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Sublime sounds from Booker T & The MGs – the group's first five albums, laid out in one totally package! The progression in Memphis soul here is wonderful – as the package starts with the initial Green Onions set – a record that grew out of a famous jam from Book and the group in the studio – then moves through Soul Dressing, And Now, Hip Hug Her, and Doin Our Thing – records that get funkier and funkier at each new spin – showing how the group really tightened up their style, and helped transform the sound of instrumental soul in the process! Loads of great Hammond from Booker T, mixed with killer guitar from Steve Cropper – and a motherlode of great cuts that include "Green Onions", "Comin Home Baby", "Can't Be Still", "Home Grown", "Think", "Soul Jam", "Taboo", "One Mint Julep", "Plum Nellie", "Outrage", "Night Owl Walk", "Double Or Nothing", "Sunny", "Pigmy", "Slim Jenkins Place", "Hip Hug Her", "Soul Sanction", "The Beat Goes On", "Blue Or Green", "Ode To Billie Joe", "Never My Love", and "I Can Dig It". All albums in tiny LP sleeves too!

A great little album from Booker T & The MGs – recorded in the post Green Onions years, at a time when the group was really coming together – with a tightness that perfectly illustrates their sublime Memphis instrumental groove! The album's heavy on guitar and organ, as you'd expect – that great Booker/Steve Cropper sound that can't be denied – and there's a rawness here that you don't get as much in later years – more of a funky 45 vibe that really keeps things fresh! Titles include a few nice originals – like "Soul Jam" and "My Sweet Potato" – but ever the covers sound pretty darn great, with a lot more imagination than the usual instrumental filler. As proof, there's a killer version of "Summertime", with a nice modal groove, plus nice takes on "Think" and "Working In A Coal Mine".

A legendary album of Memphis soul – and a full length set that helped redefine the sound of instrumental music in the 60s! The record's a monumental follow-up to Booker T & The MGs' huge hit single "Green Onions" – an extremely seductive organ-based instrumental that the band cooked up while just messing around in the studio – and it's filled with other organ-heavy grooves played by this tight Memphis quartet – a group who were just starting out at this point, but already had a sound that's unlike anyone else! The work of Booker T is especially nice – Hammond with a bit more punch than other combos of this nature – backed by some wicked guitar from Steve Cropper, bass from Lewis Steinberg, and drums from Al Jackson. The set features a nice mix of covers and original tunes – with titles that include "Green Onions", "I Got A Woman", "Twist & Shout", "Lonely Avenue", "Comin Home Baby", "Mo Onions", "Behave Yourself", and "Rinky Dink". CD features two bonus live tracks from 1965 – versions of "Green Onions" and "Can't Sit Down".

The Beatles had Abbey Road – and Booker T & The MGs had McLemore Ave, the main street running outside the Stax studios, and a fitting title for the album that has them playing tunes from The Beatles' incredible Abbey Road album. If you've ever thought that Abbey Road was a soft-rock lowpoint in the Beatles' career, consider how many soul and jazz artists either covered the whole album, performed songs from it, or referenced it in their album covers. This little gem is proof that the compositions already had a life of their own within a short time of the release of the record – as Book and crew take the Beatles' tunes to whole new heights, working them together into a complicated batch of grooves that really pushes past their earlier work on Stax. Who knows, perhaps The Beatles were just the kick that Book needed – we can't ever tell the whole story, but we can say that the record marks a strong turning point for the group, and is well worth having for a variety of reasons. Titles include "The End", "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Because", "I Want You/She's So Heavy", and "Polythene Pam".

A great little record from Booker T and group – often overlooked amidst the range between Green Onions and Melting Pot, but a very strong album of soulful Memphis instrumentals all the way through! Book's organ is bubbling hot, and the band's tight rhythm style works in a perfect laid-back mode to push the group way past the stock grooves of earlier albums – thanks to great work from the rest of the combo too. There's some mighty nice rhythm changes on this one, and a good range of non-pop tunes like "Night Owl Walk", "Chinese Checkers", "Soul Dressing", "Tic Tac Toe", "Outrage", "Home Grown", "Big Train", "Jelly Bread", and "Plum Nellie".

A wonderful soundtrack from Booker T & The MGs – a record that's probably much better remembered than the film for which it was written! The tunes show a whole new depth for the group – a style that still has some of the charm of their previous hits, but which also takes off in whole new directions too. Some tunes are pretty darn catchy, and others have a nicely bubbling sound – almost jazzy in parts, with a great scene-setting feel for the movie. Booker actually sings on 2 tracks – "Johnny I Love You" and "Blues In The Gutter" – and Judy Clay sings on "Children Don't Get Weary". Other than that, though, the whole thing's instrumental – with titles that include the megahit "Time Is Tight", plus "Cleveland Now", "Down At Ralph's Joint", and "Tank's Lament".

