Time Is Tight [Box set]

Amazon.com
Almost an accidental ensemble, Booker T. & the MGs came together for a functional reason--to play as the house band for Memphis's Stax Records. But organist Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper found alchemy, transforming rhythm-section riffing into an art, slicing through air where listeners expected vocals and doing so with tremendous success on their first single, "Green Onions," which was later featured on the American Graffiti soundtrack. This three-CD set captures the quartet's core in plentiful doses, leading off with their 1961 first salvo and cruising through numerous attempts at remaking the soulful classic. But in tinkering with the "Green Onions" formula, the band found dozens of instrumental variations, much like later, all-instrumental genre straddlers like Medeski Martin & Wood. They also found countless hours of work, backing some of Memphis soul's most revered artists (think Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett) and defining a backbone sound of organ and guitar layered over the increasingly vital rhythms of bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn and original drummer Al Jackson. They played expansive minor-key soul, as "Ode to Billie Joe" and many other tunes here attest, and later in the 1960s went on to churn out charting hits and great albums alike. The second CD in this set captures some great moments, especially the segments from McLemore Avenue, the quartet's all-instrumental tune-for-tune riposte to Abbey Road. Later in the set you get Albert King on vocals for a gritty "Born Under a Bad Sign" and then Boz Scaggs and Neil Young fronting the quartet (with Steve Potts or Jim Keltner drumming in place of the long-ago murdered Jackson). This collection will leave you wanting more. --Andrew Bartlett

Time Is Tight,Booker T. & the MG's,Stax,Box Sets (Audio Only),Instrumental Rock,Oldies,Pop,Pop/Rock,R&B,Soul,Soul/Reggae/Rhythm & Blues,Southern Soul

Average customer rating:

ONE ***H-U-G-E*** FLAW!!!
Outstanding!
Timeless
The best from the Best
Instrumental fans enjoy

Time Is Tight
Booker T. & the MG's
Manufacturer: Stax
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Stax Instrumentals
Melting Pot
Green Onions
McLemore Avenue
Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story Of Stax Records

ASIN: B00000C2PD
Release Date: 1998-10-20

Tracks:

Green Onions
Behave Yourself
Jellybread
Home Grown
Burnt Biscuits
Chinese
Mo' Onions
Tic-Tac-Toe
Fannie Mae
Soul Dressing
Can't Be Still
Boot-Leg
Outrage
Be My Lady
My Sweet Potato
Hip Hug-Her
Summertime
Slim Jenkins' Place
Groovin'
Soul Sanctions
Pigmy
Booker's Notion
I Can Dig It
Expressway
You Don't Love Me
Never My Love
Blue On Green
Ode To Billie Joe

Tracks:

Soul Limbo
Heads Or Tails
Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy
Hang 'Em High
Willow Weep For Me
Over Easy
Time Is tight
Jonny, I Love
Lady Madonna
Mrs. Robinson
Soul Clap '69
I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)
You're All I Need To Get By
It's Your Thing
Something
Sunday Sermon
McLemore Avenue
Medley: Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene/Pam/Sha Came In Through The Bathroom Window/......
Chicken Pox
Melting Pot

Tracks:

Gotta Serve Somebody
Lay Lady Lay
MG Party
Terrible Thing
Hole In The Wall
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
Booker's Theme
Alberts Rap
Born Under A Bad Sign
Medley: I'm With You/I Don't Mind/Oh, Baby Don't You Weep
Mediation
Green Onions
Sarasota Sunset
I've Been Loving you Too Long (To Stop Now)
Hang 'Em High
Time Is Tight
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of Bay

