BOOKER T. AND THE MGs-McLEMORE AVENUE.

dereksmusicblog ♦ May 17, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment

BOOKER T. AND THE MGs-McLEMORE AVENUE.

Back in 1993, I was truly fortunate to see Booker T. and The MGs live. They were accompanying Neil Young on his European Tour. For someone who loves the music of Booker T. and The MGs, Stax and Neil Young, this was a concert I wasn’t going to miss. Even nearly twenty years later, the memories are still vivid. Both Booker T. and The MGs and Neil Young didn’t disappoint. Booker T. and The MGs were the perfect backing group for Neil Young, he seemed to feed off them, taking his performances to new heights. Of all the concerts I’ve witnessed, and I’m something of a veteran of concert going, this was up there with the best. So, when I read about the death of legendary Booker T. and The MGs’ bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, I was hugely saddened. Truly, music lost a true legend. Although the word legend is bandied about all too loosely, Donald “Duck” Dunn is deserving of being called a legend. From the release of Booker T. and The MGs second album Soul Dressing, released in 1965, Donald “Duck” Dunn was part of the group’s rhythm section. He played on ten of their albums, and was part of Stax’s legendary house-band. One of the ten Booker T. and The MGs’ albums Donald “Duck” Dunn played on, was 1970s McLemore Avenue, where Booker T. and The MGs’ pay homage to The Beatles’ Abbey Road. Before I tell you about the music on McLemore Avenue, I’ll tell you about the background to the album.

The year before Booker T and The MGs released McLemore Avenue, The Beatles released Abbey Road in September 1969. Like their previous albums, Abbey Road became another huge selling album for The Beatles, reaching number one in the US and UK. It was album laden with melodies, full of complicated stories, hidden messages, with clues and sometimes, conflicting answers. Some people perceived The Beatles as mystics, delivering cryptic messages, messages that required unravelling and decoding. Not only did it intrigue and mystify some listeners, but it contained the iconic and somewhat controversial cover, with Paul in his bare feet crossing the road. This lead to people wrongly speculating, that Paul McCartney was dead. A month after its release, came the first album paying homage to Abbey Road, George Benson’s The Other Side of Abbey Road. While that was the first album paying homage to Abbey Road, Booker T and The MGs would release the definitive tribute to Abbey Road, McLemore Avenue.

When Booker T. Jones, now having moved to Los Angeles heard the album, it literally blew him away. To him, the album was bold, very different from anything he’d heard before. It was a fusion of styles and influences, with The Beatles playing as if liberated. Quickly, Booker T. Jones realized the importance of Abbey Road. This was the latest landmark album, following Revolver, Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Then Booker T. Jones hit on the idea of recording an album paying homage to The Beatles. With Booker T. and The MGs going through the hottest, most successful period of their career, the time was right for this tribute album, which became McLemore Avenue.

Recording of McLemore Avenue was due to take place at Stax’s studios in McLemore Avenue, Memphis. However, with Steve Cropper producing in New York, it was decided he’d overdub his guitar parts at Wally Helder Recording Studios in Hollywood. So, Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. set about paying homage to The Beatles. Thirteen of Abbey Road’s seventeen songs were chosen for McLemore Avenue. Of the thirteen songs, twelve were incorporated into three medleys. The only song that was a standalone tracks was Something. Given the importance of McLemore Avenue, this became the title of the album. While The Beatles had Abbey Road, Booker T and The MGs had McLemore Avenue. With recording in Memphis and Steve Cropper laying down his overdubbed guitar parts in Hollywood, the album was set for release later on in 1971. Would McLemore Avenue continue the success of Booker T. and The MGs’ previous albums on its release?

McLemore Avenue was released on 30th January 1970, with the album launched in New York. Expectations were high for McLemore Avenue, but it only reached number 107 in the US Billboard 200. This was a disappointment for the group. They’d figured that McLemore Avenue would prove more popular. Maybe the problem was George Benson had beaten them to it, paying homage to Abbey Road on The Other Side of Abbey Road. Since then, fans have revised their opinion of McLemore Avenue, with the album being perceived as one of Booker T. and The MGs’ finest albums. Nowadays, when people discuss McLemore Avenue, many people forget that Booker T. and The MGs weren’t the first to pay homage to Abbey Road, overlooking George Benson’s earlier album. The reason for this is the quality of music on McLemore Avenue, which I’ll now tell you about.

