Booker T. & The MG's - Hip-Hug Her

ORIGINATION 7"
LAST LISTENED TO a few days ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT fair, rising
RATING

The classic line up of one of the most important soul groups ever. As house band for Stax records, they backed up almost everyone on the label, including most notably Otis Redding. As writers, organist Booker T Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper wrote or co-wrote some of the biggest soul hits of the '60s.

On their own records, they were something special too. Admittedly, there were times when they drifted into hammond-a-go-go cover territory, but even here they were cream of the crop. Indeed, a case could even be made for them haven started the whole thing off but that would be a little unfair on them.

Hip-Hug Her was recorded in 1967, at a time that many consider to be them at the height of their powers. It has a huge, bass-driven groove that is liberally sprinkled that starts with some very big hammond chords from Jones, before he takes fills the first half of the tune with a funky solo. In behind, Cropper cranks out the same chords, with a guitar sound that is rougher than his usual. For a short period in the middle, the roles are reversed with Cropper soloing, before the guys head back into the melody. Naturally, just before the end Jones and Cropper take time to squeeze in another short solo each, before it sadly fades.

This is without doubt the biggest, fattest groove that Booker T. & The MG's (bad punctuation and all) ever recorded. So a final mention must be made to the guys who really built it; Al Jackson, Jr. on drums (reputed to be more accurate than a drum machine!) and Donald 'Duck' Dunn on bass (soon to be owner of a ludicrous 'tache).

Booker T. & The MG's - Outrage

ORIGINATION 45
LAST LISTENED TO a few hours ago
CHANCE OF WAKING TO IT high
RATING

This is one of my least favourite of all the Booker T. & The MG's songs. That's not to say that i dislike it, however. Actually, listening to it is making me like it more. It's quite catchy in a slightly irritating fashion and there is something very insistent about the organ, in a way that is rather unlike other of their recordings. In fact upon close inspection, it doesn't really sound like Booker T's organ playing. This does lead me to suspect that this is one of the tracks that Booker T himself does not appear on.

'Eh?' you may exclaim. 'A Booker T track without him on it? Surely not.' Surely yes, i'm afraid.

What is not very well noted is that other people would often stand in for Booker T during recordings, including Isaac Hayes amongst others. This was because from around the time of their big hit with Green Onions, Booker T was attending university. Inspection of the label would seem to agree with this hypothesis, sporting as it does no writing credit for (Booker T) Jones. Instead there is one Mr. Allen.

And that's about as much thinking as i can be bothered with on a Sunday morning. If you want to figure out who this Mr. Allen is, go look. I feel i should know but, as noted, i'm now done with thinking.

Outrage is not a bad little piece of instrumental soul. It's just not really Booker T. & The MG's.

I'd also note that i have a version of this by Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames which manages to considerably up the irritation factor. Not that that is much of a surprise with Mr. Fame.