Customer Reviews:
 Fine recordings April 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This may not be worthy of 4 stars but its nearer that than 3 for me. These guys were the backing band in the sixties for the Stax/Volt labels. Most of the records you hear by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave etc had these guys playing, and theres a good reason for that, they are very good musicians.
Everybody knows 'Green Onions', it remains a classic instrumental, apparently made-up in the studio. The cover of 'I Got A Woman' motors along, propelled by some infectious drumming from Al Jackson. A change of pace for track 6 gives the guys to show off their blues playing on 'Behave Yourself'. This is a lovely slow blues, which builds up a head of steam and gives Booker T a chance to show off his Hammond playing.
Their are really only two reasons not to buy this album. Firstly the tracks are all instrumentals, so theres no point buying this if you like to listen to lyrics. Secondly the Hammond Organ sound Booker T uses a lot of the time does sound a little dated now (especially on 'Stranger on the Shore') and its used on most of the tracks. However contrary to the previous reviewers I found this to be an enjoyable album in its own right regardless of what the group did later in their career.
 Birth of a Dynasty September 15, 2003
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is what happens when a group of guys have an unexpected monster smash hit. In 1962, while in the studio jamming, a seventeen year old prodigy named Booker T. Jones, a twenty-one year old guitarist named Steve Cropper, and a couple of veterans of the Memphis music scene came up with something that Stax Records president Jim Stewart deemed good enough for release. Needing a B-side, Cropper suggested working up something Jones had been playing around with some time earlier. What was supposed to be a B-side excited Cropper, and local DJs quickly began to flip the "Behave Yourself" single to the other side, and "Green Onions" began to create quite a stir. Quickly, the sides were reversed, and "Green Onions", with it's groovin' riff, Booker T.'s funky organ lines, and cutting edge guitar bursts courtesy of Cropper became Stax's biggest hit at the time, reaching number three on the national Pop charts and topping the R&B charts. The group, now billing themselves as Booker T. & the MGs (Memphis Group), released this solid, if unspectacular instrumental album later that year. As could be expected, they weren't really able to recreate the hit single's magic, and besides that title track, the rest of the album comes across today as sounding pretty dated. This album should not be bought to familiarize listeners with Booker T. & the MGs. Cropper, Jones, drummer Al Jackson, Jr., and later Donald "Duck" Dunn (who would replace original bassist Lewie Steinberg) are widely considered to be the tightest, most soulful, and versatile band of all time. They would go on to be the house band at Stax, playing behind Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and more. They provided the blueprint for Soul music, and set a standard of excellence that nobody since has come close to meeting. On their own, they released over a dozen brilliant singles, and several terrific albums. However, other than the timeless title track, there is nothing on the album that is a "must hear". And "Green Onions" can be found on MGs compilations, box sets, and countless soundtracks. Make no mistake about it though, the album, for what it is, is quite good. This isn't a garage band rushing to sell an album cause they had a hit. Lewie Steinberg was very accomplished, and Al Jackson, though just a few years older than Steve Cropper, had been playing in his father's Jazz/Swing band since he was five years old! And as well as Cropper's groundbreaking work on the title cut, the young white guitarist showed himself to be equally adept at both Blues and Jazz. His playing is both simple and sophisticated, with the underlying element being taste. And Booker T. Jones played like no seventeen-year-old kid. This being said, there is no real reason to recommend this album, unless you are already familiar with the MGs' greatness, and you want to hear everything they recorded.
 Classic instrumental, but too much supplemental March 8, 2000
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
"Green Onions" was originally recorded as the B-side to what was intended as their debut single, "Behave Yourself," but ended up reaching #1 in the R&B charts and becoming Booker T. & The MG's most famous tune. This album was quickly assembled around those two songs to capitalize on the success of the million-selling single. Along with a follow-up jam, "Mo' Onions," they recorded nine mediocre covers of previous hits by Ray Charles, the Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, and Acker Bilt. I'd recommend this album only if you don't plan on investing in the wonderful "Time Is Tight" box set, which contains the best tracks off this disc, the three originals.
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