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{{Bibliography header}}
{{Bibliography index}}
{{:Elvis on index}}
{{:Liner notes index}}
{{Bibliography article header}}
<center><h3> Booker T. & the MG's </h3></center>
----
<center>Elvis Costello</center>
----
''' Stax Profiles
{{Bibliography text}}
Any fan of this marvelous combo is going to have a sequence in which their favorite tracks might play on an imaginary jukebox.


Stax Profiles
I have chosen to start out with "Time Is Tight" because I think it shows the group at the peak of
Booker T. & the MG's  
their powers. [[Booker T. Jones]]'s slow and soulful opening statement and [[Steve Cropper]]'s spare reply seem almost to contradict everything we expect from the Memphis Group. Have no fear, the groove is coming and when it arrives it is mighty.


Original Release Date: April 25, 2006
The next six cuts are the kind of records that belong in a dancehall or the most happening party. Dig the crazy organ tone that bites into "Burnt Biscuits." I can't hear any Steve Cropper on that one but you can't miss him on "Jellybread," another of the sides from the menu the band were reading off after the success of "Green Onions."


Any fan of this marvelous combo is going to have a sequence in
This is a group discovering their sound. The guitarist enters at the very back of the first bar in his solo and plays it pretty straight for the first twelve bars but in the next twelve he quite simply defines the "Cropper style"—all wiry, unexpected, and spare. This would be just another straight-ahead blues if it weren't for that hip "baritone sax" figure that kicks into the "one." I've tried to work out who is playing what and my best guess is that it's the sound of Al
which their favorite tracks might play on an imaginary
Jackson, Jr.'s kick drum and Booker T.'s left hand on the low organ keys, although original MGs bassist Lewie Steinberg might be helping out.
jukebox.


I have chosen to start out with “Time Is Tight”
"Chinese Checkers" is more laid-back but totally irresistible. It features Booker T. on a half-broken electric piano and has a cool spoken interjection from Al Jackson, Jr. It also shows the group in their role as the Stax "house band," working with the horns of the Mar-Keys. Booker T. wrote the chart and even joinsthem on trombone.
because I think it shows the group at the peak of
their powers. Booker T. Jones’s slow and soulful
opening statement and Steve Cropper’s spare reply seem
almost to contradict everything we expect from the
Memphis Group. Have no fear, the groove is coming and
when it arrives it is mighty.


The next six cuts are the kind of records that belong
When putting this record together I knew I had to include "Boot-Leg." It was the moment when Duck Dunn joined the group on bass and created the lineup that most people associate as "Booker T. & the MGs." However, when I checked the credits I found out that Booker T. didn't even appear on that session, his place at the keyboards being taken by Isaac Hayes. My son, Matt, had the solution: the inclusion of this furious excerpt from the Stax Revue Live at the 5/4 Ballroom. Once again the MGs are the "house band" and on this version of "Boot-Leg," Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn sound as if they are going to blow up their amps.
in a dancehall or the most happening party. Dig the
crazy organ tone that bites into “Burnt Biscuits.” I
can’t hear any Steve Cropper on that one but you can’t
miss him on “Jellybread,” another of the sides from
the menu the band were reading off after the success
of “Green Onions.”


This is a group discovering their sound. The guitarist
That voice you hear is the Dj Magnificent Montague, and his cry of "Burn," from the catchphrase "burn,baby, burn," was seen as too provocative after the Watts riots and so the concert stayed in the can for many years.
enters at the very back of the first bar in his solo
and plays it pretty straight for the first twelve bars
but in the next twelve he quite simply defines the
“Cropper style”—all wiry, unexpected, and spare.
This would be just another straight-ahead blues if it
weren’t for that hip “baritone sax” figure that kicks
into the “one.” I’ve tried to work out who is playing
what and my best guess is that it’s the sound of Al
Jackson, Jr.’s kick drum and Booker T.’s left hand on
the low organ keys, although original MGs bassist
Lewie Steinberg might be helping out.


“Chinese Checkers” is more laid-back but totally
By the time we get to "Heads or Tails" and "Hip Hug-Her," we are hearing a group with an almost supernatural understanding. "Heads or Tails" sometimes gets overlooked but it's an absolutely effortless gem. I've never been able to understand how anything so simple and perfect as "Hip Hug-Her" can still sound so avant-garde and beautifully weird.
irresistible. It features Booker T. on a half-broken
electric piano and has a cool spoken interjection from
Al Jackson, Jr. It also shows the group in their role
as the Stax “house band,” working with the horns of
the Mar-Keys. Booker T. wrote the chart and even joins
them on trombone.


