Shaft is just a great tune, Do Your Thing is truly epic. The soundtrack is filled with funky riffs and great rhythm tracks, mixed with some lovely flights of fancy. I loved how Hayes allows the music to amble causally at times, never rushing anything. I’ll definitely add this to my library and give it another listen. Also really need to see the film!
As I would have expected, a sound track to a movie I don't think I've seen. It seems that have the tracks on the album were not available on Sportify, so I guess I only heard about half?
Spotify only has three songs from this album. They were good. Listened to one of his "Greatest Hits" albums too. Really liked it. Nice and soulful.
Niet het hele album staat op spotify, maar de nummers die er wel opstonden waren lekker
This was a lot of fun to listen to. Never listened to the whole album. Beyond a soundtrack this was great.
What a fun soundtrack. Best line to any opening track on any album ever? Look no further than Theme from Shaft (you're damn right)
Feel like a black cop in one of those old movies. Kinda has a motown feel? or more accurately jazzy? Can see images in my head as soundtrack plays. Makes me wanna call someone cracka.
Cool, soulful, funky. A lot of instrumental stuff. Clearly designed to be a soundtrack to a variety of moods and scenes.
Música setentera, asada de moda y que ha envejecido mal, pero evoca recuerdos de esos momentos que no volverán. No carece de calidad, sino de actualidad.