Record basics

• Album name: Live at the Sahara Tahoe
• Artist name: Isaac Hayes
• Year: 1973
• Number of discs: two
• Label: Stax Record
• Collection: Friedman
• Buy it on Amazon: $26.00

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have never listened to this record or any by Isaac Hayes, though I did once watch the movie Shaft.

What I expected

Soul and funk.

What it was actually like

This was really long. I would have been much happier if it had been cut to one LP from two, as there was a ton of filler that could not keep my attention. For example, I didn’t listen to Ike’s Rap V^[1] at all, and did Ain’t No Sunshine really need to last more than ten and a half minutes?

The first few bars of Never Can Say Goodbye sounded like it was going to be I Can’t Help Myself, which I mentioned was a favorite when reviewing both Come And Get These Memories: The Motown Story (1981) and 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years (1983), so I was pretty disappointed when it wasn’t.

Windows of the World and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face were boring enough that they could have been on a Frank Sinatra record.

I thought Hayes interpretation of Light My Fire was pretty good. His very bluesy version of the blues classic Rock Me Baby was the best song on the record. Feelin’ Alright was a relatively strong funk song, and Use Me was also fun.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me