Isaac Hayes R.I.P.

How come all the cool brothas keep dying? In just 24 hours Bernie Mac died of Pneumonia (he was only 50) and Isaac Hayes was found dead in his home next to a treadmill. Both losses were sudden and unexpected, but since this is a music blog I will choose to focus on Mr. Hayes' too short life.

Most people remember Isaac Hayes as the man who created one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time, Shaft. In 1972 his work on the Shaft soundtrack earned him the Academy Award for Best Song and three Grammys, as well as the #1 album and song ("Theme From Shaft") on the Billboard charts. While Shaft was undoubtedly a crowning moment, it would be foolish to say that it defined his career. In fact, even without Shaft Isaac Hayes would still be regarded as one of the most important figures in soul music.

Take a look throughout the vast catalog of Stax Records (which, along with Motown, was THE label of the 60's and 70's soul era) and you will see Isaac's fingerprints all over the place. His association with Stax began as part of the Mar-Keys, the original Stax house band who birthed many of the label's most successful and influential artists like Booker T. and the MG's and The Memphis Horns.

From there Hayes collaborated with Stax labelmate Otis Redding before eventually hooking up with David Porter to pen many of the label's most successful songs. In 1967 he finally stepped into the spotlight with his debut album Presenting Isaac Hayes, which was a commercial failure, but significant in that it established his signature sprawling jazz orchestral sound that would soon become his trademark.

Form there Hayes continued to build on that sound and achieved immense commercial and critical success with his second album Hot Buttered Soul. Considered perhaps his best work, Hot Butter Soul became one of the most influential soul albums ever. His next three albums "...To Be Continued", "The Isaac Hayes Movement" and "Black Moses" would also bring increased album sales (all broke the Billboard top 20) and critical praise, thus cementing his status as one of the most important figures in all of pop music even before Shaft was released.

So, while the casual music fan may instantly think of "Theme From Shaft" whenever Isaac Hayes is mentioned, it's important to recognize that the music world lost a creative giant today. As far as soul music goes, there aren't many who had a bigger impact than the man known as "Black Moses."

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King Khan & the Shrines Might Be the Funnest Band You've Never Heard of

I first decided to listen to this band based solely on that totally freaking rad album cover. I mean, wouldn't you listen to a band that looked like that? It's really a no-brainer, if you ask me.

For those who aren't familiar with King Khan, his story is kind of a confusing one to wrap your head around. For the last 14 years or so he's been involved with various garage and psychedelic rock outfits, beginning with Montreal's The Spaceshits, The Kukamongas, and later Les Sexareenos, eventually launching the King Khan brand in 1999 into three different incarnations; King Khan and His Lonesome Guitar, King Khan and The BBQ Show (a punk-garage duo), and King Khan and the Sensational Shrines. Along the way, his posse of bandmates has grown into quite a cast characters, including various horn players, percussionists and even a cheerleader. The result is a raucous mix of psychedelic Nuggets-era garage and Soul rife with more toe-tapping jams than your feet can handle.

While he's released three albums with The Sensational Shrines, most of them have flown way under the radar due to their limited distribution in the US. Their new record label, Vice Records, released The Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines as an effort to erase that relative anonymity by showcasing the best material from those albums along with a handful of newer and previously unreleased songs. Basically, it's the perfect primer for anyone looking to experience the King Khan rollercoaster for the first time.

I've had this album for a little over a week now and I can't stop listening to it. Perhaps it's because of how well they pull off the whole garage rock thing. I've long been a huge fan of 60's garage/psych rock like The Creation, Count Five, and the Kinks, so when a contemporary band can recreate that style without sounding derivative (think Band of Bees and not, say, The Hives), I am totally sold. Add in the over-the-top bombast of King Khan himself, and the combination is lethal. I can only image how completely awesome it must be to see these guys in concert. For now, I got a bunch of sweet jams to keep myself occupied.

King Khan & The Shrines - "Torture" (from The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines")


King Khan & The Shrines - "Burnin' Inside" (from The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines)


King Khan & The Shrines - "Destroyer" (from The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines)


King Khan & The Shrines - "Que Lindo Sueno" (from The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines)
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Sometimes Corporate America Has More Soul Than Me...But it Will Never Have More Soul Than Madlib

OK, so there's this Dockers commercial that keeps playing on TV (especially if you've been watching the NBA Playoffs) and every time it plays I am ashamed for not knowing the name of the artist from the song they used. It's obviously an old song (it sounds too good for it to be something current) and probably not obscure at all (it's too catchy of a song to have lived in obscurity for long), so why didn't I know who it was? Finally I just did a Google search and found the name instantly.

Turns out the name of the artist is Marlena Shaw and the song is called "California Soul." I couldn't believe that a) I had never heard of Marlena Shaw and b) I didn't own this song in some form or other. Of course my next move was to find it immediately. And after roughly 30 seconds of searching the torrent networks, the target had been acquired. Which reminds me, I love the Internet.

Anyway, when I tried listening to the song in my iTunes I noticed that I already have a copy of this song. Yes, apparently I HAVE heard this song elsewhere and it was courtesy of an excellent compilation put together by the hardest working man in showbusiness, Madlib. To the best of my knowledge, it's an underground compilation of obscure-to-semi-obscure soul/funk/jazz selections from the 1970s called "The Crates". I really don't know for sure since I'm pretty sure I downloaded this from a guy on Soulseek like three years ago while browsing his collection. There's very little information about this compilation on Amazon, Stones Throw Records, All Music, or Last.fm. It's also possible that some fan just tracked down the origin songs for many Madlib samples and organized them into a compilation.

In any event, it's a pretty damn good compilation and I am glad I was given an excuse to discover it again. Thanks Dockers!

Marlena Shaw - "California Soul"

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Get Your Soul On: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

I don't purport to be an expert on Soul music, but I think I have an ear for it that is better than most. For the last couple of years I have heard about Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings here and there. Mostly, in the context of Amy Winehouse's debut album and recent tour, where The Dap Kings served as her backing band, but I still never bothered to really give their stuff a thorough listen. After hearing some tracks off their forthcoming third album, 100 Days, 100 Nights (Oct. 6th on Daptone Records), you can bet that is going to change (I am feverishly looking for a leaked copy to download while I wait until I can buy it on vinyl).

Listen to the lethal combo of Jones' Tina Turner-like bombast and the R&B-ish funk groove of The Dap Kings for five minutes and you'll swear you are listening to an obscure 45 record from the 1960's, but in reality these jams were recorded just two years ago. That's because this music can stand toe-to-toe with almost anything produced during that golden era of Soul/Funk. Judge for yourself and tell me what you think.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Various songs (from The Hype Machine)

*Photo taken courtesy of flickr user Jon Madison >>>Continue reading "Get Your Soul On: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings"