Isaac HayesCan You Dig It?Review

Long before finding fame as a recording artist under his own name, Isaac Hayes had already built an enviable reputation as accomplished multi-instrumentalist, session musician, song writer and producer for Stax Records - the southern soul label that was the grittier flip side to Motown's smoother style. Hayes collaborations with fellow songwriter David Porter gave the label some of its biggest hits including Soul Man and Hold On - I'm Coming for Sam & Dave, right through to the ground breaking and award winning film soundtracks like Shaft, forged in the 70s.

In 1969 - after the premature death of Stax legend Otis Redding and the loss of its back catalogue to Atlantic Records - Stax's fortunes were revived by Hayes' second solo album - Hot Buttered Soul, in which Isaac set out the template for much of the soul, funk, disco and rap music that was to come in the next decade and a half: deeply funky and sensual grooves, all wrapped in a sleeve featuring strong, assertive Afro-American iconography, perfectly in keeping with the era of civil rights and black consciousness. Hayes specialised in expanding classic pop tunes into long, sultry explorations and his version of Walk On By - a 12-minute marathon - is a much darker thing than Burt Bacharach could ever have imagined: here strings, fuzz guitar and altered time signatures blend into a stark and individualistic reading.

As commercial success and critical acclaim accrued, especially around the Black Moses album, Isaac reached black icon status similar to that of James Brown. His efforts were to be appreciated and absorbed by everyone from Barry White through to Ice Cube and Tricky. As well as the innovations and charity work - Hayes was one of the artists who helped bring about the 'super stud of soul' caricature along with other unstoppable lover men like Marvin Gaye and the aforementioned Walrus Of Love. Several of the tracks on this compilation have suffered a little by association with his cartoon character, 'Chef ' from South Park to post-modern ears, although the resulting video for number one single 'Chocolate Salty Balls' is included on the bonus DVD of this pretty comprehensive compilation. What IS missing is the spine chilling, goosebump worrying track Ikes' Rap II for this is the number heavily sampled by Portishead for their 90s coffee table trip-hop anthem, Glory Box. Its omission is a shame as it would have made this compilation fully complete for diehards and sample chasers, as well as more relevant to those new to the work of this musical and cultural innovator, so soon after his recent untimely death.

Isaac Hayes did it all - wonderfully, and this collection draws together nearly every classic moment from the man's long and genre-forming career in a nice and respectful package.