...To Be Continued

by Isaac Hayes

Overview

Released in late 1970 on the heels of two chart-topping albums, Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and The Isaac Hayes Movement (also 1970), Isaac Hayes and the Bar-Kays retain their successful approach on those landmark albums for To Be Continued, another number one album. Again, the album features four songs that span far beyond traditional radio-friendly length, featuring important mood-establishing instrumental segments just as emotive and striking as Hayes' crooning. Nothing here is quite as perfect as "Walk on By," and the album feels a bit churned out, but To Be Continued no doubt has its share of highlights, the most notable being "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." The album's most epic moment opens with light strings and horns, vamping poetically for several minutes before Hayes even utters a breath; then, once the singer delivers the song's orchestral chorus, the album hits its sentimental peak -- Hayes elevating a common standard to heavenly heights once again. Elsewhere, "Our Day Will Come" features a nice concluding instrumental segment driven by a proto-hip-hop beat that proves just how ahead of his time Hayes was during his early-'70s cycle of Enterprise albums. It's tempting to slight this album when holding it up against Hayes' best albums from this same era, but a comparison such as this is unfair. Even if Ike isn't doing anything here that he didn't do on his two preceding albums -- Hot Buttered Soul, The Isaac Hayes Movement -- and isn't quite as daring as he is on his two successive albums -- Black Moses, Shaft -- To Be Continued still topples any Hayes album that came after 1971. It didn't top the R&B album chart for 11 weeks on accident -- this is quintessential early-'70s Isaac Hayes, and that alone makes it a classic soul album. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Product Details

Release Date:	11/07/1991
Label:	Stax / Universal
UPC:	0025218413329

Tracks

1. Monologue: Ike's Rap I
2. Our Day Will Come
3. The Look of Love
4. Medley: Monologue/Ike's Mood I/You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
5. Runnin' Out of Fools

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Isaac Hayes   Primary Artist,Keyboards,Piano,Bongos,Vocals,Timpani,Piano (Electric),Vibraphone
The Memphis Symphony Orchestra   Guest Artist
The Memphis Horns   Guest Artist
Bar-Kays   Guest Artist
Barbara Thompson   Cello
Johnny Scat Davis   Trumpet
Jackie Thomas   Trombone
Richard Dolph   French Horn
John Davis   Trumpet
Ann Spurbeck   Violin
James Terry   Flute
Hal Saunders   Violin
D'Gerolamo   French Horn
Vincent de Frank   Cello
John Wehlan   Violin
Hot Buttered Soul Unlimited   Vocals (Background)
Nino Ravarino   Viola
Robert Snyder   Violin
Joe De'Gerolamo   French Horn
Cliff Acred   Bass
Edwin Hubbard   Flute
Nick Vergos   Oboe,Horn (English)
Joan Gilbert   Violin
Ed Freudberg   Violin
Gloria Hendricks   Violin
Ernie Bernhardt   Trumpet
Jack Fonville   Flute
Bill Bell   Trombone
Pat Lewis   Vocals (Background)
Noel Gilbert   Violin

Technical Credits

Cynthia Weil   Composer
Joe Tarantino   Mastering
Ron Capone   Engineer
Richard Ahlert   Composer
Mort Garson   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
William Brown   Engineer
Phil Spector   Composer
Hal David   Composer
Barry Mann   Composer
Kay Rogers   Composer
Joel Brodsky   Photography
David Krieger   Art Direction
Herb Kole   Art Supervisor
Dale Warren   Arranger
Henry Bush   Engineer
Bob Hilliard   Composer
Isaac Hayes   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Pat Lewis   Arranger