For those don't know who the
Memphis Horns are, just recall some of your favorite soul songs from the '60s and '70s, and chances are,
the Memphis Horns played an integral role. Once the house horn section for Stax Records, it is
the Memphis Horns who play the punchy interjections on Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and lay down the rolling riff to Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign." Once a six-piece horn section, today the group consists of trumpeter Wayne Jackson and saxophonist Andrew Love. And with this 1992 release produced by
Terry Manning, the group has lost nothing in the transition. Manning plays guitar on the album as well, which is full of some of the strongest instrumentals that have come out of Memphis since "Green Onions." The Jackson/
Love/Manning-penned "Itta Bena Funk" and "Sneakin' A Ya-Ya" stand out in particular as fine examples of Memphis funk at its most brazen. Also included is a saucy version of Green's "Let's Stay Together" with
Love taking the melody line on sax. ~ Steve Kurutz