Today's random 'surprise' gem doesn't disappoint. Its hard to get it wrong on a beautiful Sunday morning... Life is good, its warm in NYC and there's this soft yet massive sunlight beam flooding in on me through my bedroom window. I turn my face to the right to feel the rays evenly on all parts of my face and through the window i notice for the first time that I can see the rooftops of beautiful manhattan buildings for at least 10 blocks down. They look so different with the sun dancing against them.
Suddenly soft piano chords trickle through my ear phones, and i smile... i know this one... I LOVE this one... It reminds me of my father. I can visualize him in his house coat leaning back in his chair, eyes glistening with a faraway look in his eyes, smile on his face, and right hand slowly folding invisible air over and over, along to the beat.... Thats when he isn't playing his 'air- piano'. He LOVES this song, He especially LOVES this artist... He has made it that if anything was to happen to him (my dad, GOD FORBID), i wouldnt be able to listen to this particular artist. If i dared, I probably break down sobbing, cos it brings the above vision.
I'm singing to it down and making the same body movements my dad does,
Of looooooooovin' you, Too much!
And i hope,
I hope it's not a criiiiiiime,
I hope it's not a criiiiiiime,
'Cause if it is,I'm GUILTY!
Of lovin' you, you, you.
Of lovin' you, you, you.
This has to be one of the GREATEST love songs ever written. It encapsulates the feeling of loving someone that belongs to another person. The frustration of toiling to keep your feelings hidden until you reach that point where you don't give a DAMN anymore who knows,
"I know, I know, You belong to another.
I... I may not stand a ghost of a chance.I'LL STAND ON TOP OF MT. EVEREST,
And PROUDLY tell the world that I LOVE ya.
Oh yes I will...
Because I... I just can't... I can't help my self
I'm a victim of circumstance..."
Words are just Words, but have them interpreted by one of the GREATEST artists and music arrangers ever born (in my opinion) and ITS A WRAP. If the pain this man is able to translate doesnt break your heart by the end bar of this song ('I Stand Accused'), your simply not human!
I have been an Isaac Hayes fan ever since i was able to say the words, NO! My dad made sure of this. It was played on vinyl when we were at home on the loudest, in the car on our way to Ikoyi Club on Sunday mornings, on the way back, on the journey to school (cos that was the tape the driver found Monday after in the deck), sometimes the journey back home as well.
'THE BLACK MOSES'... my dad would hail, screaming to the speakers as Isaac does one of his solo piano 'wonders' during a break down in the song, 'Something'.
Isaac had a way of taking a song, not written by him, and turning it inside out, upside down until when he delivered it back for your enjoyment, you wonder if this was the same song (e.g. "The Look of Love") written by the great Burt Bacharach, performed by everyone from the Dusty Springfield to Gladys Knight.
However, no other version of "The Look of Love" has been able to inspire an entire hiphop generation like Mr. Hayes' did, with its complex vocal and instrumental arrangements. Its almost like it starts off as one song and ends as an entire different one. Sometimes, in the middle of a song, he stops singing only to break into an instrumental with a solid orchestra backing, heavy horns screaming, the organ and deep bass vocals... and then... as if it never happened, he resumes singing... JUST LIKE THAT.
A CLASSIC 'Isaac' signature, making songs at times a long 15mins 'experience'.. for just one cut (FELA style).
HipHop artists like Jay-Z ('Can I Live'), Wu-Tang ('I Can't Go to Sleep), Ashanti ('Rain on Me'), Snoop (G'Zs Up, Hoes Down'), Smiff N' Wessun ('Stand Strong') - (just naming a few) all sampled Isaac's CLASSIC "The Look of Love" and many other cuts have been sampled as well.
A formidable force in the STAX movement, Isaac helped build STAX records to the soul music 'Power-house' it is remembered as in the history books today. He wrote songs and built the careers of many, but things were never the same for Isaac after parting ways with STAX records over financial disputes. Unfortunately the LEGEND passed away August 10th 2008 after battling bankruptcy, and other legal and health issues. His wife found him unconscious next to a still running tread-mill. Isaac was in the process of making another album.
He might have taken bowed out the stage for the final time in physical form, but the 'Black Moses' lives on in his music and this blog post.
Please enjoy the cuts "I Stand Accused", "The Look of Love", "One Woman" - and as you do, remember to make make 'soft air folds' with your right hand, and play the 'air-guitar' when appropriate... Its only right, you do it RIGHT ;-)
(p.s. when listening to 'The Look of Love', look out for my ABSOLUTE favorite part. It comes between 1:29 - 2:00mins. If while listening to it, your heart doesn't absolutely burst with Joy, I don't know what will.)
Isaac Hayes - "I Stand Accused"
Isaac Hayes - "The Look of Love"
Isaac Hayes - "One Woman"
1 comment:
Thank you kemi for hooking me with this piece of Genius!
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