Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
1962
Album Summary
Green Onions is the debut album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in October 1962. It reached number 33 on the pop album chart in the month of its release. The title single was a worldwide hit and has been covered by dozens of artists, including the Blues Brothers and Roy Buchanan (both with Steve Cropper on guitar), as well as The Ventures, Al Kooper, The Shadows, Mongo Santamaría, Deep Purple (Live and studio versions) and Count Basie. Three previous Stax LPs – two by the Mar-Keys, one by Carla Thomas – had been issued on Atlantic Records. Green Onions was the first album released on the Stax label. It was also Stax's first charting album, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200. The album features only instrumental songs and features Steve Cropper playing a Fender Telecaster.The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
WikipediaThis sounds like something that Feathers McGraw from Wallace and Gromit would enjoy. And that Chicken/Penguin has great taste. A really catchy and enjoyable instrumental R&B/soul record, with a distinctive Hammond organ sound front and centre. It would perfectly soundtrack various daily tasks like doing the washing up, spreading toast or walking through a town or city. I'm glad they didn't try to put vocals on it, as any words matching the unashamedly joyous, and cool vibe would probably be really cheesy and ruin it. It's a perfect example of what it is and still sounds fresh almost 60 years after it was recorded. 5/5.
Imagine recording this when you’re 17? Like that’s all you need to know about this record. This record is so smooth and for 1962 was largely new landscape for soul and R&B. You can put this on at any time and you know you’re going to have a good time. Favorite song: Green Onions Least favorite: honestly didn’t have one
Reading about it prior to listening, the title track is called out as one of the most recognized instrumental tracks... No idea. Hearing it the penny drops immediately, and I'm reminded again fo the depth and breadth of my ignorance.
Ok for a couple of songs (green onions) but the one trick of organ & guitar becomes tired very quickly
I’ve always loved the title track, Green Onions. To me it’s always been more than just a fun song to hear in movies, but just a really good listen on its own merits. I like the tone of the guitar and organ, and I really enjoy drums like this, where they are both assertive in the mix and also really simple. The only real problem I have with this record is that it is instrumental. Plenty of the songs hold up without vocals, but I felt a few tracks would have been improved by them. Also, is there a music genre whose meaning has evolved more than R&B? My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5
4/2 Some classic instrumentals on here, replayability is low for me. Standout Tracks: Green Onions, Mo' Onions, Behave Yourself, Stranger On The Shore, Comin' Home Baby
I didn’t know the song name but everyone has probably hear green onions sweet melody at some point. The rest is pleasant jams as well.
That was extremely enjoyable. This is the first album that I would actually consider downloading for repeat listening. I had heard "Green Onions" on the radio, but I also liked the other songs. "Behave Yourself" stuck out to me.
Greeeeeeeeeeennnnnn ONNNNNIOOOONNNNNSSSSS! this song is everywhere. this is sold rhythm and blues. Comin' Home Baby is fucking solid
This is just wonderful music. I knew the song Green Onions but I was surprised by the quality of the rest of the songs. I like cooking to this.
Slow motion movie blues. I remember from some film, but I don't know wich one. Kind of smooth and chilling music for meetings
Oooh, I never knew the name of this first track. Green Onions is great! This whole album was great.
great album, 10/10, instantly recognizable from the first five seconds favorite song was probably Rinky Dink it sounded like a Napoleon-Dynamite-Christmas
Is it just me or is one of the tunes in Nacho Libre?!?! THE Nacho Libre, pure Cinematic Gold.
This is fire!!! Really cool instrumental soul/rock. You’ll definitely recognize a few tracks on here.
Love it. This can be party background music, work music, sit and listen and pay attention to every click of the organ keys music,… Positioned clearly at a point in the early 60’s because of the instrumentation and groove, but doesn’t sound old fashioned.
Just a perfect instrumental soul album. Clearly it's influence has spread far and wide, the sound that comes from this is just ubiquitous. Short but sweet, my only complaint is that there isn't more. Fav Tracks: Green Onions, Behave Yourself, Lonely Avenue
God damn I love the blues. The electric organ is used so perfectly on this album, it's just so much fun to listen to. After looking at the list of personnel that Booker T. Jones has collaborated with in the past, I would say a lot of people agree that he's the best at what he does. This album consists of one smash-hit original single, and mostly covers outside of that, but that doesn't stop the band from stamping their signature all over others' works. The instrumentation is fantastic and each member does a great job of taking their turn to chime in and take the spotlight. It's very clear that the guitar and keyboard are completely locked in and have spent loads of time playing together. Tight as fuck. Fave tracks: Green Onions, I Got a Woman, Behave Yourself
Had no idea that I already knew the song 'Green Onions'. The most striking thing about this album is that is recorded in the 60s, it sounds much more contemporary than that. Pure groove, so funky
An album of cool, smooth tunes. Instrumental only, but that just makes it seem more effortlessly chill.
