''The MG's'' is a 1973 instrumental album recorded by the MG's for

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

, but by 1973, leader/keyboardist

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artis ...

and guitarist

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

were both estranged from Stax and residing full-time in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, so remaining members

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax R ...

and Al Jackson, Jr. recruited

Bobby Manuel Bobby Manuel (born November 13, 1945) is an American guitarist. In the early 1960s he was the lead guitarist for the local band, The Memphis Blazers. He was hired by Stax Records in the late 1960s as an engineer and also quickly began doing stud ...

and Carson Whitsett to replace Cropper and Jones respectively. Bowman, Rob (1997). ''Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records.'' New York: Schirmer Trade. p. 302-303. Billed as "The MG's" since Jones was not involved with the project, the group released two singles, "Sugarcane/Blackside" and "Neckbone/Breezy" (the b-side was a non-album cut). The singles and the album were not commercially successful, but were critically well received. The album included an instrumental cover of The Spinners's "

One of a Kind (Love Affair) "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was written by Joseph B. Jefferson and produced by Thom Bell. The Spinners recorded the song at Philly's ...

". By 1975, Jones and Cropper agreed to reform the original lineup with Jackson and Dunn, but just days before their scheduled reunion, Jackson was murdered at his home in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

.Bowman, Rob. (1997). p. 364

Track listing

All tracks composed by Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr., Bobby Manuel, Carson Whitsett; except where indicated Side One # "Sugarcane" (3:06) (David Madden) # "Neckbone" (3:25) # "Spare Change" (3:51) # "Leaving the Past" (7:18) Side Two # "Left Overs (Bucaramanga)" (2:59) (Luiz, Sainz, Serrano) # "Blackside" (3:57) # "

" (3:21) (Joseph B. Jefferson) # "Frustration" (6:22)

Personnel

;The M.G.s *

– electric guitar,

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

, acoustic guitar * Carson Whitsett – piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

Donald Dunn Donald Dunn may refer to: * Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & ...

– bass guitar *

Al Jackson Jr. Albert J. Jackson Jr. (November 27, 1935 – October 1, 1975) was an American drummer, producer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced their ...

– drums, percussion

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mgs Booker T. & the M.G.'s albums 1973 albums Stax Records albums Albums produced by Al Jackson Jr. Albums produced by Donald "Duck" Dunn