Isaac Hayes - Hits From Shaft

Three remastered hits, cut at 45 on 200-gram vinyl.

"Theme From Shaft" (Side 1)
The undisputed anthem for what would be called Blaxploitation, "Theme From Shaft" is as popular and well-known as the movie it supported. The song opens with the ever-recognizable wah-wah, funked-up guitar chords, and we're quickly treated to Isaac Hayes' soul-drenched lyrics convincing ANYONE that this guy Shaft is one "bad mother…shut your mouth." The song oozes with the cool confidence that made the character Shaft one of the relative first Black film heroes.

"Theme From Shaft" earned Hayes his only Number One pop single in late 1971, winning an Oscar for Best Song, and helping him become the first Black composer to win an Oscar for Best Score.

"Soulsville" (Side 1)
Another one of Isaac Hayes' biggest hits, "Soulsville" provides the contrast of a down-tempo ballad outlining the plight of life in the ghetto. It's an emotional tale of poverty, drugs, desperation and faith.

"Do Your Thing" (Side 2)
Pure funk. This nearly 20-minute jam demonstrates just how potent the Stax houseband, The Bar-Kays, could be. They establish a groove in which you can comfortably loose yourself. After "Theme From Shaft," this was the most popular hit from the Shaft movie soundtrack. It climbed to Number Three on the Billboard chart, a remarkable feat for such a long, mostly-instrumental song.

Analogue Productions introduced test pressings from their Stax Records reissue at the June 2003 Home Entertainment Expo in San Francisco. Among the exhibitors to show off their wares using these yet-to-be-released 45s was Richard Vandersteen of Vandersteen Audio.

"It was a big hit. The visitors packed the room every time we put it on. For once at one of these shows, there was some music that people wanted to hear. I mean, famous, classic music sounding incredible. It's just great old music that sounds much better than it ever had before. The people just loved it, and we loved playing it." - Richard Vandersteen, Vandersteen Audio

"You've done it again. The Theme from Shaft Stax reissue that AP scores an absolute 10 ! This may be your BEST one yet, because it blew my pants off when I played it. The second time around, it shut down my amp for 30 seconds (thermal protection).

The only other record that has done this is Dennis Cassidy's Soular Energy reissue on the track Take the A Train.

And that's talking about an FM Acoustics 611x Power Amplifier. If that ain't hot, then you tell me what is !!!

Quote me on this.

Congrats on one hell of slab of vinyl, and every single person involved in this project. If Isaac gets to hear this like I heard it, he's gonna shit in his pants."

-Gary Proctor. (Big Dawg)