Music On Vinyl - MOVLP802 - Ltd Edition - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl
Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!
While the late, great Otis Redding—whose tragic death in December 1967 robbed the world of a singer whose potential seemed unlimited—was always great shouting out "Try a Little Tenderness" and his other upbeat hits, it was his pleading way with ballads that was at the heart of his prodigious talent.
Coming after his 1964 debut album, Pain in My Heart, and its hit, the ballad "These Arms of Mine," this collection of slower numbers was where the greatest soul singer of them all established his elemental connection with the Stax house band of Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), Booker T. Jones (organ/keys), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums)—not to mention the Memphis horns: Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Charles "Packy" Axton (tenor sax), and Floyd Newman (baritone sax).
The horn charts on nearly every cut are superb, though those in Redding's "I Want to Thank You," and Axton's accents in Delbert McClinton's "Keep Your Loving Arms Around Me," are textbook examples of the Stax brass sound. The album ends with the classic, snappy "Mr. Pitiful," which shows that Redding can also wend his vocal way through a mean groove. - Stereophile
The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (4M Atlantic 105) A reissue of Otis' amazing second album originally released in 1965 on Stax/Volt. Named by Mojo Magazine as one of the best soul albums ever recorded, it features several of Reddings's classic tracks including "That's How Strong My Love Is," "Chained and Bound," "A Woman, A Lover, A Friend," "For Your Precious Love" and "Mr. Pitiful." Packaged with the original artwork in a gatefold sleeve with new exclusive and detailed liner notes by maverick '60s music historian Alec Palao.
Selections:
1. That's How Strong My Love Is
2. Chained And Bound
3. Woman
4. Lover
5. A Friend
6. Your One And Only Man
7. Nothing Can Change This Love
8. It's Too Late
9. For Your Precious Love
10. I Want To Thank You
11. Come To Me
12. Home In Your Heart
13. Keep Your Arms Around Me
14. Mr. Pitiful