Henry Rollins names his all-time favourite soul album
From the streets of Harlem to the dance floors of Lancashire, there is something about the groove of soul music that has a universal power and appeal. Emerging from a unique blend of gospel, R&B, and elements of jazz, soul music dominated the American mainstream back in the 1960s, thanks to the combined efforts of groundbreaking record labels like Motown, Stax, Atlantic, and their respective rosters of utterly iconic performers. However, the impact of soul certainly didn’t cease with the end of the decade. In fact, even the harbinger of hardcore, Henry Rollins, took a colossal level of inspiration from its infectious rhythm.
A stalwart of the thriving Washington D.C. punk scene back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Henry Rollins encapsulated all the aggression, energy, and anti-authority that the hardcore scene became synonymous with. Although hardcore obsessives might know Rollins from his days with State of Alert, it was Rollins tenure as the frontman for Black Flag which truly cemented his position as a vital statesman of punk and hardcore music.
When taking in the powerful aggression of hardcore anthems like ‘My War’ or ‘Rise Above’, it is difficult to see any correlation between those buzzsaw guitars and the sweet, melodic sounds of soul music. However, Rollins’ record collection incorporates elements of everything from obscure hardcore to expansive jazz improvisation, with each album having its own unique influence on the performer. The commanding power and rousing energy of soul, for instance, isn’t a million miles away from the power of Black Flag, if you think about it.
Rollins owes his utter adoration of soul music to his mother, who always supported his interest in the musical world, along with his record-collecting habits. According to the vocalist, it was her appreciation of Stax Records’ leading man, Isaac Hayes, that first introduced him to soul. Speaking to Goldmine, Rollins even cited Hayes’ 1969 record Hot Buttered Soul as one of his all-time favourites, recalling, “My mother had this record. She let me have it so I could destroy it on my bad record player with my awful vinyl etiquette.”
Scratches aside, the power captured within the grooves of that record transfixed the young music obsessive. “I don’t know why it hit me so hard, so immediately, but it did,” Rollins explained. “I was in 5th grade and listened to it all the time. I was kind of surprised by that myself. Ike’s version of ‘Walk On By’ is amazing, and ‘Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic’ is one of the coolest songs ever.
A key highlight in the Stax discography, Hot Buttered Soul was only Hayes’ second album, but it reflected an artist operating lightyears ahead of his time. Not only was his version of Burt Bacharach’s ‘Walk On By’ a transformative masterpiece, but the album also provided Hayes with complete creative control, as opposed to his heavily restricted debut. As a result, that was the album that brought the timeless sounds of Isaac Hayes to mass audiences in the United States, with the record topping the R&B chart after its release.
Seemingly, the album kicked off an enduring love of Hayes for Henry Rollins, with the future Black Flag frontman also finding an appreciation for Hayes’ Shaft album, released in 1971. “The instrumental tracks thrilled me the most,” Rollins later recalled. “I had a wild imagination but no attention span. I’d be on Ritalin during the day, but in the evenings it’d wear off. So I’d go back to my wild mind alone in my room, just grooving on these records.”
That medicinal power endeared Rollins to the infectious world of Isaac Hayes for many years, and he certainly isn’t the only one. Hayes’ music seems to have transcended musical factions and generations, beloved by swathes of audiences all across the world – such is the universal power of soul music.
