Booker T. & The M.g's

Virtuoso piano player who first recorded in his late seventies, on this compilation collected from concerts on different venues in Austria during "Stars of Boogie Woogie" tour in 1987, Booker T. Laury covers sides by Roosevelt Sykes, Sunnyland Slim, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers and Chuck Berry listening of which makes discussion about authenticity nonessential since covers sound as authentic and original as his own compositions. Unique and distinctive, lowdown, bone deep playing style with accentuated left hand lines if ocean is waiving, whisky soaked voice, self-confident personality whose recorded musical legacy is small but rich and influential, is Mr. Booker T. Laury.

A veteran of the old Beale Street scene and once a partner of the legendary Memphis Slim, Laury never got his shot at fame and fortune, or even the opportunity to cut a record. Now, approaching his 80th birthday, Laury finally made his debut and shows on this rollicking, highly delightful CD that his boisterous voice and piano skills remain in good shape. Every number is an original, as Laury opens the session with some uncensored remembrances about old Southern sanitary habits. From there, you get terse, spirited singing, powerful left and right hand piano lines, and a percussive, pounding attack that features octave-jumping forays and furious phrasing. One record can't correct a lifetime of being unfairly overlooked, but it can go a long way.

Booker T. Jones was one of the architects of the Memphis soul sound of the 1960s as the leader of Booker T. & the MG's, who scored a number of hits on their own as well as serving as the Stax Records house band. But Jones' accomplishments don't stop there, and as a producer, songwriter, arranger, and instrumentalist, he's worked with a remarkable variety of artists, from Willie Nelson and John Lee Hooker to Soul Asylum to the Roots.