BOOKER T. & THE MGs - The Very Best OF [USA instrumental rhythm & blues and soul 1962-71] 2007 Stax Records

American instrumental rhythm & blues and soul combo, formed 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee. Best remembered as the in-house backing band of the Stax record label.

The band’s name is a combination of organist Booker T. Jones’s first names and the acronym for “Memphis Group”, MG. Other members were Al Jackson Jr. (drums), Steve Cropper (guitar), and Lewis Steinberg (bass guitar) who was replaced by Donald “Duck” Dunn in 1963.

As well as playing on and producing a large amount of records, working with vocalists like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Sam & Dave, they were successful as a band in their own right, with hits like “Green Onions” (1962) and “Hip Hug-Her” (1967).

The band was effectively disbanded in the early 1970s, when both Cropper and Jones had left the label. A planned reunion in 1975 did not happen, as Jackson was murdered in October that year. The three remaining members did reunite several times since the late 1980s, often with Jackson’s cousin Steve Potts serving as a drummer.

Booker T & The MG's were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

T

THE VARCELS - Hang Loose With The Varcels [USA garagae 1967] 1997 Collectables

HANG LOOSE with the VARCELS JUSTICE JLP-147. Here is another ultra rare garage band LP produced by JUSTICE.

Loose

THE TROYES - Rainbow Chaser [USA garage 1966-68] 2014 Cicadelic

 

Based in Battle Creek, Michigan, the Troyes existed from 1965 to 1968. Although the band produced only two singles during their time together, they cut enough material for an album that unfortunately failed to surface. Thank goodness the shelved tapes were not tossed in the trash, and at long last here's the complete audio history of the Troyes.

Troyes

VVAA - Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia (Plato & The Philosophers) [USA garage psych 1966-67] 1998 Cicadelic

From Moberly, Missouri. This band formed in 1962 as the Checkmates but changed name to Plato and The Philosophers in 1965 and lasted until 1970. The Thirteen O'Clock Flight To Psychedelphia (CD) retrospective features the band's story, from which the personnel is confirmed, and features fourteen tracks: the It 45, and many unreleased goodies - two versions of Thirteen O'Clock..., Wishes, the proposed third 45 Doomsday Nowhere City / I Knew, and seven others from 1968 onwards, which include some excellent heavy acid-punkers. Other artists feature on the CD - Something Wild, Smoke (Houston's ex-Nomads) and the Fortunes.

Plato

J. RIDER - No Longuer Anonymous + 10 bonus [USA psychedelic 1977] 2015 Machu Pichu Ltd

After the 1976 release of "Inside the Shadow", the group decided to change their name to J Rider (after the second cut on the Anonymous LP) and pursued a similar rich vein of impeccable songwriting, but this time adding more hard rock to the mix, resulting in a fantastic sounding album that sadly went unreleased at the time. The excellent reissue label OR Records first unearthed the tapes and put out a small edition of LPs in 1996, and we are now there's this new and deluxe edition of this gem, complete with new sleeve art.

tracks 1-6 : J RIDER "No Longer Anonymous" LP (1977-78)
tracks 7-16 : RON MATELIC & FRIENDS "Lunar Dust" (recorded throughout the 1990s with most of the original members of Anonymous on each track)

Rider