Two great Memphis instrumental groups, back to back on one CD – in a smoking little live set that keeps the Stax Records sound strong – even away from the studio! The set's actually heavier on work by Booker T & The MGs than it is cuts by The Mar-Keys – as Book and crew handle seven out of the record's ten tracks – all with that sublime Hammond-heavy groove that makes them so great – and which takes on an even rawer sound here in the live setting! But The Mar-Keys are pretty sweet too – maybe a bit looser than on their singles – and we mean that in a good way. Booker T & The MGs play "Green Onions", "Hip Hug Her", "Tic Tac Toe", "Booker Lou", "Gimme Some Lovin", "Outrage", and "Red Beans & Rice" – and The Mar-Keys serve up "Last Night", "Grab This Thing", and "Philly Dog".

What can we say? Booker T and crew are always tops in our book – and this album's as strong a batch of their classic singles as you'll ever find! Book's organ is the sound of a generation, and Steve Cropper's sinister vamping on guitar gives even the poppier tracks a hard edge that still sends shivers down our spine! Includes the breakbeat track "Hip Hug Her", plus "Green Onions", "Boot Leg", "Tic Tac Toe", "Red Beans & Rice", and "Jellybread". Smoking!

One of the greatest albums ever from Booker T & The MGs – and very different than their early work! The record has Book & Co taking off with a stretched-out jazzy sound – carving expanded grooves that are filled with sweet organ solos, choppy guitar riffs, and some incredibly tight rhythm lines – more than enough to make this set a standout in the collection of any beat digger! Includes the massive "Melting Pot" – an oft-sampled jam that runs for over 8 minutes long – plus "LA Jazz Song", which features amazingly tight guitar work from Steve Cropper, and the nice cuts "Fuquawi" and "Chicken Pox". Other titles include "Back Home", "Sunny Monday", and "Hi Ride".

Booker T's definitely getting a bit funky with this one – stepping off with the incredible title cut, a tune which really complicates the groove from the earlier years! The sound is still solid Memphis soul, with a raw instrumental vibe – but the grooves are even better than before, and the set includes loads of great original number written by the group – the kind of cool tunes they most likely cooked up while jamming live in the studio! These gems include the seminal "Hip Hug Her" – plus "Carnaby Street", "Booker's Notion", "Soul Sanction", "Double Or Nothing", and "Slim Jenkins' Place". But the covers are groovy too – and include a version of "Pigmy", plus "Groovin" and "Sunny".

Booker T & The MGs – definitely doing their thing on this late 60s cooker – and moving their instrumental sound into a whole new range than before! The album has a very groovy feel – nice and tight, with especially great organ and guitar lines – often tuned towards 60s hits by other soul artists, but reworked strongly by the group's wonderful rhythms, and turned into a really cooking batch of Memphis soul instrumentals! There's a few key original tunes on the set – like the title track "Doin Our Thing" – and the cuts "I Can Dig It" and "Blue On Green" – but the covers are equally great, and include versions of "Ode To Billie Joe", "You Keep Me Hangin On", "Expressway To Your Heart", and "Let's Go Get Stoned".

A surprisingly great album by Booker T – recorded after his Memphis years with The MGs, and his duets with Priscilla – and done in a sweetly mellow style that has Booker emerging as a whole new style of songwriter! As with all the post-MG albums, Booker sings lead vocals on all tracks – in a gently, almost folksy mode that fits beautifully with the compressed production of the set. There's almost a Terry Callier-ish quality to a few of the cuts, and on others, Booker's hitting a cool LA style that's kind of a west coast take on the Memphis vibe – but with a few more rock-based touches. Book plays a bit of organ and some keyboards on the set, and titles include "Jamaica Song", "Mama Stewart", "Flamingo", "Tennessee Voodoo", "Lie To Me", and "Evergreen".

Vintage Memphis instrumentals from The Mar-Keys – a record cut at a time when the group were still rising up with the same power as Booker T & The MGs! There's a very similar vibe going on here – tight rhythms and no-nonsense combo instrumentation that's heavy on organ and tenor, but used in ways that are quite different than jazz, and even from 50s R&B – a tighter 60s soul groove that sparkles throughout – thanks to a cooking batch of dancefloor rhythms! The set's billed as a "pop-eye" dance craze outing, but it's got way more to offer than that faddish moment in 60s styles – a range of great numbers that includes "Gonna Work Out Fine", "Pop Eye Stroll", "Straight From The Can", "Wimp Burger", "Squint Eye", and "Muscles A Comin Home".