Always hear GO, but never knew where it came from. Thumbs up on this for a mellow, travel album.
Each song was entertaining. Pretty creative. Reminded me of smooth sailing playlist but more upbeat. Didn't have lyrics though which felt like the finishing touch it lacked
I know all these tunes but have no idea why... California Games? Movies like the Sandlot Kids? either way it's awesome 4/5.
elsket det, digg å høre på, nok av hits osv. kan være som følge av oaseeffekten etter en ørken av middelmådige album men hadde en fin stund med denne. Har en lekenhet som jeg setter pris på.
Overall very soothing, easy on the ears and the slower songs really struck an emotion with me. I really enjoy this style of blues. A lot of rock jam standards are found here.
Bit unsure if all of these are original songs or covers. Nonetheless, the album is a vibe.
The instrumentals were great, so I’ll rate it off that. Probably wouldn’t listen to it again though, since there aren’t lyrics and I prefer my music to have lyrics.
1. Green Onions has an iconic opening. Everyone knows it. High Hopes for this album. I am hoping for vocals because I generally prefer albums that have vocals. Guitar sounds great, beat is steady and good. Nice synthy, keyboard sound. Enjoyable opener. 2. This is another non-vocal album, oh no. Rinky Dink feels summery. Really nice beat and melody is simple and repetitive but in an enjoyable way. Guitar solo is a nice touch. 3. I Got a Woman has a lovely intro, drums sound great. However, the sound is very similar to that of Rinky Dink. If this is another same shit, different song album I will lose my mind. 4. Mo' Onions has a very different sound. Guitar chords sound great. The synthy sound is consistent but sounds better here than on IGaW. 5. Is this where The Beatles got Twist & Shout from???? Oh my god. The melody sounds the exact same. I am in shock right now. 6. Behave Yourself has a lovely intro. Calm, still, cool. Very nice. Very soulful. 7. Stranger on the Shore sounds very similar to BY. From around 1:10 onwards, it is gorgeous. Sounds absolutely beautiful in my opinion. 8. Lonely Avenue sees the return of the earlier sound, but in a different way. The beat is slow and steady, not sure what instrument I am listening to but whatever it is it sounds great. The guitar sounds fab, I can nearly see the person playing it. 9. One Who Really Loves You contrasts greatly with LA. The key change is lovely, very very nice. All songs have faded. 10. Although there are no lyrics, you can almost hear them in You Can't Sit Down. Bit repetitive but still enjoyable. Beat and bass is nice. That breakdown and build up was very good. 11. A Woman, a Lover, a Friend's intro has been my favourite so far. Again the lyrics are right there just need to be sung. This melody is gorgeous. 12. Comin' Home Baby's intro reminds me of The Monkees for some reason. Very enjoyable. Really liking this. Final Thoughts: Although without lyrics, this is a great album and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Starts with an absolute banger and while impossible to live up to that start the rest of the album is funky as...
Classic group that defined the Memphis Soul sound. The song Green Onions is something i think many people have heard, but do not know the name of.
The title track is one of the funkiest jams of all time, and the rest of the album’s tracks don’t slouch either. Steve Cropper’s guitar work here is the type of thing that makes someone want to pick up a guitar for the first time. And to think this is the house band!
Man känner igen många låtar från typ dokumentärer på barnkanalen. Gött sound kort och lagom
Nice classic instrumental blues track with a flavour of "I know this song but did not know where it came from". Really liked it.
Until I started this journey, I had thought surprisingly little about how influential some of these albums were at the time. I've heard Green Onions a thousand times but never knew it by name.
Title track is one for the ages - and the other albums cuts are pretty frickin' close. Good upbeat grooves. 3.5 stars.
Damn, lot of my instrumental favorites are on this album. I didn't like it AS much as the other instrumental albums but it was still really really good.
The covers were meh, and the rest (other than "Green Onions") were a bit repetitive. But "Green Onions" is one of the coolest songs in human history. It's this album's saving grace.
Immediately recognizable opening, Green Onions is such an iconic jam and everyone should have heard it at some point. The whole album is instrumental jams, and a lot of recognizable songs. Not sure if they are covering them like Twist and Shout and Rinky Dink, or if these are the originals that were then covered by other groups. Sounds very 60s in the synths and guitars, pretty straightforward album with lots of hits from the time period.
A lot of fun from beginning to end. I had heard Green Onions a million times and never knew the title.
so groovy! green onions was just the right song at the right place at the right time and stands up forever. the rest of the album was great too, but didn't meet the same level of perfection as the title track for me.
