Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

by Otis Redding

Overview

Otis Redding's third album, and his first fully realized album, presents his talent unfettered, his direction clear, and his confidence emboldened, with fully half the songs representing a reach that extended his musical grasp. More than a quarter of this album is given over to Redding's versions of songs by Sam Cooke, his idol, who had died the previous December, and all three are worth owning and hearing. Two of them, "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Shake," are every bit as essential as any soul recordings ever made, and while they (and much of this album) have reappeared on several anthologies, it's useful to hear the songs from those sessions juxtaposed with each other, and with "Wonderful World," which is seldom compiled elsewhere. Also featured are Redding's spellbinding renditions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (a song epitomizing the fully formed Stax/Volt sound and which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards originally wrote in tribute to and imitation of Redding's style), "My Girl," and "You Don't Miss Your Water." "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long," two originals that were to loom large in his career, are here as well; the former became vastly popular in the hands of Aretha Franklin and the latter was an instant soul classic. Among the seldom-cited jewels here is a rendition of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" that has the singer sharing the spotlight with Steve Cropper, his playing alternately elegant and fiery, with Wayne Jackson and Gene "Bowlegs" Miller's trumpets and Andrew Love's and Floyd Newman's saxes providing the backing. Redding's powerful, remarkable singing throughout makes Otis Blue gritty, rich, and achingly alive, and an essential listening experience. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/13/2001
Label:	Sundazed
UPC:	0090771506412

Tracks

1. Ole Man Trouble
2. Respect
3. Change Gonna Come
4. Down in the Valley
5. I've Been Loving You Too Long
6. Shake
7. My Girl
8. Wonderful World
9. Rock Me Baby
10. Satisfaction
11. You Don't Miss Your Water

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Otis Redding   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Memphis Horns   Guest Artist
Isaac Hayes   Guest Artist,Piano,Keyboards
Booker T. & the MG's   Guest Artist
Andrew Love   Sax (Tenor)
Charles "Packy" Axton   Sax (Tenor)
James Young   Guitar,Guitar
Donald "Duck" Dunn   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Floyd Newman   Saxophone,Sax (Baritone)
Gene Miller   Trumpet
Wayne Jackson   Trumpet
Al "Brisco" Clark   Sax (Tenor)
Al Jackson, Jr.   Drums
Joe Arnold   Sax (Tenor)
William Bell   Vocals (Background)
Steve Cropper   Guitar
Booker T. Jones   Organ,Piano,Keyboards
Robert Holloway   Sax (Tenor)
John Farris   Trumpet
Earl Sims   Vocals (Background)
Robert Pittman   Sax (Tenor)
Elbert Woodson   Drums
Ralph Stewart   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Clarence Johnson   Trombone
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller   Trumpet
Sammy Coleman   Trumpet
Donald Henry   Sax (Tenor)

Technical Credits

Jim Stewart   Producer,Supervisor
Traditional   Composer
Solomon Burke   Composer
B.B. King   Composer
Bill Inglot   Digital Remastering,Remastering Engineer
Isaac Hayes   Producer
Joe Josea   Composer
Joe Martin   Composer
Wally Heider   Engineer,Recording
Lou Adler   Composer
Ronald White   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer,Lyricist
Nesuhi Ertegun   Producer,Supervisor
Jerry Butler   Composer
Otis Redding   Composer
Bob Rolontz   Liner Notes
Al Jackson, Jr.   Producer
William Bell   Composer
Herb Alpert   Composer
William Robinson   Composer
Yves Beauvais   Producer,Reissue Producer
Steve Cropper   Composer
Bert Berns   Composer
Steve Young   Composer
Keith Richards   Composer
Barbara Campbell   Composer
Smokey Robinson   Composer
Joseph Martin   Composer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Tom Dowd   Engineer,Recording Supervision
Haig Adishian   Design,Cover Design
Stax Staff   Producer
Joseph Eugene Martin III   Composer
Daniel Hersch   Digital Remastering,Remastering Engineer
Pete Sahula   Cover Photo,Photography
Babe Chivian   Composer
DJ Nuff   Producer
Jim Marshall   Photography