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Music : Mclemore Avenue
Rating: 
- Weird, fascinating and deeply cool
A bizarre and rather wonderful tribute to a bizarre and rather wonderful album. It's hard to think of any other band that could have covered an entire Beatles' album without sounding like the soundtrack to the movie of 'Sergeant Pepper', but Booker T and The MG's do it with superb conviction, by the simple means of leaving out the vocals. (That's not all they leave out - to the great relief of all, they also don't bother to cover the original album's most embarrassing blemish, the awful 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'.) Booker T Jones plays the vocal melodies with great virtuosity on a variety of instruments, chiefly his ultra-cool Hammond organ with a Leslie speaker.
They also change the song order around, sequencing the tunes mostly as medleys with a few (such as their tender version of 'Something') standing alone. Steve Cropper reproduces the tasty but very difficult guitar licks in 'You Never Give Me Your Money', remarkable if the rumours are true that he never listened to the original and was taught the parts by Jones.
This isn't the most essential Booker T and The MG's album by a long way (that would be probably be 'Melting Pot'), but it's a remarkable one, down to the droll cover shot of the band crossing McLemore Avenue in Memphis, the street on which Stax Records' studio was located. On the strength of this record and some of their others, America's funkiest rhythm section was perfectly capable of soaring too.
Rating: - Best of both bands
If this had come out later than the awful Stars on 45 then it might have been laughable. But with great musicianship and genuine love/appreciation of the original it manages to pull off taking the 'long medley' concept further although I'm not sure about the re-ordering of the track listing. All four members of the band are naturally wonderful, although Steve Cropper perhaps shines a littler brighter, and the fact that he'd never heard the original until after the recording was made is amazing. Perhaps only for Beatles or Booker T completists, but a treat for those of us who love them both!
Rating:
- The Best Album of Booker T & The MG's EVER!!!
This has to be the finest Booker T & The MG's album ever released. It's their tribute to The Beatles "Abbey Road" but in the original Booker T style. Everything about this album is superb. From the wonderful Hammond organ to the great drum fills. Definitely an album that cannot be missed from anyone's collection. I rate this in my Top 5 of all time favourite albums.
Rating: - U.S.A.'s best vs. U.K.'s best
The greatest band in America took on the greatest band in England, and the boys from Memphis held their own. This is a very cutting edge and ahead of its time (Think Pink Floyd, Metallica) album. The Beatles' and The MGs' influence and superiority on and over the future of music is clearly evident here. Al Jackson does things that the wonderful Ringo Starr could never imagine. Duck Dunn does the Paul McCartney thing better than Paul McCartney. And Steve Cropper never even heard Abbey Road! Booker T. Jones taught him what to play! Another testament to these two men's greatness. How could you do The Beatles without lyrics? Only one band could. When the MGs got their hands on anything, including the material here, one quickly forgets and doesn't need anything but the music. The whole band is in peak form. They bring their Stax soul/funk to the table and also, show themselves as world class musicians as on their both beautiful and barn storming cover of "Something". And In The End, McLemore Avenue equals or argueably betters Abbey Road.
Rating: - As cool as Abbey Road, but strictly hammond
Never done a review before, but this album is basically a tribute/cover version of the Beatles album "Abbey Road". The big difference is that the lyrics are replaced by Booker T Jones' Hammond organ! Definately a good album to smoke to.
- Weird, fascinating and deeply coolA bizarre and rather wonderful tribute to a bizarre and rather wonderful album. It's hard to think of any other band that could have covered an entire Beatles' album without sounding like the soundtrack to the movie of 'Sergeant Pepper', but Booker T and The MG's do it with superb conviction, by the simple means of leaving out the vocals. (That's not all they leave out - to the great relief of all, they also don't bother to cover the original album's most embarrassing blemish, the awful 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'.) Booker T Jones plays the vocal melodies with great virtuosity on a variety of instruments, chiefly his ultra-cool Hammond organ with a Leslie speaker.
They also change the song order around, sequencing the tunes mostly as medleys with a few (such as their tender version of 'Something') standing alone. Steve Cropper reproduces the tasty but very difficult guitar licks in 'You Never Give Me Your Money', remarkable if the rumours are true that he never listened to the original and was taught the parts by Jones.
This isn't the most essential Booker T and The MG's album by a long way (that would be probably be 'Melting Pot'), but it's a remarkable one, down to the droll cover shot of the band crossing McLemore Avenue in Memphis, the street on which Stax Records' studio was located. On the strength of this record and some of their others, America's funkiest rhythm section was perfectly capable of soaring too.
Rating:
- Best of both bandsIf this had come out later than the awful Stars on 45 then it might have been laughable. But with great musicianship and genuine love/appreciation of the original it manages to pull off taking the 'long medley' concept further although I'm not sure about the re-ordering of the track listing. All four members of the band are naturally wonderful, although Steve Cropper perhaps shines a littler brighter, and the fact that he'd never heard the original until after the recording was made is amazing. Perhaps only for Beatles or Booker T completists, but a treat for those of us who love them both!
Rating:
- The Best Album of Booker T & The MG's EVER!!!This has to be the finest Booker T & The MG's album ever released. It's their tribute to The Beatles "Abbey Road" but in the original Booker T style. Everything about this album is superb. From the wonderful Hammond organ to the great drum fills. Definitely an album that cannot be missed from anyone's collection. I rate this in my Top 5 of all time favourite albums.
Rating:
- U.S.A.'s best vs. U.K.'s bestThe greatest band in America took on the greatest band in England, and the boys from Memphis held their own. This is a very cutting edge and ahead of its time (Think Pink Floyd, Metallica) album. The Beatles' and The MGs' influence and superiority on and over the future of music is clearly evident here. Al Jackson does things that the wonderful Ringo Starr could never imagine. Duck Dunn does the Paul McCartney thing better than Paul McCartney. And Steve Cropper never even heard Abbey Road! Booker T. Jones taught him what to play! Another testament to these two men's greatness. How could you do The Beatles without lyrics? Only one band could. When the MGs got their hands on anything, including the material here, one quickly forgets and doesn't need anything but the music. The whole band is in peak form. They bring their Stax soul/funk to the table and also, show themselves as world class musicians as on their both beautiful and barn storming cover of "Something". And In The End, McLemore Avenue equals or argueably betters Abbey Road.
Rating:
- As cool as Abbey Road, but strictly hammondNever done a review before, but this album is basically a tribute/cover version of the Beatles album "Abbey Road". The big difference is that the lyrics are replaced by Booker T Jones' Hammond organ! Definately a good album to smoke to.