Booker T. & The MGs - The Very Best Of Booker T. & The MGs (1994)

This CD's title couldn't be clearer. Rhino's The Very Best of Booker T. & The MG's has all of the hits and a few other gems released by Stax's famous house band that they recorded under their own name.

There are many MGs compilations out there in musicland but this single CD with sixteen tracks is the one to get if you don't need a multi-disc collection. It has superlative sound and two non-LP singles - "Booker-Loo" and "Slum Baby," - that don't even appear on Fantasy Records' three disc set.

The Very Best of Booker T. & The MG's covers the years 1962 to 1971, and as the back jewel box insert says, only "original singles masters were used on this collection."

The CD includes detailed liner notes with a history of the quartet. For each track you'll learn who played what, the release date and chart positions. You really can't ask for more.

The big hits included here are the MG's debut single and most famous tune, "Green Onions" (#1 R&B, #3 on the Hot 100), "Hip-Hug-Her," and "Time Is Tight."

The disc also contains a few interesting cover versions: "Hang 'Em High" from the movie of the same name (another hit), Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson," and The Rascals' "Groovin'." All are treated with the band's unique spin.

While the MG's could work up a sweat when backing singers like Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd and Carla Thomas they're more subdude when recording their own material. Even so, they always manage to get a soulful groove going, and this album shows off their versatility in many ways. They easily fuse together an eclectic combination of rock, jazz, soul and pop into their novel sound.

You can use this album as background music if you wish, but to understand the full breadth of the MG's talent you need to listen closely to Booker T. Jones (keyboards), Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), Al Jackson Jr. (drums), and in the very early years - before Dunn replaced him - bassist Lewis Steinberg.

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