Booker T. & the MG's - Definitive Soul: Booker T. & The M.G.'s (2007)

This two-disc, 30-track release documents the key years of one of the most important instrumental groups in the history of pop, Booker T. & the MG's. Serving as the house band at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, they backed soul greats Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding, among others, and beginning in 1963, when the MG's scored a huge hit with the infectious and joyful "Green Onions," they became a front-end draw in their own right. "Green Onions" is here, along with other timeless instrumental gems like "Soul Dressing," "Time Is Tight," and the soul-jazz version of George Harrison's "Something" from the 1970 MG's LP McLemore Avenue, itself a fascinating tribute to the Beatles' Abbey Road. Here's the thing: you can't go wrong with the MG's. ~ Steve Leggett