1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #32. Booker T. & the M.G.s - Green Onions (1962)

Booker T. & the M.G.s - Green Onions (1962)
Label - Stax
Producer – Jim Stewart
Art Direction – Haig Adishian
Nationality - USA
Running Time – 34:55

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Green Onions
2. Rinky Dink
3. I Got A Woman
4. Mo' Onions
5. Twist And Shout
6. Behave Yourself
7. Stranger On The Shore
8. Lonely Avenue
9. One Who Really Loves You
10. You Can't Sit Down
11. Woman A Lover A Friend
12. Comin' Home Baby

I will admit – other than the track ‘Green Onions’ I was not familiar with any of the work of Booker T and the M.G.’s , nor familiar with any of the band members. After looking them up – I stand corrected. Turns out they were the house band at Stax Records in Memphis. Booker T Jones and Steve Cropper were the anchors and they can be heard on classic hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Albert King, and Sam & Dave, just to name a few examples. That alone would be enough of a resume, but on their own they were one of if not THE top instrumental outfits of the rock era, cutting classics like "Green Onions" – their first and biggest hit. So much so they’d have trouble recapturing its commercial success. That track kicks off this album – and the same can be said for this album as their career. “Green Onions” is a GREAT song – but they never capture that groove or feel again for the rest of the record.
For me personally, the organ sound in each song is just too much – even though at 35 minutes the record is pretty short – and mid way through I was really ready to stop it playing. Which is a shame. The second best track – “Mo’ Onions” – is simply that, more of “Green Onions”!! There is a cover of Smokey Robinson's "One Who Really Loves You," with a very nice lead performance by Jones on organ and Cropper’s guitar handling the choruses that was very nice, but the album is just to much filler around one great track.
Not recommended.