Black
Moses was the fifth
studio album by American soul artist Isaac Hayes. Released in 1971, this double
album of mainly covers came on the back of Hayes highly successful soundtrack
to the film Shaft and with its release helped to establish Hayes at the
forefront of 70s progressive soul.
The first thing I notice
about this album is its title Black Moses, which to me sounds like the name of a
Kanye West album, while the album sleeve itself is quite cleverly designed folding
out into a cross shape of Hayes himself dressed in robes wearing aviators. Hayes
was clearly trying to make a bold artistic statement with the title and cover,
but would the music match up with the illustrative intentions of the album.
Well the answer to that is a definite yes, with Black Moses possessing some of the most elaborate and sophisticated
soul music ever committed to record. The style of this album is what is known
by many as symphonic soul, or progressive soul which became quite popular in
the mid-70s with artists such as Hayes himself and Curtis Mayfield. This style
of soul is heavily produced with layers and layers of sound placing a strong emphasis
on instrumentation. The music on here is incredibly slick thanks to some highly
skilled session players and does well to show off Hayes ability as a producer
and arranger within the soul and R&B styles. In fact, one could be forgiven
for thinking that this is what a soul record would sound like if composed by
Bach of Beethoven. Hayes made a name for himself at Stax records in the 50s and
60s, playing on more Stax recordings than anyone else and he brings this experience
to the fore on the album, with songs often stretched out to the 7-9 minute mark
to allow for Hayes to explore and experiment with different sounds and song
structures in what are well developed R&B jams and soul ballads. Hayes even
goes as far as to experiment with spoken word in what appears to be early
attempts at rapping.
There are fourteen
tracks on Black Moses and it comes in
at a staggering 93 minutes, meaning I could go on writing for ever if I was to
chronicle each track, so I will just mention a few standouts for me from across
the album. Most of the songs are covers, but have been arranged in such a way
that the listener has a tough time recognising the original from Hayes version,
such is the distinct way that Hayes has arranged the tracks to make them truly
his own. The album kicks off with smooth versions of the Jackson 5 hit “Never
Can Say Goodbye” and The Carpenters “They Long to Be Close to You” both of
which are remarkably different from the more recognisable hit versions. “Part
Time Love” is a funk epic coming in at around eight minutes, while “Going in
Circles” is a symphonic soul track which encapsulates well the overall sound of
the album. Other tracks worth a mention include “Never Gonna Give You Up” which
the Black Keys covered on their 2010 album “Brothers”, “Good Love” which is a
more up-tempo track, a rare thing amongst all the ballads and progressive
symphonies on this album, and finally “Need to Belong to Someone”, a gospel infused
track where Hayes plays up to the Moses idea, preaching from the river as it
were.
In conclusion, Black Moses really is a symphony of soul
and represented a major artistic statement by Hayes. It probably reprsented the
zenith of his career and helped to preserve his place as a soul great amongst
contemporaries such as Gaye, Wonder and Mayfield. There are a few criticisms I
have of the album, notably around its length with many of the songs being a wee
bit too long for idle listeners, maybe some thoughtful editing couldn’t have
gone a miss, while at times the album can get dangerously close to becoming
quite soppy, especially during some of the ballads. However, this is ok when
you consider the ambitious nature of this album and the personality of the man
on the cover, a man who was as big as the music he produced.
B+
- Sam
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