Sundazed -  LP5132 - 150 Gram Virgin Vinyl - Pressed at RTI

Wonderful smooth grooves and tight sound A perfect chill-time album of classic tunes from Otis, fabulously preserved and reproduced in this mono recording. Just not for play while alone and missing that special someone. 4.5 stars.

The aptly titled 1966 release The Soul Album is one of the most beloved LPs in Otis Redding's catalogue, and a powerful evocation of this singular soul icon's massive talent and impressive versatility. While such original tunes as "Cigarettes and Coffee," "Good to Me," "Just One More Day" and "Any Ole Way" demonstrate Redding's remarkable songwriting talent, his remarkable interpretive gifts are spotlighted on his deeply compelling versions as Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang," Smokey Robinson's "It's Growing," Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" and the Wilson Pickett/Eddie Floyd hit "634-5789."

With gritty, fluid grooves provided by the Stax studio team of Booker T. and the MGs, Isaac Hayes and the Memphis Horns, The Soul Album captures Otis Redding hitting his musical stride.

"...The Soul Album shows him moving from strength to strength in a string of high-energy, sweaty soul performances, interspersing his own songs with work by Sam Cooke ("Chain Gang"), Roy Head ("Treat Her Right"), Eddie Floyd ("Everybody Makes A Mistake"), and Smokey Robinson ("It's Growing") and recasting them in his own style, so that they're not "covers" so much as reinterpretations; indeed, "Chain Gang" is almost a rewrite of the original, though one suspects not one that Cooke would have disapproved of..."

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