Released in late 1970 on the heels of two chart-topping albums,
Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and
The Isaac Hayes Movement (also 1970),
Isaac Hayes and
the Bar-Kays retain their successful approach on those landmark albums for
To Be Continued, another number one album. Again, the album features four songs that span far beyond traditional radio-friendly length, featuring important mood-establishing instrumental segments just as emotive and striking as
Hayes' crooning. Nothing here is quite as perfect as
"Walk on By," and the album feels a bit churned out, but
To Be Continued no doubt has its share of highlights, the most notable being
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." The album's most epic moment opens with light strings and horns, vamping poetically for several minutes before
Hayes even utters a breath; then, once the singer delivers the song's orchestral chorus, the album hits its sentimental peak --
Hayes elevating a common standard to heavenly heights once again. Elsewhere,
"Our Day Will Come" features a nice concluding instrumental segment driven by a
proto-
hip-hop beat that proves just how ahead of his time
Hayes was during his early-'70s cycle of
Enterprise albums. It's tempting to slight this album when holding it up against
Hayes' best albums from this same era, but a comparison such as this is unfair. Even if
Ike isn't doing anything here that he didn't do on his two preceding albums --
Hot Buttered Soul,
The Isaac Hayes Movement -- and isn't quite as daring as he is on his two successive albums --
Black Moses,
Shaft --
To Be Continued still topples any
Hayes album that came after 1971. It didn't top the
R&B album chart for 11 weeks on accident -- this is quintessential early-'70s
Isaac Hayes, and that alone makes it a classic
soul album. ~ Jason Birchmeier
