My style of playing sax derives directly from those great musicians, including the wonderful Booker T. The 1 star rating is only reflective of this book, not of Booker T. I found the book to be very disjointed and scattered, very difficult to read. He would rather be coming up with songs in his head continuously, always a step ahead of his next hit song or album. Booker T becomes a friend and you will miss him when you finish reading. There's a lot of "inside-music" stuff - musicians will probably enjoy this more than non-musicians - but regardless it's a great insight into the mind of a pivotal artist during a pivotal time in American music. Booker's choice to make the stories not be in chronological order was the books downfall, in my opinion. From Booker T. Jones's earliest years in segregated Memphis, music … I enjoyed the book because I live in Memphis, otherwise I think it would not have been that interesting. This was a very enjoyable memoir by one of soul music's most important musicians. Time is anything but tight in the book itself, though: Jones jumps across decades in sections sometimes as brief as a page, proceeding in roughly chronological order but organizing his chapters thematically. Imagine being in the room when Otis Redding recorded "Try a Little Tenderness". TIME IS TIGHT: MY LIFE NOTE BY NOTE The long-awaited memoir of Booker T. Jones, leader of the famed Stax Records house band, architect of the Memphis soul sound, and one of the most legendary figures in music. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! This whole story of Booker T. Jones, organ and piano player of Booker T. and the MGs, was written by Booker T. himself, which would explain some of the rough edges of the book, as Jones is not a writer. This Gem is not exactly a Gem, it is a creation made of Ebony, Ivory and Music. I enjoyed the stories so much and it was amazing to read about all the great musicians he played with and influenced throughout his life. What a great life story of Booker T. Jones and his family and friends. It is easily the most engaging music memoir I have read. (1 1/2). If you are a true aficionado of music you will appreciate much of the discussion of the songs. This Hardcover Edition of Booker T. Jones's Time Is Tight: My Life, Note by Note is autographed on a bookplate by Booker T. Jones. And his attitude about life is refreshing and inspiring. This offers a really refreshing take on the Stax years/people that is rarely heard. Little, Brown, $30 (304p) ISBN 978-0-316-4-8560-9. Time Is Tight: My Life, Note By Note. Please try again. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, $22.52 Shipping & Import Fees Deposit to Bulgaria. One of my favorite musician autobiographies along with Bill Bruford's :). Time Is Tight tab by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Painful to read, and not entertaining in the least. Happy Thanksgiving on this Throwback Thursday, my Fellow Book Dragons. Shattering epiphanies about old bandmates aside, Time Is Tight is, most emphatically, not a book about settling old scores. View interactive tab. Technically the writing is not bad, it is the structure of the book that is so distracting that it ruins the book. Time Is Tight: An Autobiography by Booker T. Jones available in Hardcover on Powells.com, also read synopsis and reviews. Published First part of the book was really interesting. Very interesting look into Booker T. Jones life as seen by Booker T. Jones, enjoyed very much, such a gifted person, his parents provided the support he needed. See the brilliant white of the Ivory, and the shimmering black of the Ebony. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Though I would have preferred that Jones include more about his. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, ... the brainchild of the prominent New York book-publishing firm Harper & Brothers. Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion, Levon: From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond, Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records, The Complete Stax Singles Vol. In Time is Tight, Booker digs deep into his soul, revealing much about the extraordinary music he has made over nearly six decades with artists as diverse as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Bill Withers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and, of course, Booker T. and the MG's. New York Journal of Books " Time Is Tight is a whirlwind tour through Booker's incredible journey from his humble beginnings in Memphis through his tenure backing up the likes of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King and Carla Thomas to his blossoming as an acclaimed producer and songwriter. Definitely a great music biography, and Jones is a great storyteller. He was getting paid the bare minimum. This beautiful memoir is a near perfect reflection of the man I would walk a million miles for: engaging, unforgettable, and deeply creative. I only give it two stars because it was worth it to read the first third of the book for an inside look at Stax. Whether playing keyboards in the Staxx Records house band with Steve Cropper, Al Jackson and Duck Dunn on classic soul songs by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Bill Withers and many others or composing classic instrumental tracks like "Green Onions," "Soul Limbo," or "Hang 'Em High," Booker T. Jones was an unstoppable musical force. As a member of the legendary Booker T. and the MG's, and working with a host of great musicians, Booker T. Jones shares his experiences, ups and downs, and triumphs throughout this book. It was refreshing to read about a childhood that was not abusive or dysfunctional, and the music history of Memphis is robust. I don't necessarily need to read a book about Booker T. Jones because it is his music that I love so much. Download Pdf. I’m a HUGE fan of the music that came from Stax Records. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, all while transforming a … Was ignorant about his work with Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, so many more. