This is funk music's Abbey Road - literally. It is Booker T. & The MGs' 1970 tribute to The Beatles and consists of instrumental groove-filled versions of songs from Abbey Road, which is remarkable considering that that record had only been released a few months earlier. The tracks on McLemore Avenue are shuffled into a completely different order than they appear on Abbey Road, which I suppose is down to Booker T. Jones being of the opinion that this re-sequencing better fit his funky intentions.
When The Beatles released Abbey Road, on September 26, 1969, it was not what their fans - or the critics - were expecting. It wasn't hailed as a masterpiece out of the gate, and some people were of the opinion that it was nothing more than a mishmash of partially baked song ideas that had been stitched together in a Frankenstein-like fashion. The Beatles were breaking up, and this was as far as they got before they pulled the plug. But to others - people like Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. - it was magical. So impressed were these four men that they decided to pay tribute to it almost immediately upon hearing it for the first time.
McLemore Avenue was recorded partially at Wally Heider Studios, in Los Angeles, and partially at the Stax Recording Studio, in Memphis. Re-recording Abbey Road was a bold move that probably should have backfired but didn't and serves instead as a testament to the musicianship of the Booke T. and his MGs. It stands on its own merit entirely, and is one of the band's best records, which is saying something when you're talking about remaking Abbey-Fucking-Road! It's a brilliant and well thought out work of art, all the way down to the cover concept.
The title and cover of McLemore Avenue is to Booker T & the MGs what Abbey Road's title and cover is to The Beatles. Number 926 East McLemore Avenue was the address of the Stax Recording Studio in Memphis, just as Abbey Road is where Abbey Road Studios was located. McLemore Avenue rearranges Abbey Road into two big medley suites, except for George Harrison's Something, which closes out side one and was released as a single that reached number 76 on the U.S. charts.
Jones claims to have been in California when he first heard Abbey Road and straight away thought it was an incredibly courageous move on the part of The Beatles. "They were the top band in the world, but they still reinvented themselves," he said. "The music was just incredible, so I felt I needed to pay tribute to it."
And that's exactly what he does here, although in a more "urban" way. Released in April, 1970, when The Beatles officially broke up, McLemore Avenue is moodier than Abbey Road. And although The Beatles never covered anything by Booker T. & the MGs - or anything that was released on the Stax label - their earliest recordings were heavily influenced by African-American music, some of which they did record their own versions of. And although it never happened, The Beatles did at least consider recording parts of Revolver at Stax. With that in mind, it's not a stretch to believe Jones felt a deep connection to the music on Abbey Road. The point is he did, and this is what he did about it.
But I hate the cover. While McLemore Avenue's photo is a nod to Abbey Road's cover, there are differences, aside from nobody being barefoot. Abbey Road's cover photo features lush, green trees lining a London street beneath a blue, mid-summer sky. McLemore Avenue's cover, on the other hand, is stark. Bleak, even. Bare trees and rundown store-fronts on a cold, winter afternoon. A bus turning a corner in the distance. Traffic waiting impatiently at a light. Also, the cover of McLemore Avenue is a very poor-quality photo, obviously not shot in anything approaching decent resolution - and that's mostly why I don't like it. The colours are blown out, as though the exposure was too long, whereas Abbey Road's cover photo is crisp and clear and detailed. But - was this intentional? Factor in the funk and it becomes easy to think that maybe it was.
Then there's the music. I really like what Booker T & the MGs have done here. The interpretations work, and it is a very well recorded album. The low end is hefty enough and the highs aren't too bright. The instruments are nicely spaced and the overall effect is a very full and satisfying soundstage. The vinyl of this pressing - the 2010 Stax reissue - is quiet and flat. But if you are not a fan of the Hammond B3 organ you will absolutely have issues. It's right there at the beginning of Golden Slumbers, which is how side one starts, and it stays in your face all the way through. It's not an instrument I was expecting to hear on a Beatles' tune, and it almost lulled me into thinking I'd bought a mid-period Jimmy Smith record - if Jimmy Smith was depressed when he recorded it. It's sullen and dark, but also beautiful, and just as I was starting to get down into it the mood suddenly changes and things start to get as gritty as that cover photo. Side one is almost all medley, and is comprised of Carry That Weight, The End and a funky reworking of Here Comes the Sun that leads into an interpretation of Come Together that - seriously - gives the original version a run for the money.
Harrison’s Something is next, and it closes out side one. And what a treatment it receives, courtesy of an excellent blues-themed jam that comprises the last half of the song, which is stretched almost to the breaking point. I love it because it's so unexpected, and consider it an album highlight.