Amazon.com

Almost an accidental ensemble, Booker T. & the MGs came together for a functional reason--to play as the house band for Memphis's Stax Records. But organist Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper found alchemy, transforming rhythm-section riffing into an art, slicing through air where listeners expected vocals and doing so with tremendous success on their first single, "Green Onions," which was later featured on the American Graffiti soundtrack. This three-CD set captures the quartet's core in plentiful doses, leading off with their 1961 first salvo and cruising through numerous attempts at remaking the soulful classic. But in tinkering with the "Green Onions" formula, the band found dozens of instrumental variations, much like later, all-instrumental genre straddlers like Medeski Martin & Wood. They also found countless hours of work, backing some of Memphis soul's most revered artists (think Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett) and defining a backbone sound of organ and guitar layered over the increasingly vital rhythms of bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn and original drummer Al Jackson. They played expansive minor-key soul, as "Ode to Billie Joe" and many other tunes here attest, and later in the 1960s went on to churn out charting hits and great albums alike. The second CD in this set captures some great moments, especially the segments from McLemore Avenue, the quartet's all-instrumental tune-for-tune riposte to Abbey Road. Later in the set you get Albert King on vocals for a gritty "Born Under a Bad Sign" and then Boz Scaggs and Neil Young fronting the quartet (with Steve Potts or Jim Keltner drumming in place of the long-ago murdered Jackson). This collection will leave you wanting more. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

ONE ***H-U-G-E*** FLAW!!!.......2004-08-16

If you're a serious Booker T & the MGs fan you'll probably want to get this set BUT, because of ONE HUGE FLAW, it stands FAR from being definitive; THE TITLE TRACK IS THE WRONG TAKE!!! I cannot imagine how this could have happened. (And I can scarcely believe that I don't see this glaring flaw mentioned in any of the other reviews!) The bass line ---arguably the most definitive element of the song--- is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, which makes it interesting from an oddities/rarities perspective, but... "Time Is Tight" is one of my favorite cuts from this band and one of the main reasons I bought this set. I'm a professional bassist and it's one of the first songs I learned to play, one of the songs that played a significant role in my most formative years; I know it intimately. What a HUGE let-down it was when I discovered that the famous version of the song was not included and, after dropping fifty bucks, I still had to go out and buy "The Very Best Of..." to scratch the itch! And, while I'm a it... I have a compilation from the late '60s that has many cuts missing from this set. I'd much prefer to have some of those, rather than the 'live stuff. So, in summary; Hard-core fans only... Those willing to buy additional CDs to fill out the collection.

Outstanding!.......2002-08-05

I had the Greatest Hits and Melting Pot albums way back when vinyl was king, and I decided to revisit the past and putchase this set as well as Melting Pot (the downloaded mp3's were just enough to get me hooked again). I wasn't disappointed. It's great from beginning to end, and the live version of Hang em High is fantastic. My only complaint is that the studio version of Time is Tight isn't the same one as on my old LP. No matter, it's all good. The book that comes with it is great for Booker T fanatics, packed with lots of history. A little pricey, but worth it

Timeless.......2002-04-01

The greatest drummer who ever lived, Al Jackson, Jr., the coolest, most persuasive bass player in the world, Donald "Duck" Dunn, the absolute superior guitar playing of the one and only Steve Cropper, and the special genius of organ/piano man and all round musical prodigy, Booker T. Jones made up a virtual "dream team" of music. Besides laying down perfectly tight, unbelievably soulful backdrops for some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, they recorded some of the best music ever made and in instrumental form to boot. This is a great box set. You get the hits from "Green Onions" to "Hip Hug-Her" to "Hang 'Em High" to the amazing "Melting Pot". You get great rarities like "Hole In the Wall" (originally released in '65 under the moniker The Packers), and the beautiful, superb "Meditation" (a Booker T. Jones masterpiece, as brilliant as anything ever done from Mozart to McCartney). And you hear the band's versatility on their remarkable range of covers. I wouldn't do much editing; however, I would replace a good bit of the pre-Dunn era material, except a few, like the great "Soul Dressing", with later outings. And one could argue that the entire Melting Pot album, along with the entire McLemore Avenue album merit greatest hits status. Also, soul fans will no doubt cringe at the sound of Neil Young whining his way through the Cropper penned "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay". Why this was picked to finish the collection, still baffles me. All and all, though, a fine showcase for the greatest band of all time.

The best from the Best.......2001-07-31

I have grown up listening to Booker T and the MG's. My brother brought back a huge stereo from Thailand in the 60's (Vietnam War) with a collection of awesome soul records including Booker T. The sound from that stereo and the soul music pumping out of those speakers were about as close to heaven as a 6 year old could get. In 1967 I became a gigantic Booker T and the MG's fan and have been ever since. I own all the originals on LP's and have since collected them all on CD's. I thought I had heard it all available from them but this box collection proved I hadn't. It spans many years and has B-Sides from 45's which I don't have and live cuts as well. The box set is the best start or compliment to your existing great Booker T and or Stax/Memphis Soul collection.

