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The Mar-Keys - Last Night ! (1961)

Track listing:
  1. Morning After 2:10
  2. Diana 1:54
  3. Alright, Okay, You Win 2:23
  4. Sticks And Stones 1:56
  5. Misty 2:30
  6. Night Before 2:08
  7. About Noon 2:30
  8. One Degree North 2:10
  9. Sack O' Woe 2:28
  10. Hold It ! 2:03
  11. Ebb Tide 3:40
  12. Last Night 2:31

Notes

"Last Night" was a great early-'60s instrumental rock hit, and an important one in helping to establish the basic sound of Stax soul music. It's the linchpin of the Mar-Keys' first album, and despite the single's greatness, the LP is a mediocre, filler-filled effort that typifies the low standards of the full-length rock recording at the time. These are basic sax- and organ-driven soul-rock dance instrumentals, good for dancing to in the live shows the Mar-Keys were doing, but pretty boring one after another on record. Only a few of these are group originals, the rest of the cuts including covers of jazz tunes (Cannonball Adderley's "Sack o' Woe"), popular standards ("Misty," "Ebb Tide"), classic R&B ("Sticks and Stones"), and even Paul Anka's "Diana." In 2002 the album was paired on CD with the Mar-Keys' second (and similar) LP, Do the Pop-Eye, also released in 1962.