Side two opens with another medley, beginning with a synthesizer-bass treatment of Because. It's a good effect, and having Steve Cropper's guitar stand in for The Beatles' vocal harmonies is a brave move. It makes for some very pretty music, and while it's a bit weird hearing a song I know so well and is so highly regarded reworked in such a way, I do admit that I enjoy listening to such unusual interpretations. They allow me to experience the evolution of an idea and it's a testament to the MGs' talent that they are able to lose themselves like this while remaining faithful to the original album. I can only imagine what subliminal brick wall-like limitations must surely have been present in that studio! John, Paul, George and Ringo looking over your shoulder. Talk about daunting.
Side two's medley includes a funky and playful version of You Never Give Me Your Money, and then segues into Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam and She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. Al Jackson’s drumming, although distinct from what Ringo did, works perfectly - especially in the fills during the transitions from one song to the next. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window contains another funky jam, and then the album closes with I Want Your (She’s So Heavy) that, like the original, goes on and on and on and would probably be great music to smoke a joint to.
Maxwell's Silver Hammer is missing, but that may be down to the time limitations of vinyl. This album was recorded in the days before the CD was invented, so I'm pretty sure the timing had to be a consideration. I'm not sure if a Maxwell outtake exists, but I don't think so.
This is a terrific recording just because of what it is, which is ambitious and daring. But it's also great music on its own. If The Beatles had never released Abbey Road and this had been conceived and executed by Booker T. & the MGs instead, it would still be a great album. And maybe The Beatles would have covered it in tribute. It took balls of steel to pull this off and it really is remarkable that the MGs were able to learn these songs so well so early on. Was there even sheet music or charts to follow? It took me a while to find this record because I've been chasing it in the wild and it's a hard one to find - though not impossible - and I finally gave in and ordered it from the Craft Recordings website. Be aware, though - it is not a Craft Recordings reissue. It is a very carefully remastered Stax reissue, and it is certainly worthy of your collection. It is definitely …
This is funk music's Abbey Road - literally. It is Booker T. & The MGs' 1970 tribute to The Beatles and consists of instrumental groove-filled versions of songs from Abbey Road, which is remarkable considering that that record had only been released a few months earlier. The tracks on McLemore Avenue are shuffled into a completely different order than they appear on Abbey Road, which I suppose is down to Booker T. Jones being of the opinion that this re-sequencing better fit his funky intentions.
When The Beatles released Abbey Road, on September 26, 1969, it was not what their fans - or the critics - were expecting. It wasn't hailed as a masterpiece out of the gate, and some people were of the opinion that it was nothing more than a mishmash of partially baked song ideas that had been stitched together in a Frankenstein-like fashion. The Beatles were breaking up, and this was as far as they got before they pulled the plug. But to others - people like Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. - it was magical. So impressed were these four men that they decided to pay tribute to it almost immediately upon hearing it for the first time.
McLemore Avenue was recorded partially at Wally Heider Studios, in Los Angeles, and partially at the Stax Recording Studio, in Memphis. Re-recording Abbey Road was a bold move that probably should have backfired but didn't and serves instead as a testament to the musicianship of the Booke T. and his MGs. It stands on its own merit entirely, and is one of the band's best records, which is saying something when you're talking about remaking Abbey-Fucking-Road! It's a brilliant and well thought out work of art, all the way down to the cover concept.
The title and cover of McLemore Avenue is to Booker T & the MGs what Abbey Road's title and cover is to The Beatles. Number 926 East McLemore Avenue was the address of the Stax Recording Studio in Memphis, just as Abbey Road is where Abbey Road Studios was located. McLemore Avenue rearranges Abbey Road into two big medley suites, except for George Harrison's Something, which closes out side one and was released as a single that reached number 76 on the U.S. charts.
Jones claims to have been in California when he first heard Abbey Road and straight away thought it was an incredibly courageous move on the part of The Beatles. "They were the top band in the world, but they still reinvented themselves," he said. "The music was just incredible, so I felt I needed to pay tribute to it."
And that's exactly what he does here, although in a more "urban" way. Released in April, 1970, when The Beatles officially broke up, McLemore Avenue is moodier than Abbey Road. And although The Beatles never covered anything by Booker T. & the MGs - or anything that was released on the Stax label - their earliest recordings were heavily influenced by African-American music, some of which they did record their own versions of. And although it never happened, The Beatles did at least consider recording parts of Revolver at Stax. With that in mind, it's not a stretch to believe Jones felt a deep connection to the music on Abbey Road. The point is he did, and this is what he did about it.