Instrumental fans enjoy.......2001-02-18

I would actually give this set 4.5 stars. I have been waiting for a comprehensive collection from this band for a long time. The only reason I am not giving it five stars is the live cuts at the end of disc 3 with the exception of the Albert King numbers, are unnecessary. Especially since studio versions of some of these songs are already on the set. These songs are from the period after the band reformed WITHOUT Al Jackson, Jr. on drums. If live versions were selected they could have been chosen from the classic period. Rob Bowman and Bill Belmont would have been better served to add more studio rarites, either non-lp sides or unissued tracks. Ace currently has an excellent import cd entitled "Play The Hip Hits" which includes unissued and rare cover versions from their classic period only one of which "Fannie Mae" appears on this set. The liner notes inside that cd state that there are also unissued cuts written by the band still in the vaults. This being said "Time Is Tight" is an great box set. I have many box sets and I play this one more than most. I like the fact that the first disc concentrates on the period when the band was distributed by Atlantic. The second disc starts after this distribution deal had ended. The discs themselves contain most of their "hits" along with familiar covers and cool album tracks. However "Booker-Loo" & "Red Beans & Rice" were omitted from the "Greatest Hits" cd. These discs illustrate what a tight band that the MGs were. Steve Cropper is an excellent but underrated guitarist. Al Jackson Jr. is a steady and funky drummer. Donald "Duck" Dunn is an inventive bass player while Booker T. Jones is equally adept at organ or piano. It is easy to see why these musicians were/are in such demand to back their more famous contemporaries. In summary if you are a fan of instrumental music or funk/soul this is an essential purchase. It is also great music to play in the car while cruising.

Average customer rating:

Everything Is New
Michael London
Manufacturer: Michael London
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000HF29
Release Date: 1996-12-15

Tracks:

Stickin' Close to Home
Without Her Love
Diner Boy
Projection Blues
Through Rosa's Eyes
Next Dance
Wawa Moon
Everything Is New
The Advice Song
Slow Down
The Road Taken
Cape May
Lonely Town
Kathleen

Album Description

"Everything Is New", Featuring the Richly decadent vocals and soulful guitar of Michael London.

London's CD debut, "Everything Is New" is packed with 14 original songs. And if you enjoy James Taylor, Nat King Cole or Lyle Lovett, it will be a favorite!! Best known for his clever and contemporary witticisms, Londons music combines folk, country-swing, blues, and jazz elements. And just when you get comfortable, he'll surprise you with a mood change, from haunting melancholy to tattletale joy.

Now Is The Time
Average customer rating:
Now Is The Time

Manufacturer: Glidinghawk
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006H33U
Release Date: 2002-01-01

Tracks:

Now Is The Time
It's The Way
In A Dream
Serenity
Blue Skies And Green Lights
I Can't Believe That You Would Lie
Man Of The Night
Free Now
Ridin' 'Gainst The Wind
Misery Don't Love Company anymore
For love

Album Description

"Now Is The Time" is a collection of songs in the Smooth Jazz, Traditional Jazz, and Light Rock/ R & B Genres. " I have always had trouble confining myself to one genre much like most music fans whos collections are not limited to one style of music.

Keith Methven's diverse musical background is the foundation for his straight-talking, lyric-driven songwriting. The power of his personal views on love, and life not only drive the content of his lyrics, but also, supply the feeling, and sensitivity of the instrumental tracks.

With influences as diverse as Santana, and Eric Clapton to Pat Martino, Larry Carlton, and Chick Corea, Keith has developed a smooth-melodic-guitar style that vibrates with honesty and emotion.

There is an undercurrent in life, and that is where: the feeling, and the spirituality in music come from. That is the undercurrent that Keith successfully taps in his music. That is the undercurrent that gives us, "Now Is The Time".

Time Is Tight
Average customer rating:
Time Is Tight

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Ska General | Ska | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005QZCA
Release Date: 2007-04-17