Sundazed -  LP5064 - 150 Gram Virgin Vinyl - Mono - Pressed at RTI 

We can cut right to the chase and report that Sundazed hit a grand salami with this one. It’s great in so many tasty ways.I generally prefer mono mixes, especially on ‘60s era recordings. Seems like studios were turning out some off-kilter mixes in stereo’s early days, just to see what they could do with the emerging technology. Some of the Beatles stuff, for example, was outright egregious. The stereo mix of Otis Blue isn’t that, it’s just a bit distracting.The Sundazed mono version plays out on a deep stage without the hiss, and with clarity to spare. The pressing is superb, and the material is unimpeachable. Not a weak song in the bunch Sound 5/5 HometheateHifi

This exact reproduction of this original Stax label LP is mastered from the original mono tapes and pressed on pristine High-Definition vinyl. 

Considered by many soul connoisseurs to be Otis Redding's finest and most fully realized LP, 1966's Otis Blue delivers a compelling encapsulation of all of the qualities that made Redding the greatest soul performer of his era. In addition to the artist's self-penned classics "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long," Otis Blue spotlights the artist's peerless interpretive skills, as he puts his dynamic stamp upon such iconic tunes as the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," The Temptations' "My Girl," B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," "You Don't Miss Your Water" and Solomon Burke's "Down in the Valley."

Otis also pays tribute to his idol Sam Cooke, giving his all to a trio of Cooke tunes, "A Change Is Gonna Come," "Shake" and "Wonderful World."

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 "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.

This exact reproduction of this original Stax label LP is mastered from the original mono tapes and pressed on pristine High-Definition vinyl. 

Backing Vocals – Earl Sims
Baritone Saxophone – Floyd Newman
Bass – Donald "Duck" Dunn
Drums – Al Jackson Jr.
Engineer – Tom Dowd
Guitar – Steve Cropper
Keyboards – Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes
Tenor Saxophone – Andrew Love
Trumpet – Gene Miller, Wayne Jackson
Vocals – Otis Redding