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, all while transforming a burgeoning studio into a musical mecca. by Alex Greene. Feel the vibration of the tones as. Start by marking “Time Is Tight: My Life, Note By Note” as Want to Read: Error rating book. The long-awaited memoir of Booker T. Jones, leader of the famed Stax Records house band, architect of the Memphis soul … He was getting paid the bare minimum. When he was paid after a recording he wasn't made aware of all the money the record producers were making off his music. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2020. It's titled Time is Tight, after a composition Jones recorded for the score of the 1968 drama Uptight (look up the track, available on the book's companion album Note By Note). Difficulty: novice. Refresh and try again. He shared his knowledge of what he knew of his music with other musicians and got them involved in producing award winning records and albums. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. It is a non-linear biography. Book Specs. ‘Time Is Tight’ Review: The Guru of Groove The organ riff in Jones’s 1962 hit ‘Green Onions’ was based on contrapuntal chords borrowed from Bach. A great read for any fan of Booker T, Stax or southern soul in general. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2020, I can't rate this as it was our purchased as a gift for a music lover for Christmas, Reviewed in Australia on September 10, 2020. - BH. 's, the house band … Also - each section in every chapter is tied to a specific note that makes a song - it’s so brilliant and weaves well with his own accounts that refreshingly aren’t always chronological. Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2019. I always thought Booker was an ultra humble guy but he seems to be a bit of a jack the lad from reading these pages. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, all while transforming a burgeoning studio into a musical mecca. For example, Booker had already had a hit with Green Onions and the band was up and running, and he still followed through with his four year commitment to get a degree from the University of Indiana. I thought the story was very good but too disjointed. Very odd and hard to follow. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, all while transforming a burgeoning studio into a musical mecca. But, that does not make an interesting book. Our Gem this evening is “Time is Tight: My Life, Note by Note” by Gem creator Book T. Jones of Booker T & the MG’s. As a musician, I understand the pitfalls all too well. Thanks Goodreads for my copy of Time is Tight by Booker T. Jones. This book shed some good light on this important period of music along with the whole cast of characters . The book is a little sketchy, short fragments of stories about musical and personal goings on. Be the first to ask a question about Time Is Tight. It is a trait that comes through in his book. If you are a true aficionado of music you will appreciate much of the discussion of the songs. I know that there is a great story in there and Booker T. is very talented as a musician and producer but someone else needs to tell the story. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Author Fepo [pro] 844. Let us take it from the beautiful green felt cloth it rests in and hold it up to the light. In Time is Tight, Booker digs deep into his soul, revealing much about the extraordinary music he has made over nearly six decades with artists as diverse as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Bill Withers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and, of course, Booker T. and the MG's. This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read; I truly am enjoying it and would highly recommend it! He closes the book on a very personal note re: his family which is comforting to know yet by the end it does not seem that he made sense of his life's arc or did not want to share with the reader. The insights into the musical structure and timing of many of Booker T’s creations were intriguing. Shattering epiphanies about old bandmates aside, Time Is Tight is, most emphatically, not a book about settling old scores. Its personal, I am deeply fascinated with the whole Memphis Stax Record history. Our Gem this evening is “Time is Tight: My Life, Note by Note” by Gem creator Book T. Jones of Booker T & the MG’s. Obviously wasn't aware of Booker's personal circumstances and issues, although I knew he had married Rita's sister Priscilla in the early seventies because I bought their double album Booker T. and Priscilla when it came out. In my never ending quest for knowledge of the music world I was drawn to this memoir. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. October 29th 2019 While the book was certainly interesting and I learned quite bit from having read it, I should have stuck to just the music. Time Is Tight: The Life and Times of Booker T. Jones. Did not finish. It came across as very disjointed and didn't seem to make sense.Still his stories were interesting, even if at times hard to follow. The long-awaited memoir of Booker T. Jones, leader of the famed Stax Records house band, architect of the Memphis soul sound, and one of the most legendary figures in music. Overall, this was a good enough book, and Booker T. Jones actually has a good writing style. It was refreshing to read about a childhood that was not abusive or dysfunctional, and the music history of Memphis is robust and incredible. This Gem is not exactly a Gem, it is a creation made of Ebony, Ivory and Music. Booker T is an interesting guy. Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2019. THANKS B.T. He may be a great person and great musician, but this was a very disappointing book. But this book reveals so much more of the man. Lifetime achievement Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones’ autobiography Time Is Tight: My Life Note By Note will be published in the UK on 14 November by Omnibus Press. The little musical phrases starting each chapter are cool as well. ", "Booker, we love you and your genius ability to touch people's hearts with your organ, your music, and now your writing.". Overall, I liked this book, but don't get why the chapters are out of chronological order. Further, it quickly became incomplete anecdotes, one after another. 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