Customer Reviews

Black Moses (Dlx) (Dig) (Rpkg)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Regarding the audio on this set, it's the old 1991 remaster, so while the "digitally remastered" applied to this release is technically correct, it's just marketing BS applied to an 18-year-old mastering job. Very unkewl.

So, if you already own the older 2CD jewel-cased set, all you're getting here is an expanded booklet and a flimsy replication of the original, foldout LP cover. Care needs to be exercised when attempting to remove the CD's from the thin-walled digipak: I suffered a tear to the package's spine while extracting one of the discs from a pocket.

The audio on the '05 Can You Dig It? set is slightly better, but, of course, many of the "Moses" tracks on that collection are the abbreviated versions.

There was also improved sound on the 1999 import, but that edition was a single-disc, hacked-to-death bastardization.

In addition, the 2008 Japan SHM-CD release was also the '91 master, and even though that was a mini-sleeve re-release, the Japanese have never replicated the original LP cover, which is supposed to be the principle behind mini-sleeve versions!

All of this is really frustrating; maybe someday, some label can forgo the opportunistic death-profiteering, and get the sound updated correctly with the complete version in the original package?

Hey, MFSL or Audio Fidelity, howzabout you guys? If either of you were to FINALLY do it right, it's not like it wouldn't sell: Japan has pressed two 5K mini-sleeve runs, and even the edited 1CD import sold through, so obviously the market is there!

Having heard the great improvement in sound in the Stax re-releases in the Universal Japan SHM-CD format (McClemore Ave is stupendous) I've been waiting to get Black Moses in the same format for less than $65. Reading the reviews on this 2009 re-release from Concord I was puzzled at the mixed reviews at the vintage of the remastering and for $13.99 rather than $60 (and no current availability on the SHM-CD set) I tried this. Contrary to other reviewers - this is not the muddy, dimensionless 1989 remaster by Kirk Felton released on Stax 2SCD-88006 but a vastly improved 24 bit version by Bob Fisher at Pacific Multimedia of probably the last great album release from Isaac Hayes. After this Isaac went disco and the arrangements on those songs that harked back to the great HBS raps became BORING. A great re-release - and while the packaging is complex - finding the CDs and the booklet is an interesting challenge - its nice to relive the original vinyl (on RCA Dynaflex - with its own built in warp) in the outrageous packaging. Hey Concord - you got it right for once - but how did you let Booker T go to Anti???

This is a very close second (in my book) only to his
classic & iconic 1969 breakthrough "Hot Buttered Soul" in
the great Issac Hayes catalogue of 1969-1973 brilliant
soul/funk masterworks which were highly influential game-changers
in the scope and production of black music of that time.
Of course their influence goes beyond just black music or
the times in which they were produced.
Issac Hayes was pure genius at taking songs which were popular
in their day by other artists and totally transforming them into
something that was uniquely his own creation!
Just like "Hot Buttered Soul", this amazing 2-disc set abounds
with epic & lush orchestration, raw & flat-footed funky rhythm
arrangements that will have you making the "funk face", bobbin'
your head and haunchin' your shoulders along to the groove!
Also, there is the deep sensuality & longing that Issac's music
was known for and he communicated so well through his silky
but resonant baritone with that southern drawl that drove the
black women of that time wild!--The black men of that time
admired him for what he represented.

Issac Hayes--from his "look" with that bald head,
the gold chains which symbolized the new post-civil rights
black man & woman breaking free of the chains that had once
bound their ancestors and "washing them gold" if you will,
with a new spirit of expansiveness, upward mobility, education,
pride, self-motivation, fully utilizing the freedoms &
opportunities which were then newly available to them!
That is what that generation of young blacks were about,
and he seemed to be the living & breathing embodiment of
that for them! Many felt he was like a beacon to them of
what could be possible for you if you were young, gifted,
black, proud and self-determined!
Hence the nickname that was bestowed on him, which became
the title of this seminal album....BLACK MOSES!!
Issac Hayes was indeed a MOVEMENT, a STATE OF MIND in the early 70's!