The RZA-curated Iron Fists Chronicles! This limited volume in the Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack series is a 2CD compilation of classic Stax deep soul – and it's not only the material that inspired the score for RZA's directorial debut – it's also the funky soul bedrock for his most legendary Wu Tang productions! It's got classics and relative rarities alike by The Dramatics, The Emotions, Soul Children, Mad Lads, Sweet Inspirations, Isaac Hayes, Mel & Tim, Booker T & The MGs, Johnnie Taylor, William Bell and many more! You know RZA isn't compromising or messing around when he's including Isaac Hayes' 15+ minute "Joy" in the set list – and the whole thing is great – really a top-shelf compilation from the Stax vaults! Nearly 2 1/2 hours of music on 2CDs! Includes "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads, "I Could Never Be Happy" by The Emotions, "All It Takes Is You And Me" by Sweet Inspirations, "Move Over" by Soul Children, "Steal Away" by Johnny Taylor, "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim, "Sing A Simple Song" and "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24-Carat Black and more.

The funkiest side of Stax Records – a treasure trove of funky nuggets, all hand-picked by RZA! As the title implies, these are some of the grooves that became the building blocks of the Wu-Tang sound – but even without that pedigree, these tracks are more than great enough on their own – a wonderful mix of album cuts and rare singles – some you'll recognize from famous hip hop samples, some you'll discover here for the first time ever! The triple-length package is overflowing with greatness – and titles include "I Could Never Be Happy" and "I Like It" by The Emotions, "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads and another "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell, "Children Don't Get Weary" by Judy Clay, "All It Takes Is You & Me" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24 Carat Black, "I'll Play The Blues For You" by Albert King, "Why Marry" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Steal Away" by Johnnie Taylor, "Hang On Sloopy" by David Porter, "Ike's Mood 1" by Isaac Hayes, "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, "Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness" by The Soul Children, "Packed & Took My Mind" by Little Milton, "Sing A Simple Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter, "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Walk On By" by Isaac Hayes, and "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim.

An obscure groover from Booker T – working here away from the MGs, and in a very different mode! The best tracks on the album have a smooth mellow soul feel – with keyboards in the lead over a nicely stepping groove, and Booker laying down some surprisingly nice vocals, not always that strong technically, but with an honesty that works wonderfully in contrast with the tightness of the instrumentation. Titles include "I Want You", "Treasure Chest", "Don't Stop Your Love", "Electric Lady", "You're The Best", and "I Came To Love You".

A great Memphis sound from the second greatest instrumental group on Stax next to Booker T & The MGs – heard here on a massive record that really pushes The Mar-Keys to the next level! On previous records, the combo always had a sound that was a bit brighter than Booker and his group – still soul, but not nearly as sharp. Yet this time around, they really dig deep – and have a way of smoking out plenty of the best soulful elements associated with the Stax Records sound – that great way with a heavy-stepping groove, instrumentation that's tight yet never slick, and solo moments that burst out and really give the tunes a hell of a lot of personality! The rhythm jumps out of the grooves on numbers like "Honey Pot", "Grab This Thing" and "Philly Dog", and the album winds up with a James Brown medley that's pretty darn swingin too.

Some of the biggest southern soul from the height of the Stax era – and a solid sampler of the breadth of talent at the legendary label! Includes 60s high points from Booker T & The MGs, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd and Otis Redding – plus the later, funk and deeper southern soul 70s infused hits of Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, The Dramatics, Johnny Taylor and more. Includes "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MGs, "Knock On Wood" by Eddie Floyd, "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave, "Mr Big Stuff" by Jean Knight, "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", by Otis Redding, "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers", "Woman To Woman" by Shirley Brown and more. 15 tracks in all.

Two great ones from Memphis! "Hung Over" is a slow funky organ/guitar number that feels like some of the best work ever recorded by Booker T & The MGs! The tune begins slow, chugging along while organ burns and guitar bubbles – and it's got a few great breaks for a "yawn" in the middle! "Late Late Party" is equally great – with guitar kind of scratching out some chromatic riffs in a tasty burning way, drums tinkling along, and a tasty tenor solo blowing in!