When putting this record together I knew I had to
Musicians this talented couldn't stand still even with a winning formula. The second half of this collection shows what they did about it. Subtle changes in the sonic picture give us the more open sound of "Lady Madonna." It starts out as a literal instrumental statement of the famous McCartney melody but then the track turns into something uniquely MGs. Check out howBooker T. and Cropper make space for each other. The trade-off in fade is just about perfect.
include “Boot-Leg.” It was the moment when Duck Dunn
lamed the group on bass and created the lineup that
most people associate as “Booker T. & the MGs.”


However, when I checked the credits I found out that
Having based almost everything on rhythm, blues, and groove, the group now went in two directions at the same time: into the freedom and open-ended forms such as the ominous, piano-led "Over Easy," and by showing what they could do with tight and more musically complex songs.
Booker T. didn’t even appear on that session, his
place at the keyboards being taken by Isaac Hayes.
My son, Matt, had the solution: the inclusion of this
furious excerpt from the Stax Revue Live at the 5/4
Ballroom. Once again the MGs are the “house band” and
on this version of “Boot-Leg,” Steve Cropper and Duck
Dunn sound as if they are going to blow up their amps.


That voice you hear is the Dj Magnificent Montague,
"Hang ‘Em High" is in the tradition of the musical combo reinterpreting the movie theme that gave us Roland Alphonso's Skatalites version of "The Guns of Navarone." Booker T.'s mock-noble sounding organ catches the Western drama of the theme while the rhythm section lay down an entirely new kind of feel.But the blues is never far away and my favorite moments on the record are those last few spiky interjections from Steve Cropper.
and his cry of “Burn,” from the catchphrase “burn,
baby, burn,” was seen as too provocative after the
Wafts riots and so the concert stayed in the can for
many years.


By the time we get to “Heads or Tails” and “Hip
In the midst of these changes, there was still a place for a deadly groove and they don't come any better than "Soul Clap ‘69," a track that seems to have found real favor only in England.
Hug-Her,” we are hearing a group with an almost
supernatural understanding. “Heads or Tails” sometimes
gets overlooked but it’s an absolutely effortless gem.
I’ve never been able to understand how anything so
simple and perfect as “Hip Hug-Her” can still sound so
avant-garde and beautifully weird.


Musicians this talented couldn’t stand still even with
If the city fathers of Memphis ever get around to doing the right thing they will erect a "Golden Statue of the Groove" to Al Jackson, Jr. He was not only the perfect motor of so many Stax sides, but on this track you can hear him lay down the blueprint for all his incredible work on the Hi Records hits made by Willie Mitchell and [[Al Green]], not to mention throwing in a little "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" era Motown on the tambourine part.
a winning formula. The second half of this collection
shows what they did about it. Subtle changes in the
sonic picture give us the more open sound of “Lady
Madonna.” It starts out as a literal instrumental
statement of the famous McCartney melody but then the
track turns into something uniquely MGs. Check out how
Booker T. and Cropper make space for each other. The
trade-off in fade is just about perfect.


Having based almost everything on rhythm, blues, and
Not that the drummer completely steals the show. Times had changed and Steve Cropper is heard using a wah-wah pedal and playing in a mellow style that predicts the fade of [[the Beatles]]' "Come Together." This is all the more curious because the next song comes from the group's later instrumental reinterpretation of Abbey Road, which took its name from the Stax address, McLemore Avenue, and featured a parody of the Beatles' cover.
groove, the group now went in two directions at the
same time: into the freedom and open-ended forms such
as the ominous, piano-led “Over Easy,” and by showing
what they could do with tight and more musically
complex songs.


“Hang ‘Em High” is in the tradition of the musical
Even as a fan I had previously thought that McLemore Avenue was a bit of mad idea but I am grateful for this opportunity to completely revise that view. "Something" leads off with Booker T.'s fairly faithful statement of the vocal melody but as the tracks moves through one of their most complex arrangements, there are subtle reharmonizations that make the song their property until they land on a groove that seems to belong 500 miles south of Stax in New Orleans. Steve Cropper then takes off into one of his most expansive and remarkable solos, trading with Booker T. until the end.
combo reinterpreting the movie theme that gave us
Roland Alphonso’s Skatalites version of “The Guns of
Navarone.” Booker T.’s mock-noble sounding organ
catches the Western drama of the theme while the
rhythm section lay down an entirely new kind of feel.
But the blues is never far away and my favorite
moments on the record are those last few spiky
interjections from Steve Cropper.


