Shaft: Music From the Soundtrack

Nothin' like a little Isaac Hayes! Fun to listen to and will live right along side the legend and the movie. I think some of his other stuff is a better indication of his talents, but this put him on the map for a lot of people. 3+

Yes, Chef! 🧑‍🍳

This is a collection of killer tunes, and much more varied than I had imagined. I've seen some gripe on this project about this being a soundtrack, so not worthy of inclusion. I would dispute that, though suggest that it doesn't quite work together as a coherent body, hence knocking it down to 4 stars.

Ellie's Love Theme is so calm and amazing, only I'm Gonna Make Love To You Woman is a better Isaac song

I love blaxploitation soundtracks

Not many great soundtracks, but this might be the best ever.

I knew Hayes was cool, but MAN, this is an incredible album. Every song was on par with Chocolate Salty Balls and that says a lot.

Does the soundtrack to Shaft really need to be on this list? Maybe not. But it’s funky and fun and a lot better than a lot of other albums so why not

Het is geen Hot Buttered Soul of Black Moses maar dit is een vibeeeee. (waarom staat Black Moses niet op deze lijst ipv deze soundtrack?)

The Good: Blacksploition actresses with cleavage rulllllleeee!!!!
The Bad: We only get to listen… not watch.
The Ugly: A double fucking album…

Damnit. That first song is won-der-ful!!! I mean, loved it with a capital L O V E
Then the rest of the album just starts kicking you in the nuts… over and over again…

Why did I have to listen to this double album? What makes this a must listen? I don’t get it…
a
I would give this a 1* but I am not a bastard… and I loved the opening, and closing track of this album… but I could have been spared all the other fucking songs…
Also, why isn’t Saturday Night Live on this list? That is a 5*

2*

Not sure about soundtracks on this list. It's good music.

Man, this one seemed destined to get a 3 from me. Funk. Movie soundtrack. Over an hour long.

But then No Name Bar and Do Your Thing happened, and those songs just HIT. Really good stuff.

I don't got too much else to say, it's just a damn good soundtrack. It vibes.

Can ya dig it? Epic and fun and makes you feel like you're in the movie. Nothing deeply profound about it but plenty of fun.

It took me a long time to really appreciate Isaac Hayes. I didn’t realize until much later that he composed the soundtrack for *Shaft*—by then, I was already a fan of his music. I really like this album. It’s a shame he doesn’t sing much on it, because his voice is still amazing. 5/5

Nope. Didn't need to listen to this entire album of mostly instrumentals. I'm sure it's a important soundtrack historically but I don't think it's deserving of a place on the list. 2/5.

Sure, why not. Never going to listen to this again.

Hey Chef

Even the most well-made movie soundtrack is still, ultimately, a movie soundtrack. There's not quite enough substance to elevate it to a five star rating for me... presumably the experience of watching the film is what provides that substance. (I watch maybe two or three movies a year, it's not my preferred form of entertainment.)

Abseits des monotonen Titelthemas verliert sich der Soundtrack in langen, filmisch gedachten Passagen, die ohne visuelle Begleitung schnell an Zugkraft verlieren.

I’m at a 10, though I do have one little gripe here.

I mean, look, Isaac Hayes is in remarkable form throughout this thing. Say what you will about a soundtrack album making the list & any frustrations that might stem from this being a mostly instrumental album, but… my goodness, these compositions are fucking awesome even without the context of the movie. I’ve never seen Shaft, but goddamn, do I want to now. The funk present here is in top form, especially for 1971, and Hayes’ ability to capture a mood on so many of these tracks, with almost nothing but the titles alone to go off of, is incredible. There’s not really a dull moment here – points where you can easily zone out, sure, but it’s never in a way that leads to boredom. It’s zoning out in a way where the groove naturally glides its way into your ears & you can just feel it, even if you’re not paying attention to the chord structure or some of the prettier background details. This whole album never takes away from that energy, and it succeeds as both an instrumental album & as a movie soundtrack. I’m not sure if there’s many other soundtrack albums in history that have been nominated for an Academy Award & the GRAMMY Album of the Year. Even after trying to Google it, I can only really find a handful of examples (surprisingly, “Star Wars” & “Beauty & The Beast” among them).

So, what’s the gripe? For as much as I really like “Do Your Thing”, I do feel like the 20 minutes stall at a certain point. That’s not to say I wasn’t captivated by it, but unlike a lot of the other tracks where the groove glides & you never feel the weight of the length bearing on the track, it definitely hit more on that one. Between that & the sort of ear-splitting outro with the guitar deciding it wanted to go as loud as possible, it didn’t leave me as satisfied as I wish it had. That said, for the vast majority of its runtime, it’s still a pretty damn good track, and it barely takes away from a stellar soundtrack otherwise. It is the sort of thing that makes this a slightly shakier 10, as it might hit me a little differently on another future re-listen, but regardless, I fucking loved this. Isaac Hayes must’ve felt on top of the world in the early ‘70s, man. I’m very glad this is on the list, and for me, it’s a 10.