But I hate the cover. While McLemore Avenue's photo is a nod to Abbey Road's cover, there are differences, aside from nobody being barefoot. Abbey Road's cover photo features lush, green trees lining a London street beneath a blue, mid-summer sky. McLemore Avenue's cover, on the other hand, is stark. Bleak, even. Bare trees and rundown store-fronts on a cold, winter afternoon. A bus turning a corner in the distance. Traffic waiting impatiently at a light. Also, the cover of McLemore Avenue is a very poor-quality photo, obviously not shot in anything approaching decent resolution - and that's mostly why I don't like it. The colours are blown out, as though the exposure was too long, whereas Abbey Road's cover photo is crisp and clear and detailed. But - was this intentional? Factor in the funk and it becomes easy to think that maybe it was.
Then there's the music. I really like what Booker T & the MGs have done here. The interpretations work, and it is a very well recorded album. The low end is hefty enough and the highs aren't too bright. The instruments are nicely spaced and the overall effect is a very full and satisfying soundstage. The vinyl of this pressing - the 2010 Stax reissue - is quiet and flat. But if you are not a fan of the Hammond B3 organ you will absolutely have issues. It's right there at the beginning of Golden Slumbers, which is how side one starts, and it stays in your face all the way through. It's not an instrument I was expecting to hear on a Beatles' tune, and it almost lulled me into thinking I'd bought a mid-period Jimmy Smith record - if Jimmy Smith was depressed when he recorded it. It's sullen and dark, but also beautiful, and just as I was starting to get down into it the mood suddenly changes and things start to get as gritty as that cover photo. Side one is almost all medley, and is comprised of Carry That Weight, The End and a funky reworking of Here Comes the Sun that leads into an interpretation of Come Together that - seriously - gives the original version a run for the money.
Harrison’s Something is next, and it closes out side one. And what a treatment it receives, courtesy of an excellent blues-themed jam that comprises the last half of the song, which is stretched almost to the breaking point. I love it because it's so unexpected, and consider it an album highlight.
Side two opens with another medley, beginning with a synthesizer-bass treatment of Because. It's a good effect, and having Steve Cropper's guitar stand in for The Beatles' vocal harmonies is a brave move. It makes for some very pretty music, and while it's a bit weird hearing a song I know so well and is so highly regarded reworked in such a way, I do admit that I enjoy listening to such unusual interpretations. They allow me to experience the evolution of an idea and it's a testament to the MGs' talent that they are able to lose themselves like this while remaining faithful to the original album. I can only imagine what subliminal brick wall-like limitations must surely have been present in that studio! John, Paul, George and Ringo looking over your shoulder. Talk about daunting.
Side two's medley includes a funky and playful version of You Never Give Me Your Money, and then segues into Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam and She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. Al Jackson’s drumming, although distinct from what Ringo did, works perfectly - especially in the fills during the transitions from one song to the next. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window contains another funky jam, and then the album closes with I Want Your (She’s So Heavy) that, like the original, goes on and on and on and would probably be great music to smoke a joint to.
Maxwell's Silver Hammer is missing, but that may be down to the time limitations of vinyl. This album was recorded in the days before the CD was invented, so I'm pretty sure the timing had to be a consideration. I'm not sure if a Maxwell outtake exists, but I don't think so.
This is a terrific recording just because of what it is, which is ambitious and daring. But it's also great music on its own. If The Beatles had never released Abbey Road and this had been conceived and executed by Booker T. & the MGs instead, it would still be a great album. And maybe The Beatles would have covered it in tribute. It took balls of steel to pull this off and it really is remarkable that the MGs were able to learn these songs so well so early on. Was there even sheet music or charts to follow? It took me a while to find this record because I've been chasing it in the wild and it's a hard one to find - though not impossible - and I finally gave in and ordered it from the Craft Recordings website. Be aware, though - it is not a Craft Recordings reissue. It is a very carefully remastered Stax reissue, and it is certainly worthy of your collection. It is definitely …
BONUS TRACK
In 1969, when Booker Taliaferro Jones played Abbey Road for the first time, he was caught so off guard he immediately decided that his band, Booker T. and the MGs - who by that time were pretty much the house band at Stax - would record a cover of almost the entire album as a tribute.
That might seem like a strange thing to do, but after 50-plus years we can look back and say that, at least for Jones, it was the natural thing to do. Jones, who in 1992 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is still around as of this writing. Labelled a prodigy at age 16, he first appeared as the baritone saxophonist on Cause I Love You, released in 1960, which became a hit for Carla and Rufus Thomas. By the time 1969 rolled around Jones had formed the MGs, who had by then become very well known for their 1962 hit, Green Onions. That song was their biggest hit up to that time, and according to All Music is “one of the most popular instrumental rock and modern jazz songs ever,” that has since been recorded by many other musicians. It has been featured in several movies, too, including Get Shorty, American Graffiti and Happy Gilmore.
Then, in 1970, came McLemore Avenue, and it was completely unexpected.
