I’m staying up too late listening to The Best of Booker T. and the MGs. (Also, I’ve ventured into the territory of the “the best of” albums.)
I just wrote a post about the Zombies’ version of Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which is probably my favorite version, but I also like the version by Booker T. and the MGs. And I like it because they’ve changed it to the degree that, while it is recognizable, it’s not immediately recognizable. I was listening to this album (for only the second time) a few months ago, and it took me a minute or so even to realize that this was “Summertime.”
But what I really want to mention is the tone of both the Hammond organ and the guitar. At one point, the guitar is (or at least sounds like it is) going through a tremolo pedal, and it works so well with the Hammond organ’s going through a Leslie speaker. Both instruments have that sort of hazy quality, but they’re achieving that effect in different ways. They’re complementary, but not because they’re treated with the same effect.
