• AOL
  • MAIL
    • You might also like: 
    • Music | 
    • Movies | 
    • TV | 
    • Celebrity
    •  and More
    • Main
    • News
    • Features
      • The Hit List
      • Spinner Interview
      • Potent Quotables
      • Guest Blogger
    • Songs
      • MP3 of the Day
      • Listening Party
      • What's That Song?
    • Videos
      • The Interface
      • Sessions
      • Video of the Day
    • Our Widgets
      • iPhone App
      • Radio Toolbar
    • Send Feedback

    Spinner Exclusives

    • The Interface - Live Performances
    • Listening Parties - New CDS for Free
    • Spinner Radio
    • Listening Parties - New CDS for Free

    Features

    • Bad Song, Good Band
    • Bands With Brothers
    • Banned Bands
    • Outrageous Tribute Bands
    • Sad Songs
    • Worst Lyrics Ever

    All Categories

    • Spinner Says(7)
    • All About Jazz(26)
    • Clash of the Cover Art(1)
    • Lyrics(4)
    • Music A-Z(24)
    • New Releases(53)
    • Quizzes & Trivia(2)
    • Album(110)
    • Around the World(147)
    • Book Club(57)
    • Canada(318)
    • Celebrity Doppelganger(13)
    • Clash of the Cover Songs(45)
    • Coming Out Stories(20)
    • Concerts and Tours(1665)
    • Count Five(63)
    • Country(45)
    • Electronic(274)
    • Exclusive(2432)
    • Free MP3 Download of the Day(898)
    • Grammy Awards(87)
    • Guest Blogger(61)
    • Holy Hell(644)
    • I Fought the Law(31)
    • I Freakin' Love This Song(238)
    • Jazz(16)
    • Laugh, Rage, Cry(6)
    • Movies(163)
    • Music Appreciation(50)
    • New Music(304)
    • News(4712)
    • Politics as Usual(19)
    • Pop Culture(40)
    • Potent Quotables(613)
    • R.I.P.(184)
    • Road Report(17)
    • Rock Almanac(366)
    • Rock Hall(29)
    • RPM(25)
    • Schwag Hag(37)
    • Songs(201)
    • Spinner Interview(110)
    • Television(94)
    • The Chum Bucket(606)
    • The Crap Stack(17)
    • The Hit List(1128)
    • Total Dick Move(2)
    • Twisted Tales(125)
    • UK(512)
    • Video(923)
    • Video of the Day(707)
    • Wacked News(190)
    • What's That Song?(79)

    Booker T. Jones Rocks Out, Covers OutKast on New Album

    • Posted on Apr 3rd 2009 11:00AM by David Chiu
    • Comments (0)
    Print |  Email More
    Musician Booker T. Jones has been largely identified with 1960s Memphis soul music. As a member of the legendary Booker T. and the MG's, he became known for his organ playing that played an important part of that band's sound.

    Yet for his upcoming album 'Potato Hole,' his first new solo work in 20 years, Jones, 64, puts more of a rock 'n' roll emphasis in his music with help from Georgia rockers Drive-By Truckers and Neil Young. "I wrote all the songs on guitar," he tells Spinner. "It's a rock album. And rock music is all about the guitar being a little too loud and having a little too much attitude."

    In recording his solo album, Jones says that the musical ideas were within him for a while but never quite risen. "I didn't have the technical know-how until recently," he explains. "I took five classes in Pro Tools two years ago [and] that opened up some new creative windows for me -- just knowing I could at home put my ideas down, sort them and figure them out."

    The collaboration with Drive-By Truckers began when Jones' manager encouraged the musician to attend the South by Southwest festival. "There's a lot of opportunities to hear music and meet people, so I went," Jones recalls. "He hooked me up with Jason Isbell, and Jason was the [then-guitarist] with Drive-By Truckers. We had a jam session that was attended by a large crowd on a hot Austin afternoon."

    Jones says that the Truckers "basically opened up and let me drive." "They let me bring in the ideas and they interpreted them," he says. "They literally took my lead. I was able to raise my hand and stop the band, or give my signals to the band. They just creatively let me be the driving force."

    Meanwhile, Jones has known Neil Young, who appears on a majority of the new album, since their appearance at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in 1992. "I always carried a desire to cop his sound," says Jones, "because he had the coolest guitar sound in rock. Neil's sound was big, political and in-your-face, but it had a beauty and a simplicity. That's what I was trying to get."

    In addition to several original compositions, 'Potato Hole' also features some cover tunes. Among them are Tom Waits' 'Get Behind the Mule' and OutKast's 'Hey Ya.' A fan of the hip-hop act, Jones was drawn to the latter song's unusual time signature.

    "This wasn't your regular 8-bar or 4-bar," he says. "This one had some aberrations. I love a band that has courage to do that, especially in rock and roll. I looked at the lyrics while I was playing that. I just love the way they did it."

    Jones seems to be aiming for a broader audience -- this month, he and Drive-By Truckers are scheduled to appear at Coachella, followed by a date at Bonaroo in June. "I think it's gonna be similar to when I played at Monterey [with the MG's in 1967] for the first time," he says. "Because we were basically an R&B band that went to a different venue. And it was great. The reception was warm. The music is the thing anyway, so that's what we have in common."

    Download Booker T. Jones Songs
    • Filed under: News, Exclusive
    • Share & Bookmark :
      Print |  Email More

    Add your comments

    • New Users
    • Returning Users
    • AOL/AIM Screenname

    If you are posting a comment for the first time, please enter your name and email address in the fields above. Your name will be displayed with your comment. Your email address will never be displayed.

    Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Off-topic, promotional or otherwise inappropriateinappropriate comments will be removed.

    When you enter your name and email address for the first time, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, as well as a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

    Follow US

    Facebook
    Twitter
    RSS
    • Contact Us
    • Send News Tips
    • Advertise with Us

    Shop Now

    Listen to Full CDs

    • Hot Chip, 'One Life Stand'
    • Sade, 'Soldier of Love'Massive Attack, 'Heligoland'
    • Return of the Wu & Friends
    • Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
    • All Spinner Full CDs

    Relevant Posts

    • Elvis Costello Plans a Variety of Concerts for 2010 (7 days ago - 1 Comment)
    • Dave Matthews, Elton John, Red Hot Chili Peppers Lead Neil Young Tribute (10 days ago - 5 Comments)
    • Thom Yorke Collaborates on New Flying Lotus Track (4 days ago - 2 Comments)
    • The Grammy Awards' Biggest Mistakes (13 days ago - 16 Comments)
    • Acts That Jumped the Shark in the 2000s (43 days ago - 6 Comments)

    Billboard

    • 1: Break, Three Days Grace
    • 2: Uprising, Muse
    • 3: Your Decision, Alice In Chains
    • 4: If You Only Knew, Shinedown
    • 5: (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Weezer
    • See All Top 100 Rock Albums at

    Hottest Artists on Tour: Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift, Pink, Black Eyed Peas, Kid Cudi,

    Also on AOL

    Quick Links

    • Celebrity Tattoos
    • Celebrities Without Makeup
    • Slipknot Masks
    • Christmas Music
    • 50s Music
    • 60s Music
    • 90s Music
    • 70s Music
    • 80s Music
    • Best Songs Of 2008
    • Horrorcore
    • Michael Jackson Songs

    Also on AOL Music

    • Concert Tickets
    • Country Music
    • Grammys
    • Hip Hop Music
    • Lyrics
    • Metal Music
    • Music News
    • Music Videos
    • New Music Releases
    • Online Radio
    • PopEater

    Blogs on AOL

    • Autoblog
    • Be Red
    • BloggingStocks
    • Cinematical
    • DownloadSquad
    • Engadget
    • Fanhouse
    • Joystiq
    • StyleList
    • TMZ

    More on AOL

    • African-American Culture
    • AOL Video
    • Breaking News
    • CityGuide
    • Food
    • Love
    • Media Player
    • Musica Latina
    • Pixcetera
    • Singles
    • Wallet Pop

    More on AOL

    • Television
    • Movies
    • Money
    • Mapquest
    • Horoscopes
    • Health
    • AOL Latino
    • Games
    • SHOUTcast

    Help Links

    • Advertise With Us
    • Mail
    • Notify AOL
    • Privacy Policy
    • Search
    • Terms of Service
    • Trademarks
    • Follow Spinner on Twitter
    • The Interface
    • Free Mp3
    • Full CDs
    • RSS
    • Terms of Use

    Spinner.com © 2009 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.