Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul

by Otis Redding

Overview

Recorded and released in 1966, Otis Redding's fifth album, Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul found the rugged-voiced deep soul singer continuing to expand the boundaries of his style while staying true to his rough and passionate signature sound. Redding's ambitious interpretations of "Tennessee Waltz" and especially "Try a Little Tenderness" found him approaching material well outside the traditional boundaries of R&B and allowing his emotionally charged musical personality to take them to new and unexpected places, and while his cover of "Day Tripper" wasn't his first attempt to confront the British Invasion, his invigorating and idiosyncratic take on the Beatles' cynical pop tune proved Redding's view of the pop music universe was broader than anyone might have expected at the time. While Redding's experiments with covers on this set were successful and satisfying, it was on his own material that he sounded most at home, and "My Lover's Prayer" and "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" are deep Southern soul at its finest, with Redding's forceful but lovelorn voice delivering an Academy Award-worthy performance. And once again, the Stax house band (centered around Booker T. & the MG's and the Memphis Horns) prove themselves both thoroughly distinctive and remarkably adaptable, fitting into the nooks and crannies of Redding's voice with their supple but muscular performances. With the exception of his duet album with Carla Thomas, Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul was the last studio album Redding would fully complete before his death, and it proves his desire for a broader musical statement didn't begin when he encountered "the love crowd" at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/11/1991
Label:	Atco
UPC:	0075679170729

Tracks

1. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)
2. I'm Sick Y'all
3. Tennessee Waltz
4. Sweet Lorene
5. Try a Little Tenderness
6. Day Tripper
7. My Lover's Prayer
8. She Put the Hurt on Me
9. Ton of Joy
10. You're Still My Baby
11. Hawg for You
12. Love Have Mercy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Otis Redding   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
The Memphis Horns   Guest Artist
Isaac Hayes   Guest Artist,Organ,Piano,Keyboards
Booker T. & the MG's   Guest Artist
Floyd Newman   Sax (Baritone)
Wayne Jackson   Trumpet
Phil Walden   Tambourine
Rick Hall   Box
Al Jackson, Jr.   Drums
Joe Arnold   Sax (Tenor)
Steve Cropper   Guitar
Booker T. Jones   Bass,Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Vibraphone,Guitar (Bass)
David Porter   Vocals (Background)
Gilbert Caples   Saxophone
Sammie Coleman   Trumpet
Gene Parker   Sax (Tenor)
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller   Trumpet
Donald "Duck" Dunn   Guitar (Bass),Bass
Charles "Packy" Axton   Sax (Tenor)
Andrew Love   Sax (Tenor)

Technical Credits

Yves Beauvais   Reissue Producer
Deanie Parker   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Pee Wee King   Composer
Jimmy Campbell   Composer,Composer
Jim Stewart   Supervisor
Rick Hall   Composer,Producer
Redd Stewart   Composer
Reginald Connelly   Composer
Otis Redding   Composer,Lyricist
Dan Penn   Composer
Harry Woods   Composer
Steve Cropper   Composer,Producer
David Porter   Composer
Tom Dowd   Recording Supervision
Ronnie Stoots   Cover Design
Oscar Franks   Composer
Oscar Franke   Composer
Eddie Floyd   Composer
Chuck Willis   Composer
Lawrence Nelson   Composer
Alvertis Isbell   Composer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Isaac Hayes   Composer