While this is not nearly as essential as some other Stax wax, it has a loose, raffish appeal and never falls into the murk of a boring super-session chopsfest. These guys were simply havin’ fun with some standard soul/R&B covers (e.g. “What’d I Say,” “Baby What You Want Me To Do”) and some wide-open originals, kickin’ back with some serious riffin’. Cropper proffers his usual intense, simplistic soloing, while King swoops and dives in a stringbending fury. The added plus is the silky smooth near-falsetto of Pop Staples, whose vocal on “Tupelo” is suitably eerie… – John Dougan