Isaac Hayes’ Remastered Stax Catalog Digitally Released
Twelve of soul legend Isaac Hayes‘ most iconic albums, spanning his work with Stax Records from 1969 to 1976, were remastered entirely from the original analog tapes and reissued on iTunes Friday.
Among the albums now available in 192/24 and 96/24 high resolution audio formats are Hayes’ landmark 1969 LP Hot Buttered Soul, its 1971 follow-up The Issac Hayes Movement, his 1971 epic Black Moses and his legendary Shaft soundtrack.
The remastering was overseen by engineer Dave Cooley, who attempted to recapture the analog tapes’ sound for the Mastered for iTunes editions.
“Every effort was undertaken to retain both the original production team’s intent, and the most natural and truthful spatial imaging of Isaac’s voice and instrumentation.” Cooley said in a statement.
“For the first time you can plainly hear details as small as the subtle coloration variations between the original studio setups and tape formulations from album to album. There’s renewed resolution around instruments. But you can also dive into the zoned-out atmospherics, and listen comfortably for hours as an entire body of work.”
In addition to the newly remastered digital albums, 2017 will see the reissue of Hayes’ catalog on 180-gram vinyl as well as a retrospective box set. Details of those releases will be announced in early 2017.
Issac Hayes’ remastered digital albums:
Hot Buttered Soul, 1969
The Isaac Hayes Movement, 1970
…To Be Continued, 1970
Black Moses, 1971
Shaft (Music From The Soundtrack), 1971
Joy, 1973
Live At The Sahara Tahoe, 1973
Truck Turner (Original Soundtrack), 1974
Tough Guys (Original Soundtrack), 1974
Chocolate Chip, 1975
Groove-A-Thon, 1976
Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak), 1976