A massive amount of classic sample tracks – all funky nuggets pulled from the legendary catalog of Stax Records! The set's the first American set we've ever seen to pay tribute to Stax from this perspective – and alongside a well-chosen batch of tunes, all remastered for the set, the collection also features track-by-track notes that tell the importance and revival of all the tunes within – helping identify later uses of the original grooves, while still showing plenty of respect for the originals! Titles include "Humpin" by The Bar-Kays, "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Ghetto Misfortune's Wealth" by 24 Carat Black, "Why Marry" by Sweet Inspirations, "Melting Pot" by Booker T & The MGs, "Hung Up On My Baby" and "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" by Isaac Hayes, "Get Up & Get Down" by The Dramatics, "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell, "Do The Funky Penguin" by Rufus Thomas, "As Long As I've Got You" by Charmels, "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter, "After The Laughter Comes Tears" by Wendy Rene, and "Packed Up & Took My Mind" by Little Milton.

A surprisingly great album by Booker T – recorded after his Memphis years with The MGs, and his duets with Priscilla – and done in a sweetly mellow style that has Booker emerging as a whole new style of songwriter! As with all the post-MG albums, Booker sings lead vocals on all tracks – in a gently, almost folksy mode that fits beautifully with the compressed production of the set. There's almost a Terry Callier-ish quality to a few of the cuts, and on others, Booker's hitting a cool LA style that's kind of a west coast take on the Memphis vibe – but with a few more rock-based touches. Book plays a bit of organ and some keyboards on the set, and titles include "Jamaica Song", "Mama Stewart", "Flamingo", "Tennessee Voodoo", "Lie To Me", and "Evergreen". CD features lots of bonus tracks too – "Life Is Funky", "Take Me To The River", "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Higher & Higher", "Love Is Strange", and "Evergreen (single version)".

Stax Does The Beatles – and they do a pretty nice job of it too! The collection's a much better one than you might expect from the title and cover – as the grooves here are all pretty darn soulful, and not just simple copycat modes of hits by the Fab Four – but even more importantly, the package features a number of previously unissued tracks from the Stax Records vaults – making it even more essential, even if you have some of the originals! The vibe here is totally great – a real transformation of The Beatles' original ideas – taken into heavier Memphis soul territory, which often gets increasingly righteous during some of the later recordings here. Previously unreleased titles include "Got To Get You Into My Life" by Booker T & The MGs, "Yesterday (live)" by Carla Thomas, "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Bar-Kays, and an alternate take of "Day Tripper" by Otis Redding – plus "Help" by David Porter, "And I Love Her" by Reggie Milner, "Something" by Issac Hayes, "Hey Jude" by The Bar-Kays, "My Sweet Lord" by John Gary Williams, and "Lady Madonna" by Booker T & The MGs.

Stax Does The Beatles – and they do a pretty nice job of it too! The collection's a much better one than you might expect from the title and cover – as the grooves here are all pretty darn soulful, and not just simple copycat modes of hits by the Fab Four – but even more importantly, the package features a number of previously unissued tracks from the Stax Records vaults – making it even more essential, even if you have some of the originals! The vibe here is totally great – a real transformation of The Beatles' original ideas – taken into heavier Memphis soul territory, which often gets increasingly righteous during some of the later recordings here. Previously unreleased titles include "Got To Get You Into My Life" by Booker T & The MGs, "Yesterday (live)" by Carla Thomas, "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Bar-Kays, and an alternate take of "Day Tripper" by Otis Redding – plus "Help" by David Porter, "And I Love Her" by Reggie Milner, "Something" by Issac Hayes, "Hey Jude" by The Bar-Kays, "My Sweet Lord" by John Gary Williams, and "Lady Madonna" by Booker T & The MGs.

The funkiest side of Stax Records – a treasure trove of funky nuggets, all hand-picked by RZA! As the title implies, these are some of the grooves that became the building blocks of the Wu-Tang sound – but even without that pedigree, these tracks are more than great enough on their own – a wonderful mix of album cuts and rare singles – some you'll recognize from famous hip hop samples, some you'll discover here for the first time ever! The triple-length package is overflowing with greatness – and titles include "I Could Never Be Happy" and "I Like It" by The Emotions, "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by The Mad Lads and another "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" by William Bell, "Children Don't Get Weary" by Judy Clay, "All It Takes Is You & Me" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Poverty's Paradise" by 24 Carat Black, "I'll Play The Blues For You" by Albert King, "Why Marry" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Steal Away" by Johnnie Taylor, "Hang On Sloopy" by David Porter, "Ike's Mood 1" by Isaac Hayes, "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, "Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness" by The Soul Children, "Packed & Took My Mind" by Little Milton, "Sing A Simple Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter, "LA Jazz Song" by Booker T & The MGs, "Walk On By" by Isaac Hayes, and "Keep The Faith" by Mel & Tim.