Opening McElemore Avenue is the first of three medleys on the album. Here, Booker T. and The MGs embark on a magical mystery tour through five tracks from Abbey Road. This journey takes in Golden Slumbers, before detours into Carry That Weight, and a dark, dramatic take on The End. After, this, the next stops on the your are Here Comes the Sun and Come Together. With stabs of Booker T.’s Hammond organ key to the sound, the rhythm section of bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. drive the track along, with Steve Cropper’s crystalline and accurate guitar sprinkled over the arrangement. One of the high points comes with the dark, dramatic version of The End, before veering into a jazzy Here Comes the Sun. Stabs of organ and flourishes of piano are augmented by a standup bass, as a transformation takes place. Suddenly, the track is transformed into something quite amazing, jazzy and sometimes grandiose. By the time the track gets to Come Together, you’re aghast at the imagination and creativity of Booker T. and The MGs interpretation. Come Together is almost the band paying homage to The Beatles, so close to the original is this version. For five songs, Booker T. and The MGs not only transform, some of the tracks, but restructure them, playing with creativity and freedom, plus fluidity and imagination.

Something is the only standalone track, bringing out the beauty in the track, while transforming it. Flourishes of piano, the rhythm section and Steve Cropper’s Beatles-esque guitar playing are key to the track. Donald on bass, gives one of his best performances, his bass line cascading and marauding up and down. Later, the band improvise, playing around the song, with piano, waves of guitars and the rhythm section taking the track in the direction of jazz. By now, the track no longer resembles the original, but something dramatic, imaginative and more freeform. Here, it’s not so much Booker T. and The Beatles paying homage to The Beatles. Instead, they take the original track, and using the imagination and influences The Beatles used on Abbey Road to create something new, different and quite compelling. 

During a medley of Because and You Never Give Me Your Money, Booker T. and The MGs go on another voyage of discovery, taking the two original songs and toying with them. They transform and almost rewrite parts of them. In the process, they’re given new meaning. It’s a dark, moody introduction to Because, before dramatically, then spaciously, the song reveals its charms. Key to the track is Booker T. on Hammond organ, as Steve sprinkles guitar while Al and Donald providing the rhythm section. Together they combine drama, emotion and power, while leaving space. Later, the track changes with You Never Give Me, with the band fusing rock, jazz and soul. The track starts brightly, with the band sticking to the original song. Stabs of Hammond organ, the rhythm section and guitar drive the track along, as the take a detour, exploring the subtleties and nuances of the song. Steve Cropper’s playing is outstanding, key to the track’s success. Then towards the end, the band unite, playing with a passion, energy and vigor powering the track towards its dramatic conclusion.

Closing McLemore Road is the third and final medley. This sees Booker T. and The MGs take in Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). As the track begins, they play with a subtlety, leaving space, allowing the track to breath. Waves of quivering, shimmering Hammond, drums rolls and flourishes of guitar, all drift in and out of the track. Then, it’s all change, the tempo quickens, with the rhythm section and guitar driving the track along, while Booker T.’s Hammond is key to the track. Together, they play with even more passion, fluidity and creativity. By the time they get to She Came In Through the Window, Booker T. and The MGs have hit their stride. It seems everything was just building up to this point. From there, they seamlessly move onto the last song in the medley, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), transforming the track in the process. Never when Lennon and McCartney wrote the song did they envisage it played like this. Towards the end, waves of dramatic music build and build, eventually, with the Hammond organ at the heart of the track, with everyone else playing a supporting role, it reaches a dramatic, pulsating crescendo.

Booker T. and The MGs McLemore Road was partly them paying homage to The Beatles, but partly, Booker T. and The MGs exploring and deconstructing their music. In doing so, the reinvent some of the songs, breathing new life, meaning and energy into the track. Sometimes, they take fragments of tracks, injecting them briefly into the track, before seamlessly, moving onto another song. Just as you’ve spotted a burst of a track, Booker T. and The MGs are onto the next song, slicing and dicing, deconstructing and reconstructing the songs. This sees them fuse a variety of styles, with jazz, soul, funk and rock all thrown into the Melting Pot. For anyone whose a fan of The Beatles, especially Abbey Road, then McLemore Avenue is an album well worth discovering. After this, I’d recommend digging deeper into the back-catalogue of Booker T. and The MGs. Apart from the thirteen studio albums Booker T. and The MGs released, the four members, organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, drummer Al Jackson Jr. and Donald “Duck” Dunn playing bass, Booker T. and The MGs were part of Stax Records house band. They played on many of Stax’s biggest hits, backing Isaac Hayes, The Dramatics, The Staple Singers, Johnny Taylor and Shirley Brown. Although each member played their part in Booker T. and The MGs’ sound, Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass playing was an integral part of their success. Sadly, Donald “Duck” Dunn a true musical legend, died on 13th May 2012, leaving behind a wonderful musical legacy, including McLemore Avenue. So, after forty years of soulful, funky music, we must say Donald “Duck” Dunn, thanks for the music and the memories.

BOOKER T. AND THE MGs-McLEMORE AVENUE.