In the midst of these changes, there was still a place
There is nowhere to go after that but to church and "Sunday Sermon" must be one of the MGs' most underrated cuts. Booker T.'s gospel piano lays beautifully on Al Jackson, Jr.'s deep backbeat and glides over the bass foundation from Duck Dunn. Unsurprisingly, Steve Cropper's contributions are the definition of economy.
for a deadly groove and they don’t come any better
than “Soul Clap ‘69,” a track that seems to have found
real favor only in England.


If the city fathers of Memphis ever get around to
Before getting too sanctified, we go back to the 5/4 Ballroom once more for a version of the MGs' signature tune, "Green Onions." If you think you know this song or have heard it too many times, this should be the tonic you need. The entire group completely tear it up. Booker T. is using a Hammond tone that should be X-rated and this is some of Steve Cropper's wildest playing, while Al and Duck lust keep stepping up the tension.
doing the right thing they will erect a “Golden Statue
of the Groove” to Al Jackson, jr. He was not only the
perfect motor of so many Stax sides, but on this track
you can hear him lay down the blueprint for all his
incredible work on the Hi Records hits made by Willie
Mitchell and Al Green, not
to mention throwing in a little “I Heard It Through
the Grapevine”—era Motown on the tambourine part.


Not that the drummer completely steals the show. Times
Grooves like this will last forever and just to remind us, I've closed things out with another beaut that occasionally slips by people, called "Fuquawi."Imagine it playing as the credits roll and we consider for a moment all the indelible records on which this unique group played; not just those credited to "Booker T. & the MGs" but all the fire and swing they lent to so many Stax vocal records. Give praise and give thanks.
had changed and Steve Cropper is heard using a wah-wah
pedal and playing in a mellow style that predicts the
fade of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” This is all the
more curious because the next song comes from the
group’s later instrumental reinterpretation of Abbey
Road, which took its name from the Stax address,
McLemore Avenue, and featured a parody of the Beatles’
cover.


Even as a fan I had previously thought that McLemore
I've had a ball putting this record together and I hope that you have a fine time listening to it.
Avenue was a bit of mad idea but I am grateful for
this opportunity to completely revise that view.
“Something” leads off with Booker T.’s fairly faithful
statement of the vocal melody but as the tracks moves
through one of their most complex arrangements, there
are subtle reharmonizations that make the song their
property until they land on a groove that seems to
belong 500 miles south of Stax in New Orleans. Steve
Cropper then takes off into one of his most expansive
and remarkable solos, trading with Booker T. until the
end.


There is nowhere to go after that but to church and
Elvis Costello <br> August 2005
“Sunday Sermon” must be one of the MGs’ most
underrated cuts. Booker T.’s gospel piano lays
beautifully on Al Jackson, Jr.’s deep backbeat and
glides over the bass foundation from Duck Dunn.
Unsurprisingly, Steve Cropper’s contributions are the
definition of economy.


Before getting too sanctified, we go back to the 5/4
Ballroom once more for a version of the MGs’ signature
tune, “Green Onions.” If you think you know this song
or have heard it too many times, this should be the
tonic you need. The entire group completely tear it
up. Booker T. is using a Hammond tone that should be
X-rated and this is some of Steve Cropper’s wildest
playing, while Al and Duck lust keep stepping up the
tension.


Grooves like this will last forever and just to remind
{{cx}}
us, I’ve closed things out with another beaut that
occasionally slips by people, called “Fuquawi.”


Imagine it playing as the credits roll and we consider
{{Bibliography notes header}}
for a moment all the indelible records on which this
unique group played; not just those credited to
“Booker T. & the MGs” but all the fire and swing they
lent to so many Stax vocal records. Give praise and
give thanks. .


I’ve had a ball putting this record together and I
{{Bibliography notes}}
hope that you have a fine time
'''Booker T. & the M.G.'s liner notes
listening to it.
----
Elvis Costello's liner notes for [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]] ''Stax Profiles''.