Thought this was great. Had it on whilst I was writing a proposal for work.... not one of my favourite tasks but it's impossible to be miserable with this soundtracking whatever you're doing
The title track, "Green Onions", is one of my all time favorite tracks. I will listen to it EVERY time. I know I have heard at least a few other tracks from Booker T., but I couldn't name the tracks. This album easily qualifies as "I would listen to this album again" -- > 4 stars. "Lonely Avenue" and "You Can't Sit Down" were happy surprises, but I rated each track on the the whole second half of the album with 4 stars each.
I went into this album thinking I've never heard of this band, I've never heard a song by them, and I probably wouldn't enjoy it. It took literally 4 notes before I realized how wrong I was. Despite being unfamiliar with them by name, I've been hearing the songs on these albums for years. They've appeared in movies, they've been sampled, and artists have "stolen from" them. I can tell this band is truly legendary just by how familiar I am with their music. Even though it's not my usual style, I found the music interesting and enjoyable. It is all upbeat and just sounded like the musical version of sunshine. The musicianship was also incredible. Overall, despite my reservations, I thoroughly enjoyed my listens and feel like my musical mind has been expanded.
Green onions is an absolute classic! Cycling along to this gave me serious main character energy on my morning commute! Dangerously bouncy and fun! This is right up my street, the only reason it doesn't get top marks is because I prefer music with vocals and felt some of the tracks are better with vocals than only instrumental, but this is perfect for so many situations. Musically it's so interesting and impressive, I LOVE that the title track was written during a spontaneous jam which they then had to recapture. Musical genius.
Exciting instrumentals. Lack of vocals and lyrical content are fully compensated for in the simple yet full music. 7/10.
Enjoyable... and though green onions stands ahead by a long measure, the organ blues works for me.
This is a true blast from the past with Booker T and MGs bringing my teen years to life. This is a jazz classic that is underappreciated.
Green onions is a song everyone’s heard but doesn’t know the name of but everyone should hear the rest of the album. Really catchy and led me on a binge of this and Smokey Robinson and such. Favs: green onions, one who really loves you
About as smooth and Iconic as it comes. Inject that fucking organ and guitar directly into my veins.
WHAT okay I pressed play and immediately recognized the title track, Green Onions - and so do you if you've seen/heard even a handful of American movie trailers. Booker T. wrote that riff when he was 17 and later improvised heavily for the recorded version that became a huge hit and shaped the sound of groovy Southern soul. But did you know there's 'Mo where that came from? That's right, 'Mo Onions is track 4! Besides the onion songs, Behave Yourself is the only other original on this instrumental album. The rest are covers of songs you probably already recognize - I was surprised to find out I knew most of them. Also, fun fact, this band and the Beatles had mutual appreciation of one another, and John Lennon affectionately referred to them as "Book a Table and the Maitre D's". This warmed the cockles of my Beatles-loving heart. Anyway. Great album, and glad to have filled in this particular gap in my musical history knowledge.
Está Okeish fuera de los enormes clásicos y referentes culturales, pero siendo del tamaño que son, merece más que mi propia opinión
Funky great hooks. no vocals which could have pushed to a 5, as it is it's great background music.
Plucky blues guitar, lots of recognizable jams, including that one from The Sandlot. Good stuff.
Tästä tuli hyvälle mielelle ja varsinkin kun kuuntelu jakautu kahteen osaan niin ei kerinnyt kyllästymään tms. Nelonen kyllä hieman yläkanttiin, mutta menköön. Hauska!
A fun listen! Great background grooviness to work to. Fave track - gotta be the title track!
Very interesting even without any lyrics! If I need to find out some BGM for making indie games or videos for uploading on YouTube, I'd like to use these. My favorite track so far is the second one, "Rinky Dink". And I love their version of 'Twist and Shout'. I wonder if the original versions of other tracks had lyrics. I searched for "Rinky Dink" for instance, but it had no lyrics, too. What makes Booker T. & The MG's version so special?
The title track is iconic and obviously why it's on the list. I think it's the first official album Stax label. It's bit uneven as a whole album, so not something you back to listen to often. The MGs are much better backing band esp when Dunn joined later on bass.
Cebollitas verdes, en Universal Stereo. Creo que, aunque no es un discazo en su totalidad, sí es pionero en ese sonido del órgano como líder y en hacer algo entre funk y soul muy único. Me gusta.
Disco instrumental bastante bueno pero hasta ahí. Green Onions es buena y la selección de covers también pero no me parece nada más relevante que eso. 3.5 estrellas que me debatí mucho en subir o bajar y que al final termina en 4 porque sí lo puedo volver a escuchar.
