Customer Reviews
Best of post-Atlantic period - By: Mailian, 22 Oct 2007 
These are the best of the Booker T & MGs recording from 1968 to 1972, after their succesful Atlantic career. Time is tight, Soul limbo & Melting pot were the huge hits with a more funky & outspoken sound. The other instrumentals vary from good to excellent (great versions of Born under a bad sign, Something, Mrs. Robinson) except for the weak vocals on Johnny I love you. This is the one to buy after the Atlantic Best Ofs.
In the groove - By: D. J. H. Thorn, 28 Feb 2007 
Released during the LP age, weighing in at only forty minutes & missing the later hits, 'Time Is Tight' & 'Soul Limbo', this collection nevertheless works like a an original album in its own right. This is the early Booker T & the Mgs, the era that contains their finest performances. The later hits are OK, but wouldn't reallly fit in here. Their classic groove, 'Green Onions', kicks off the album & is followed by a couple of tracks with a similar style, but thereafter the band explore a diverse range of soul, r&b & latin rhythms, without straying too far from their basic strengths. While the organ provides the colour, the rest of the band form the tightest rhythm section of the 1960s. These instrumentals will move any part of you that can move (with a couple of honourable exceptions), with only their magnificent, brooding cover of 'Summertime' to slow things down.
One of the great house bands - By: Andy Edwards, 08 Feb 2007 You will probably know several of these (if you like cricket for instance) but there is much to recommend from this collection of instrumentals from the STAX house band. As well as playing on virtuallly alll that labels greatest hits, they found time to record some hugely entertaining stuff. So you get "Time is Tight", "Soul Limbo" & "Green Onions" rubbing shoulders with lesser known, but still excellent tracks like "Bootleg", "Soul Dressing" & "Hip Hug Her".
Each member of the band can claim fame in their own right, Booker T, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson & "Duck" Dunn set the standard for Soul instrumentals & were probably rivallled only by the Funk brothers at Motown, & the bands James Brown put together for their influence.
For those interested in Soul, well worth your attention & you might find something you haven't heard before too.
The Band Who Define The Word 'Tight' - By: Paul Stanley, 03 Oct 2003 This is great compilation from the best Soul 'instrumentalists...ever! My only criticism is that the 'Red Beans & Rice' version on here, is a live one from the European Stax Tour in 1967. This is a real shame, as the studio version is a real cracker. It is available on a Cd callled 'Great R&B Instrumentals' by various bands, on the 'Ace' label. Apart from that its superb. This is the band that, along with the Mar-Keys, were present on almost every Stax classic.
Cool and easy listening - By: sarahradar@aol.com, 21 Jan 2002 I have been a fan of BT & MG,s since i was a teenager, my alll time favorite being time is tight. I usuallly don,t like organ music, you know the sort you get in the local social club! But this is absolutely brill it also has some good memories for me, i find you can chill out or step it up abit depending on your mood