Just like the preceeding albums from this period, Issac Hayes
shows how adept he is as a producer, arranger and vocalist
who had the ability to not only transform the music works of
others, but he could create his own original musical statements
as well which had similar impact of his listeners.
Brother Ike was known for his long verbal tales (or "Raps")
which set up the theme of a particular song, building it to a
climax of brilliant musicianship, peppy horn lines, lush strings,
lilting woodwinds, and afro & dashiki-wearing female vocal sirens
which supplied the harmonic oohs and ahhhs or call & response
to what the Black Moses was puttin' down! (-:
This whole album is amazing from start to finish and contrary
to what some of the other reviewers have said, the new remastering
and repackaging is fantastic! I don't know what kind of system
they're listening to it on, but on my BOSE WAVE Surround Sound System
in my home, as well as the system in my cars, this sounds amazing!
As far as the repackaging, they were able to recreate (in miniature)
the 4-sleeve cross-like opening jacket with Black Moses standing
there, with his arms extended outward, wearing sparkling sunglasses
and a biblical-looking robe as he led the children & grandchildren of
former slaves and sharecroppers to a new "promised land" of
black upward mobility in the 70's and beyond!!---Yes, I know it's
a grandiose, somewhat knaive and ego-driven vision to 2010 sensibilities,
but you have to consider...this was 1971.
The future indeed seemed bright and limitless for black america
at that time!--Blacks were on TV more than in any previous decade,
they were owning their own companies, breaking down barriers
culturally and otherwise and being portrayed in a positive light
for a change, instead of as mammies, butlers, bug-eyed fools,
criminals, etc., and people like Don Cornelius, Quincy Jones,
Issac Hayes, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and others
were showing & proving that there was indeed a place for us at the
big table where the American pie was being divided up and we could
have our share too! (-:

Bottomline, this is an amazing album filled with classic material,
and if you weren't hip to it before, then this your chance to
get hip now! Issac Hayes was a bad kat in the world of music
and broke down many doors in entertainment long before he became
known as "CHEF" to the Southpark Generation! (-:

The highlights are: "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Ike's Rap II /
Help Me Love", "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Nothing Takes The
Place Of You", "Man's Temptation", "Your Love Is So Doggone Good"
"(They Long To Be) Close To You" and others.

Rest In Peace Issac Hayes aka The Black Moses (1942-2008)

This is the basic and essence of Soul classic music. a must have album for all the soul music lovers and a must in every soul cd collection. A classic. I would not be able to recommend a better soul album

The 1st time i heard this album was on a 8-track.. My Mother had given me some 8-track albums cause she didnt want them anymore and i just happened to pick up the Black Moses LP

My aunt had a 8-track player in her car so i listened and from the first notes i was sold.

Most Artist's are lucky to get 1 album to go #1 But by 1971 After not to long ago releasing The Shaft Soundtrack(which was still on the charts) Isaac was at #1 on the R&B charts again with "Black Moses" 2 albums going #1 in the same year.

Every song on the album has hit potential where as some albums today have 1 or 2 songs that are hits and the rest are fillers.

Its hard to choose a favorite because Ike makes every song his own but if i had to choose id say

The Burt Bacharach/Hal David Classic "Close To You" to Jerry Butlers "Never Gonna Give You Up" ... from the Curtis Mayfield Written "A Mans Temtation" Originally a hit for Chicago Soul Singer Gene Chandler to Kris Kristofferson's Country Classic "For The Good Times" which became Country Soul In Isaac's Hands.

Then there is "Never Can Say Goodbye" which was a previously released single without an album home until The Black Moses LP came along. and the original "Good Love" writen by Ike and one of his trumpet players Mickey Gregory.


Long before Luther made his classic rendition of "Going In Circles" Originally a hit for "The Friends Of Distinction" Isaac took his shot at it and passed with flying colors.

This song shows a rare occurance of Isaac rising into his falsetto range with ease.

Although he had established himself as a deep throated baritone..quit as it was kept Ike had a peircing falsetto that was out of this world. for further reference to this fact you can listen to his self written song The 11 min "Im Gonna Make It With Out You" from his hit album "Joy".. as the song is fading out Ike repeats the phrase " Im Gonna Make It" 3 times before blowing you away with his falsetto on the 4th time.

This album shows a top artist in top form and verified Ike as a well rounded artist.