Elvis Costello
{{Bibliography images}}


August 2005
[[image:Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles album cover.jpg|x100px]]
[[image:Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles back cover.jpg|x100px]]
[[image:Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles disc.jpg|x100px|border]]
<br><small>CD artwork.</small>


<br><br>
{{Bibliography box}}
<center><h3> CD compilation by <br> Elvis Costello  </h3></center>
----
{{Bibliography text}}


[[Category: Liner Notes]]
Elvis Costello was a teenager when Booker T. & the MGs began hitting the British charts with their deceptively simple R&B instrumentals. The Memphis quartet's most successful single in the U.K. was 1969's "Time Is Tight," with which Costello leads off this personal 15-track selection. Besides that tune and such other signature songs as "Hip Hug-Her," "Hang 'Em High," "Green Onions," and "Boot-Leg" (the latter two presented here in live versions), the singer has picked numerous lesser-known nuggets. In his booklet notes, Costello offers insightful commentary on each performance. He observes, for instance, that on "Soul Clap '69" (a hit in the U.K. only) Steve Cropper's mellow guitar playing predicted the fade of the Beatles' "Come Together" and drummer Al Jackson, Jr.'s beat was a blueprint for his later work with Al Green. Booker T. & the MGs were clearly ahead of their time, and their music remains utterly timeless.
 
{{cx}}
{{cx}}
 
{{Bibliography notes footer}}
 
{{Bibliography footer}}
 
==External links==
*{{amazon|asin=B000ERU8G0}}
*[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5152 Elvis Costello Fan Forum]
 
[[Category:Bibliography]]
[[Category:Bibliography 2006]]
[[Category:Liner notes|_2006]]
[[Category:Elvis writes]]

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Booker T. & the MG's

Elvis Costello

Stax Profiles

Any fan of this marvelous combo is going to have a sequence in which their favorite tracks might play on an imaginary jukebox.

I have chosen to start out with "Time Is Tight" because I think it shows the group at the peak of their powers. Booker T. Jones's slow and soulful opening statement and Steve Cropper's spare reply seem almost to contradict everything we expect from the Memphis Group. Have no fear, the groove is coming and when it arrives it is mighty.

The next six cuts are the kind of records that belong in a dancehall or the most happening party. Dig the crazy organ tone that bites into "Burnt Biscuits." I can't hear any Steve Cropper on that one but you can't miss him on "Jellybread," another of the sides from the menu the band were reading off after the success of "Green Onions."

This is a group discovering their sound. The guitarist enters at the very back of the first bar in his solo and plays it pretty straight for the first twelve bars but in the next twelve he quite simply defines the "Cropper style"—all wiry, unexpected, and spare. This would be just another straight-ahead blues if it weren't for that hip "baritone sax" figure that kicks into the "one." I've tried to work out who is playing what and my best guess is that it's the sound of Al Jackson, Jr.'s kick drum and Booker T.'s left hand on the low organ keys, although original MGs bassist Lewie Steinberg might be helping out.

"Chinese Checkers" is more laid-back but totally irresistible. It features Booker T. on a half-broken electric piano and has a cool spoken interjection from Al Jackson, Jr. It also shows the group in their role as the Stax "house band," working with the horns of the Mar-Keys. Booker T. wrote the chart and even joinsthem on trombone.

When putting this record together I knew I had to include "Boot-Leg." It was the moment when Duck Dunn joined the group on bass and created the lineup that most people associate as "Booker T. & the MGs." However, when I checked the credits I found out that Booker T. didn't even appear on that session, his place at the keyboards being taken by Isaac Hayes. My son, Matt, had the solution: the inclusion of this furious excerpt from the Stax Revue Live at the 5/4 Ballroom. Once again the MGs are the "house band" and on this version of "Boot-Leg," Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn sound as if they are going to blow up their amps.

That voice you hear is the Dj Magnificent Montague, and his cry of "Burn," from the catchphrase "burn,baby, burn," was seen as too provocative after the Watts riots and so the concert stayed in the can for many years.

By the time we get to "Heads or Tails" and "Hip Hug-Her," we are hearing a group with an almost supernatural understanding. "Heads or Tails" sometimes gets overlooked but it's an absolutely effortless gem. I've never been able to understand how anything so simple and perfect as "Hip Hug-Her" can still sound so avant-garde and beautifully weird.

Musicians this talented couldn't stand still even with a winning formula. The second half of this collection shows what they did about it. Subtle changes in the sonic picture give us the more open sound of "Lady Madonna." It starts out as a literal instrumental statement of the famous McCartney melody but then the track turns into something uniquely MGs. Check out howBooker T. and Cropper make space for each other. The trade-off in fade is just about perfect.

