GREEN ONIONS

Released in 1962, the first full-length album by Booker T. & the MG's, GREEN ONIONS, revolves around the classic, slow-burning, organ-led instrumental title track. It's impossible to overstate the importance and impact of this, the band's biggest chart hit, which oozes smokey cool as Steve Cropper's strangled guitar cries and Booker T.'s terse keyboard bursts criss-cross over a framework that prefigures everything from funk to dub. Al Jackson and Lewis Steinberg keep the rhythm firmly in the pocket here and on covers such as "I Got a Woman" and the chill, down-tempo blues of Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore". Together, the MG's (short for Memphis Group) developed a collective groove that would prove crucial to the development of '60s soul.

Art of Rhino's thorough DEFINITIVE SOUL series of single-artist R&B anthologies, this is a 30-track retrospective covering the entire career of one of soul music's most important instrumental acts, Booker T. and the MG's. From their smashhit single "Green Onions" through beloved fan favourites like "Jellybread" and "Hip Hug-Her", the combination of organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, and drummer Al Jackson, Jr., defined 1960s soul in general and the sound of Stax Records in particular. (As the Stax house band, Booker T. and the MG's backed nearly every singer on the roster.) Of particular note are the groovy psychedelic soul tracks near the set's end, particularly their outstanding version of "Something" from 1970's McLEMORE AVENUE, their soul-jazz tribute to the Beatles' ABBEY ROAD.

Very Best of Booker T & The Mg's

Perhaps not as revered as the soul singers they often played behind, Memphis legends Booker T. & the M.G.’s were a hit-making machine, and this 20-track retrospective makes it clear just how tight, soulful, and occasionally rocking they were. Highlights include their Top Ten hit “Time is Tight” and a strange but entertaining version of “Eleanor Rigby”, “Green Onions”, “Hip Hug Her” and many others.

Stax/Volt Revue - Live in Norway 1967 marks the first-ever official release of this historic concert. Considered by soul music fans to be one of the greatest line ups of artists ever to grace the concert stage, this DVD features stunning performances by Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley, The Mar-Keys and the legendary Booker T. & The MG’s.

This DVD captures the April 7, 1967 concert in Oslo, Norway near the end of the three-week tour, when all the artists were at their very peak. Tracks include Otis Redding  Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song), Try A Little Tenderness. Sam and Dave
You Don't Know Like I Know, Hold On! I'm Comin', Booker T and the Mgs Red Beans And Rice, Green Onions and many more.

The 75-minute concert was restored from the original master tapes and includes 20 minutes of recently discovered performances lost in the vaults for 40 years.

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Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records

Walk the halls of the famous studio that produced hits for Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, and Booker T. and the MGs. Soulsville, U.S.A. provides the first history of the groundbreaking label along with compelling biographies of the promoters, producers, and performers who made and sold the music. Over 45 photos.