.com Before Willie Mitchell became the architect of Al Green s classic 70s sound he was a Memphis trumpeter and bandleader purveying instrumental dance-party soul that sounded like what Booker T.��and the MGs might have been doing had they possessed a horn section. Soul Serenade collects 20 tracks that posit Mitchell as a more than worthy peer of those Stax Records titans and a direct link to the even leaner funk of the Meters. If those outfits make your rump shake you ll have trouble resisting the likes of Bum Daddy Toddlin . Not that there s any reason you should. --Rickey Wright