Although this is Isaac Hayes' third long-player, he had long been a staple of the Memphis R&B scene – primarily within the Stax coterie – where his multiple talents included instrumentalist, arranger, and composer of some of the most beloved soul music of the '60s. Along with his primary collaborator, David Porter, Hayes was responsible for well over 200 sides – including the genre-defining "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," "Soul Man," "B-A-B-Y," "Hold On, I'm Comin'," and "I Had a Dream." As a solo artist however, Hayes redefined the role of the long-player with his inimitably smooth narrative style of covering classic pop and R&B tracks, many of which would spiral well over ten minutes.
Four-song long-player ushered in the era of album-oriented soul with hits "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Walk On By." Reissue contains notes by Jim James of My Morning Jacket.
Until Isaac Hayes released Hot Buttered Soul in 1969, soul music had been a singles-oriented genre. Best known as the partner of David Porter in writing such Stax hits as "Hold On! I'm Coming," "Soul Man" and "B-A-B-Y" among others, Hayes, along with Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield gave the soul album a higher purpose, superseding the standard practice of assembling LPs around recent hits and filler.
In 1997, Blue Moon released Blues Bag/Louis Hayes, which contained two albums on one compact disc - Blues Bag, a 1965 disc originally released on Vee Jay by Buddy DeFranco), and Louis Hayes, a 1960 record also originally on Vee Jay) by Louis Hayes and his quintet.
Blues Bag (1965). For this unusual set clarinetist Buddy DeFranco is exclusively heard on bass clarinet while joined by drummer Art Blakey and an interesting group of players, some of who were with Blakey's Jazz Messengers at the time. DeFranco, Blakey, pianist Victor Feldman, and bassist Victor Sproles are featured as a quartet on four numbers while the other three songs add trombonist Curtis Fuller and either Lee Morgan or Freddie Hill on trumpet…
"Chocolate Chip" is the seventh studio album by American soul musician Isaac Hayes. It was released in 1975 by ABC Records through Hayes' own imprint, Hot Buttered Soul Records, marking Hayes' first release after leaving the then-financially troubled Stax label. The album was Hayes's segue into the emerging disco scene and featured horns and layered beats, while maintaining his traditional soulful vocals. Chocolate Chip garnered two top 20 singles and was Hayes's last hit album in the 1970s.