You have to remember that tribute albums were not at all common back then - it was a time when original music was still being made - and for the house band at Stax to release an almost complete re-doing of a just-released Beatles' album was, well, unimaginable. Yet, here we are, and McLemore Avenue is now considered to be almost as great as Abbey Road in its own right. Some say it's better.
That success might be partially due to the fact that the Stax Recording Studio was a former movie theatre. It had sloped floors, walls and ceilings that created an acoustic anomaly that produced a big, deep and raw sound. It's a very distinctive sound, and most soul music fans - myself included - are able to discern within the first few notes if a song has been recorded at Stax. It made for a nice and really full and funky treatment to whatever was recorded there, something I think this version of Abbey Road benefitted greatly from. The sound is so lush. It's like a weighted blanket.
Recording engineer Tom Dowd arrived at Stax in 1963, when the label was still using the Ampex mono recorder it had purchased in the late '50s. Dowd suggested a two-track recorder be installed in place of the Ampex, but the Stax team objected, fearing the distinctive Stax sound would be lost. But when Dowd pointed out that stereo albums commanded higher prices - which would mean more income for Stax - the holdouts relented and in the summer of 1965 a two-track recorder that allowed Stax to record sessions simultaneously in mono and stereo was installed and the Ampex retired. In 1966, there was a further upgrade a four-track recorder.
And the "Stax sound" remained intact. In fact, it became even more distinct.
This is a beautiful record that no doubt benefitted from the newer equipment, the room, the musicianship and Dowd's work behind the control board. It was a "perfect storm" record. Take away one of those components and maybe it wouldn't have worked as well as it does. An original vinyl copy of McLemore Avenue isn’t impossible to find, but it’s not common, either. It has been issued on CD at least seven times, beginning in 1990, and the 2011 CD contains a bunch of bonus tracks, several of which can also be found on Stax Does The Beatles - another terrific record in my collection.
In 1969, when Booker Taliaferro Jones played Abbey Road for the first time, he was caught so off guard he immediately decided that his band, Booker T. and the MGs - who by that time were pretty much the house band at Stax - would record a cover of almost the entire album as a tribute.
That might seem like a strange thing to do, but after 50-plus years we can look back and say that, at least for Jones, it was the natural thing to do. Jones, who in 1992 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is still around as of this writing. Labelled a prodigy at age 16, he first appeared as the baritone saxophonist on Cause I Love You, released in 1960, which became a hit for Carla and Rufus Thomas. By the time 1969 rolled around Jones had formed the MGs, who had by then become very well known for their 1962 hit, Green Onions. That song was their biggest hit up to that time, and according to All Music is “one of the most popular instrumental rock and modern jazz songs ever,” that has since been recorded by many other musicians. It has been featured in several movies, too, including Get Shorty, American Graffiti and Happy Gilmore.
Then, in 1970, came McLemore Avenue, and it was completely unexpected.
You have to remember that tribute albums were not at all common back then - it was a time when original music was still being made - and for the house band at Stax to release an almost complete re-doing of a just-released Beatles' album was, well, unimaginable. Yet, here we are, and McLemore Avenue is now considered to be almost as great as Abbey Road in its own right. Some say it's better.
That success might be partially due to the fact that the Stax Recording Studio was a former movie theatre. It had sloped floors, walls and ceilings that created an acoustic anomaly that produced a big, deep and raw sound. It's a very distinctive sound, and most soul music fans - myself included - are able to discern within the first few notes if a song has been recorded at Stax. It made for a nice and really full and funky treatment to whatever was recorded there, something I think this version of Abbey Road benefitted greatly from. The sound is so lush. It's like a weighted blanket.
Recording engineer Tom Dowd arrived at Stax in 1963, when the label was still using the Ampex mono recorder it had purchased in the late '50s. Dowd suggested a two-track recorder be installed in place of the Ampex, but the Stax team objected, fearing the distinctive Stax sound would be lost. But when Dowd pointed out that stereo albums commanded higher prices - which would mean more income for Stax - the holdouts relented and in the summer of 1965 a two-track recorder that allowed Stax to record sessions simultaneously in mono and stereo was installed and the Ampex retired. In 1966, there was a further upgrade a four-track recorder.
And the "Stax sound" remained intact. In fact, it became even more distinct.
This is a beautiful record that no doubt benefitted from the newer equipment, the room, the musicianship and Dowd's work behind the control board. It was a "perfect storm" record. Take away one of those components and maybe it wouldn't have worked as well as it does. An original vinyl copy of McLemore Avenue isn’t impossible to find, but it’s not common, either. It has been issued on CD at least seven times, beginning in 1990, and the 2011 CD contains a bunch of bonus tracks, several of which can also be found on Stax Does The Beatles - another terrific record in my collection.
