Although the Sixties were a time of upheaval and change, one thing that remained constant was the laid-back, tightly locking Memphis sound of Booker T. & the MGs. They were not only the instrumental group of the decade, but they were its rhythm section, as if their firm timekeeping was the pulse that kept its turbulence in check. The 17 tunes on this compilation represent the creative and commercial best of the quartet's output between 1967 and '71. "Hang 'Em High" and "Time Is Tight" were both Top Ten pop hits, and the plaintive "Johnny I Love You" (from the soundtrack of the Jules Dassin film Uptight, as was "Time Is Tight") marked leader Booker T. Jones's debut as a vocalist.

Hang 'Em High, Eleanor Rigby, Soul Limbo, Over Easy, Mrs. Robinson, Something, Time Is Tight, Johnny I Love You, Heads or Tails, Meditation, Hip Hug Her, The Horse, Slum Baby, Born Under a Bad Sign, Light My Fire, It's Your Thing, Melting Pot

with Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr.