Soul Limbo

Booker T & The MG's: Booker T. Jones (keyborads); Steve Cropper (guitar); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Al Jackson, Jr (drums).
Recorded at Stax Studios, Memphis, Tennessee in January and February, 1968.
Originally released on Stax (2001).
Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley).
SOUL LIMBO is one of Booker T. and the M.G.s' best albums, with a terrific mix of then-current soul hits, group originals, and left-of-center covers. The later requirement is met by a spooky version of the theme from Clint Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High," one of the few important Spaghetti Westerns not scored by Ennio Morricone.
The title song has a jaunty, cowbell-driven Caribbean sound. An extremely dark version of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" finds keyboard genius Booker T. Jones flailing away with abandon on what sounds like an early clavinet. Among the other highlights is a great take on the Tams' "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy," improving upon the original by simply eliminating the lyrics.