Melting Pot could be the most well-realized of all the albums by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a smooth and soulful, yet expansive 35 minutes of all originals, the latter in sharp contrast to their exploration of the Beatles' Abbey Road album material on their preceding album. And the irony was that it was their swan song. Booker T. Jones, in particular, was increasingly unhappy working at Stax/Volt Records, owing his feelings to management and structural changes at the company, and also felt the need to change the group's formula somewhat. Steve Cropper was playing lots of session work that was keeping him from recording in Memphis as well, and the result was an album recorded mostly in New York City, far away from Stax/Volt and largely built on the group's (especially Jones') best impulses. That said, Melting Pot managed to be a sort of back-to-the-roots effort in the sense that they were back to doing originals, but was also a strikingly more expansive record, with Jones in particular playing with an almost demonic intensity and range, backed ably by Donald "Duck" Dunn's rocksteady bass in particular. There were a few other touches, such as the wordless chorus on "Kinda Easy Like" and extended running times, showing the group stretching out on much larger musical canvases.
(by Bruce Eder, All Music Guide)
The backbone of Stax Records bade farewell to the label with this 1971 album showing the maturity they had reached in almost ten years of playing together. There's a sly nod to their past - can you spot it?
The classic '60s / early 70s soul instrumental sound from the classic '60s / early 70s soul instrumental band featuring Booker T Jones on the keyboards, Steve 'The Colonel' Cropper on guitar, Duck Dunn on bass and, one of the greatest of all soul drummers, Al Jackson on the skins. Cropper and Dunn went on to fame again with the Blues Brothers movie, albums and touring band of the same name. Al Jackson died far too soon. Melting Pot is a return of the 1971 set they cut for Stax and adds to the legacy of fine albums once again in catalogue.
Altogether, as an album, it works really well, with the group's customary taste and precision balanced against a new looseness and a return to earlier, funky playing patterns. That's more than enough to make it the best Booker T. album in some time, the Memphis Gas of the Year, and a Major Rock Event for everyone.
(Rolling Stone)