Not only could he make hits with his self created material as he previously did on the Shaft Soundtrack and as he would do again 2 years later in 1973 with the relase of his album "Joy" and once again in 1975 with the Relase of his album "Chocolate Chip"


But he could dig deep into the songs of others and make their songs his own and make them hits.


THIS ALBUM IS THE BEST OF THE BEST.. DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT CALLING YOURSELF A TRUE TO THE CORE ISAAC HAYES FAN UNLESS YOU OWN IT :)

IM A ISAAC HAYES DICIPLE :)

He was one of the best soul singers this side of the western hemisphere. He was the Black Moses of the African-American generation of the 1960's and 1970's. This is truly one of his most powerful albums. Recorded in the early 1970's this album features songs such as "Never can say goodbye" and "A Brand New Me". My favorite song is Issac Hayes's version of "Close To You" the old Burt Bachrach & Carpenters song. He does a marvelous job of reinterpreting this old classic. If you haven't heard Issac Hayes, this is a good CD in which to get started.

By the time Isaac Hayes released this double-LP in 1971, he'd already parlayed a pivotal career as house songwriter, musician and producer at Stax into a starring role as a recording artist. For Black Moses, Hayes stuck to the formula that had made him famous, extending pop and soul tunes, adding spoken passages and layering on smooth orchestration. His power as a vocal interpreter was at its height, not only on the album's best known tracks ("Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Never Gonna Give You Up"), but also on a pair of Curtis Mayfield tunes ("Man's Temptation" and "Need to Belong to Someone"), a pair by Bacharach/David ( "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and the formerly white bread "Close to You"), the Friends of Distinctions' "Going in Circles," and Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times."

The few originals include a couple of lengthy raps paired with ballads, and the funky "Good Love." This double-CD reissue reproduces the album's original fourteen tracks without bonuses, and stores the discs in a labyrinthine digipack that unfolds into a six-panel image of Hayes in his Black Moses garb. The album's superb original liner notes, written by Chester Higgins, and reproduced within the folds. Many fans mark this as their favorite album in Hayes' catalog, but it's neither as fresh as previous go-rounds like 1969's Hot Buttered Soul, nor as original as the same year's soundtrack to Shaft. This is as solid as anything Hayes recorded, it's just not, five albums into his recording career, as innovative. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Wow! That's what I thought when I unwrapped this thing.
Finally someone tried to recreate the original cover art. Isaac can be unfolded, forming a cross in the end.
Somewhere inside you'll find hidden the two discs. Don't worry; you got brains. A few seconds of patience is all you need.
And here comes the real improvement. The remastering was definitely worth it. The overall blanket the other disc sets suffered from is almost gone (Part-Time Love still has a bass boom though). The instruments, most notably percussion, horns, piano, and the background vocals are clearer and separate better from the rest.
Trust me, I know this record by heart, almost every note. When you are a fan like me, get this.
When you're new to Isaac's amazing talent and after listening to Shaft you started thinking about maybe getting something else, get this. Do not download it. All the depth will be lost. This is the real deal - and Isaac is worth that you dive into his magical music.

From the booklet: The Album was issued on November 15, 1971. By December 18 it had entered Billboard's Best Selling Soul Albums chart shooting straight to number 1 where it stayed for 7 straight weeks in what was a 40 week chart run. It entered the Pop lp chart a week earlier, peaking at 10 and staying on the chart for 34 weeks.

To the music: Ballads and mid tempos mostly, a very relaxing album. It leaves Isaac every space he needs to dig deep into his marvelously multi layered arrangements. Of course there are his famous raps and his keys - magic!
What I love most here is that to me with this album material Isaac found the perfect match for his voice. Don't get me wrong, Shaft was the BOMB but this one, well, give it a try. I promise it won't disappoint. It can't.

This CD brought back good memories of a time when music was music. Isaac's rearrangement of such songs as "They Long To Be Close to You" and "Going In Circles" were AWESOME!

I love this album. The music is satisfying and wonderful to listen. Great for a romantic evening or dreaming of one. Isaac Hayes was quite a sensation in the 1970s and this album is a great example why. His music is soulful and engaging to listen to. Highly recommended.