Into the Groovy #38 - "Do Your Thing"

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Academy Award winner. Multiple Grammy winner. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. You could say that Isaac Hayes (1942 - 2008) had an enviable musical career. The man put out a lot of great music over the years, but he will always be most recognized for his theme song for the movie Shaft. That's just how people are. The thing is, Hayes' soundtrack for the movie is a great album in it's own right, with nary a bad song on the entire record. Had there been no movie, it would still be a great album. If I were forced to pick just one tune from the soundtrack, other than the title song, it would be the epic "Do Your Thing." "Do Your Thing," at 19+ minutes, is one of Isaac Hayes' famous extended jams. It was released as a single (how the hell they chopped the song into a radio edit is beyond me,) where it peaked at #30 on Billboard's Hot 100. "Do Your Thing" is a soulful, yet gritty, urban funk tune that, had it been a rock song in the 60's, might have become a hippie anthem. The highlight, however, is a boffo, nine-minute-plus rock guitar solo (hello, radio edit chopping floor.) All told, there's more to the Shaft soundtrack than the title song. "Do Your Thing" is proof, and well worth the 19 minutes spent listening.