Green Onions is a true undisputed classic. Mo Onions is also lost as good. And there are other great renditions of classic tunes that Boomer T turn into instrumental classics ...I've Got a Woman, Twist and Shout and the album closer, Coming Home Baby make you forget that they originally had lyrics, so adept are Boomer Ts organ and Steve Broker's guitar at filling the tune with melodic goodness. 4.5 stars
The album itself grows a little repetitive when you consider how far a southern Hammond organ-based soul group can go. But when you add in Booker T & The MG's are the house band to the current label that is driving the sound for 60s R&B Soul - STAX. AND Mr. Booker T is an 18 year old prodigy at the time, this album becomes amazing. How many other infamous house bands - the Funk Brothers, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, The Wrecking Crew should have put out their own albums? 4/5.
that first song is so famous. Bonus star because it putme in a funky place all weekend.
Listened to on 7/10/22 4/5 Favorite song: green onions, twist and shout, runny dink Very familiar songs all instrumental but still phenomenal
Quintessential instrumental R&B. Pioneering use of the Hammond and electric guitar interplay. Green Onions (the song) is obviously huge, but the rest aren't bad either. They don't quite hit the same high as the title track, though.
I have soft spot for the organ sound but man my ears really perk up when I hear Steve Cropper's guitar. So bright and twangy. Some real jams here. All elements balanced so nicely. Really miss the days when instrumentals could still be hits.
Nice, upbeat but still chill vibes. Bit repetitive after a while but would probably be good in a playlist or to have on in the background while cooking or cleaning.
It's a classic album, very easy to listen to, albeit a bit repetitive. They riff on some similar ideas pretty often. What I find particularly interesting is that there's a lot of melodies in this album that other people took and ran with. There's a lot, like I could spend an afternoon piecing together melodies in this album that have then ended up on other people's records. That's weird right? I feel like that says that this record is pretty influential then.
Green Onions is featured prominently in the VERY IMPORTANT film "The Sandlot", where they smack-talk each other in a way only wholesome pre-teens can. My dad told me that the song was called "Green Onions" while I was jumping on the bed watching the movie for the millionth time, and I always remembered that. Anyway, this album has a lot of tracks that were sampled one way or another, so you can definitely tell that a lot of modern artists were highly inspired by it.
“Green Onions” has got to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time and I didn’t even know what it was called or who performed it. It’s just wedged in my brain from being featured in so many movies and TV shows. Top notch blues riffing on this album. A great inclusion on this list. Feels like an important piece of rock history.
ery much has that so-underrated-that-it’s-come-to-be-overrated energy. Moody and groovy. It sounds more classic than dated actually (though organ is a bit in its prominence, sounds hockey rinkish at times). But, overall, it’s all a bit too basic to be any sort of major musical milestone. Everyone loves an underdog (in this case studio musicians), wants to root for good guys (i.e, unsung heroes) to make it, and even more so to flatter their own taste and perception by discovering hidden gems and the non-obvious. But such overcompensations often distort the fundamental truths of thing; and for this album that truth is that it’s cool and groovy and an authentic artifact and should be better known, but is really only above average along each of these vectors. I bet there are in this class rather more underappreciated such artifacts out there waiting to be discovered. A 4 but just barely.
Great electronic organ and drums Album starts out fun, the middle contrasts with some nice slowed down songs, the ending picks up fun again Favorite songs - Green Onions, Behave Yourself, One Who Really Loves You, You Can't Sit Down
Enjoyed sitting down with some Booker T. Great album start to finish though the organ was starting to get to me near the end.
Instrumental masterpiece. I can't help but think of The Blues Brothers when I hear the title track. Such a groove
so many classic riffs, enjoyed the last few tracks especially (and the title track of course). Makes for great background music
Great album to listen to while floating through my workday. Will definitely revisit this in the future when I need some nice background music to keep me relaxed and calm, yet still attentive
Green Onions is an unstoppable banger. The rest of the album is less inspired and a little too same-y, but still fun to listen to. I’d say the next best song is the surf-rock-esque You Can’t Sit Down
i won't lie, i was disappointed by the lack of vocals, but this was a solid album full of groovy bops and i'm glad to put names to some songs i've heard before!
I like organ and I like the blues. Both can certainly sound cheesy over the course of 12 tracks, but together the cheese cancels out and the good parts of the Hammond and the form reinforce one another. Very fun instrumental version of Twist and Shout.
Närmare en tvåa än en fyra. Det är svårt att få ett instrumentalt album att verkligen flyga tycker jag.
Decent, influential album. From a pure listening experience, the organ got a bit overused towards the end of the album
I really thought I was going to like this album more than I did. The first song is incredible, but the rest of the album doesn't have much to offer. Most of the covers are a bit uninspired, and the songs tend to all sound the same 3/5
organ driven blues. Some themes seem to be repeated through the album, which detracts from its quality. Still enjoyed listening