Black Moses (album)

Updated on Dec 09, 2024

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Released November 1971 Producer Isaac Hayes Release date November 1971 Genre Soul music		Length 93:38 Artist Isaac Hayes Label Enterprise Records

Recorded March 1971–October 1971 Black Moses(1971) Live at the Sahara Tahoe(1973) Awards Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with Vocal Coloring Similar Isaac Hayes albums, Soul music albums

Isaac hayes i never can say goodbye

Black Moses is the fifth studio album by American soul musician Isaac Hayes. It is a double album released on Stax Records' Enterprise label in 1971. The follow-up to Hayes' successful soundtrack for Shaft (also a double album), Black Moses features Hayes' version of The Jackson 5's hit single "Never Can Say Goodbye". Hayes' version became a hit in its own right, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Isaac hayes black moses hd with playlist

Background

In addition to "Never Can Say Goodbye", other selections on Black Moses include covers of songs made popular by The Carpenters ("(They Long to Be) Close to You", Toussaint McCall ("Nothing Takes the Place of You"), The Friends of Distinction ("Going in Circles"), Dionne Warwick ("I'll Never Fall in Love Again"), and Little Johnny Taylor ("Part Time Love"). Hayes names Black Moses as one of his most personal works.

The very same sample of "Ike's Rap II" was used in four tracks at about the same time in the mid-1990s: Hell Is Around The Corner by Tricky, Glory Box by Portishead, Jorge da Capadócia and Salve both by Brazilian rap group Racionais MC's. Ike's Rap II was also sampled by Alessia Cara in her song "Here" recorded in 2014.

The album's title derives from Stax executive Dino Woodward's nickname for Hayes, which he bestowed upon the musician after comparing the effects of his music on black audiences to the leadership of the biblical figure Moses. The then deeply Christian Hayes shied away from the nickname, finding it "sacrilegious", although journalist Chester Higgins popularized the "Black Moses" nickname in an article he wrote on Hayes for Jet. Hayes came to see "Black Moses" as a symbol of black pride:

"Black men could finally stand up and be men because here's Black Moses; he's the epitome of black masculinity. Chains that once represented bondage and slavery now can be a sign of power and strength and sexuality and virility"

Larry Shaw, head of marketing and publicity at Stax, came up with the idea to name Hayes' LP Black Moses. He also devised, with the assistance of Bar-Kays member Ron Gordon, a gatefold album cover design which unfolded into a poster-sized image of Hayes, dressed in biblical-inspired attire as "Black Moses".

Track listing

Note: the 1989 CD release, distributed by Fantasy Records, scrambles the playing order: Side One is paired with Side Four on disc one, while Side Two is paired with Side Three on disc two.

Credits

Isaac Hayes - lead and background vocals

"Hot", "Buttered", and "Soul": backing vocals

The Bar-Kays, instrumentation: "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "Going in Circles"

Instrumentation on all other tracks by The Isaac Hayes Movement:

Piano, vibraphone, organ, electric piano - Isaac Hayes

Bass - Ronnie Hudson

Bongos, congas - Gary Jones

Drums, tambourine - Willie Hall

Electric piano - Lester Snell

Guitar - Charles "Skip" Pitts

Piano - Sidney Kirk

Arranged by Isaac Hayes & Johnny Allen, except "(They Long To Be) Close to You" by Isaac Hayes & Dale Warren

Engineers: Ron Capone, William Brown, Henry Bush, Eddie Marion, Dave Purple

Remix engineers: Ron Capone, Dave Purple and Isaac Hayes

Covers and samples

Portishead uses a sample from "Ike's Rap II" in the song Glory Box. That same year (1995), artist Tricky used the same sample for his song "Hell Is Round The Corner".

Canadian singer Alessia Cara samples "Ike's Rap II" on her debut single "Here".

Songs

1Never Can Say Goodbye5:09
2(They Long to Be) Close to You9:05
3Nothing Takes the Place of You5:32

References

Black Moses (album) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA