TIME IS TIGHT
(Booker T Jones)
Shadows: August 1983 2LP The Shadows Silver Album
Ventures: June 1997 CD (Japan) Wild Again II: Tribute to Mel Taylor
Booker T & The MGs’ tremendously polished and slick classic suited The Shadows down to the ground, and it became a popular part of their stage act in the 80s, Hank Marvin and Cliff Hall interacting well – with downright eccentric (but often repeated) and unabashedly unsophisticated visual antics by way of accompaniment. Presumably the idea behind The Ventures’ 90s arrangement was to do something a bit different with a much-imitated tune, but it leaves something to be desired. David Carr’s keyboards do not have a lot to do and might profitably have been used to provide some diversity: with Gerry McGee carving out the melody from start to finish, the end result seems rather unrelieved, not permitting the distinctive solo guitar spot (here at 1:33) to emerge sharply and tellingly as it does on the peerless Stax original.
Listen to this Shadows track digitally on:
December 1998 CD Guardian Angel … Plus
The Japanese Ventures issue has been repackaged for the American market:
1999 CD New Depths (GNP Crescendo label)