Having based almost everything on rhythm, blues, and groove, the group now went in two directions at the same time: into the freedom and open-ended forms such as the ominous, piano-led "Over Easy," and by showing what they could do with tight and more musically complex songs.

"Hang ‘Em High" is in the tradition of the musical combo reinterpreting the movie theme that gave us Roland Alphonso's Skatalites version of "The Guns of Navarone." Booker T.'s mock-noble sounding organ catches the Western drama of the theme while the rhythm section lay down an entirely new kind of feel.But the blues is never far away and my favorite moments on the record are those last few spiky interjections from Steve Cropper.

In the midst of these changes, there was still a place for a deadly groove and they don't come any better than "Soul Clap ‘69," a track that seems to have found real favor only in England.

If the city fathers of Memphis ever get around to doing the right thing they will erect a "Golden Statue of the Groove" to Al Jackson, Jr. He was not only the perfect motor of so many Stax sides, but on this track you can hear him lay down the blueprint for all his incredible work on the Hi Records hits made by Willie Mitchell and Al Green, not to mention throwing in a little "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" era Motown on the tambourine part.

Not that the drummer completely steals the show. Times had changed and Steve Cropper is heard using a wah-wah pedal and playing in a mellow style that predicts the fade of the Beatles' "Come Together." This is all the more curious because the next song comes from the group's later instrumental reinterpretation of Abbey Road, which took its name from the Stax address, McLemore Avenue, and featured a parody of the Beatles' cover.

Even as a fan I had previously thought that McLemore Avenue was a bit of mad idea but I am grateful for this opportunity to completely revise that view. "Something" leads off with Booker T.'s fairly faithful statement of the vocal melody but as the tracks moves through one of their most complex arrangements, there are subtle reharmonizations that make the song their property until they land on a groove that seems to belong 500 miles south of Stax in New Orleans. Steve Cropper then takes off into one of his most expansive and remarkable solos, trading with Booker T. until the end.

There is nowhere to go after that but to church and "Sunday Sermon" must be one of the MGs' most underrated cuts. Booker T.'s gospel piano lays beautifully on Al Jackson, Jr.'s deep backbeat and glides over the bass foundation from Duck Dunn. Unsurprisingly, Steve Cropper's contributions are the definition of economy.

Before getting too sanctified, we go back to the 5/4 Ballroom once more for a version of the MGs' signature tune, "Green Onions." If you think you know this song or have heard it too many times, this should be the tonic you need. The entire group completely tear it up. Booker T. is using a Hammond tone that should be X-rated and this is some of Steve Cropper's wildest playing, while Al and Duck lust keep stepping up the tension.

Grooves like this will last forever and just to remind us, I've closed things out with another beaut that occasionally slips by people, called "Fuquawi."Imagine it playing as the credits roll and we consider for a moment all the indelible records on which this unique group played; not just those credited to "Booker T. & the MGs" but all the fire and swing they lent to so many Stax vocal records. Give praise and give thanks.

I've had a ball putting this record together and I hope that you have a fine time listening to it.

Elvis Costello
August 2005


-

Booker T. & the M.G.'s liner notes

Elvis Costello's liner notes for Booker T. & the M.G.'s Stax Profiles.

Images

Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles album cover.jpg Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles back cover.jpg Booker T. & the MG's Stax Profiles disc.jpg
CD artwork.



CD compilation by
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello was a teenager when Booker T. & the MGs began hitting the British charts with their deceptively simple R&B instrumentals. The Memphis quartet's most successful single in the U.K. was 1969's "Time Is Tight," with which Costello leads off this personal 15-track selection. Besides that tune and such other signature songs as "Hip Hug-Her," "Hang 'Em High," "Green Onions," and "Boot-Leg" (the latter two presented here in live versions), the singer has picked numerous lesser-known nuggets. In his booklet notes, Costello offers insightful commentary on each performance. He observes, for instance, that on "Soul Clap '69" (a hit in the U.K. only) Steve Cropper's mellow guitar playing predicted the fade of the Beatles' "Come Together" and drummer Al Jackson, Jr.'s beat was a blueprint for his later work with Al Green. Booker T. & the MGs were clearly ahead of their time, and their music remains utterly timeless.

-


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