This is not a bad start, at least as far as single-disc representations of
Isaac Hayes
'
Stax
years are considered.
The Very Best of Isaac Hayes
contains many of the necessities -- his reinventions of
"Walk on By,"
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix,"
and
"Never Can Say Goodbye,"
alongside originals like
"Theme from Shaft,"
"Do Your Thing,"
"Joy, Pt. 1"
-- but since it contains a total of 18 tracks, there's no room left for the original full-length album versions, so you get the single edits.
Ultimate Isaac Hayes: Can You Dig It?
, a two-disc/one-DVD set released in 2005 by
, is easier to recommend because it is more expansive, allowing enough room for all 12 minutes of
"Walk on By"
and a few essential cuts that couldn't fit here -- such as
"Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic"
"I Stand Accused."
~ Andy Kellman