

There are only four tracks on this album, but Isaac Hayes creates an entire universe within them. The long-player is bookended by epic deconstructions of tunes by others; Hayes’ versions of the Dionne Warwick smash “Walk on By” and the Glen Campbell hit “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” slow the songs by about half and slather them with bold orchestrations, fuzz guitars, and organ swells, achieving maximum drama. In between, soul-baring ballad “One Woman” and sweat-soaked funkfest “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” are no less arresting.