Joy

iTunes Review

Less ambitious but no less immense than Isaac Hayes’ earlier albums, 1974’s Joy gets by on atmosphere alone. For the first time he chose not to include any covers; the five songs on Joy seem improvised, but Hayes has earned the right to let loose. He had worked for so long with a large orchestra that it had become second nature to him, and he could summon vast, smoky grooves like Zeus summons thunder. The title track of Joy doesn’t really go anywhere over its 15 minutes, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a jaw-dropping, swampy groove, the kind of thing only Isaac could pull off. All the listener really needs is to swim in it for as long as possible. The essence of the remaining songs is Hayes alone at his keyboard, singing to the listener about the nature of male-female relations. The tracks are bolstered by the lush contributions of Hayes’ inimitable backing band — The Isaac Hayes Movement — but at the root, they are deep blues from a Memphis master. Deepest of all is “I’m Gonna Make It (Without You),” a heartrending flipside to all of Hayes’ bedroom come-ons.