Otis Redding: Classic or Dud

utterly classic, though i think i'll be in the minority. patrick, i can understand your plight. when i first bought his hits collection, i wondered what the big deal was...but that's usually the case with artists who go on to become my favorite artists (e.g. david bowie, the smiths, the pixies, etc).

his songs are probably the starkest of the stax artists and are often melody is sacrificed for feeling. but, as the good woman once said, oh, what a feeling. for me, his throat acts as the direct intermediary between his heart and your ear. it's very likely that there's never been a singer, as far as i'm concerned, who makes you feel every word like otis.

less obvious tracks to seek out: "that's how strong my love is," "shake (live)," "just one more day," "cigarettes and coffee," "i love you more than words can say" (especially), and "i've got dreams to remember."

a caveat: if you're just getting into soul, otis is not a good starting point. you need to have an appreciation for the sound and the dynamics of the music before getting into him. start with motown, work your way through atlantic, and then get to stax.

Classsssic...

Sounds awful when I describe it. But look out the play, and you'll see what I mean. Ever since then, Otis Redding has been some of the most emotional music I regularly listen to.

I think he - like every single Stax/Volt act other than him too - is overrated. But he certainly had a great voice, and "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay" is a wonderful song.

For the "overrated" crowd, just remember: The guy didn't have a mainstream hit until he was dead. And I can't imagine why anyone who knows "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa" and "Dock of the Bay" wouldn't think he was a great and growing songwriter when his plane went down in '67.

It's weird to me that the engine is still unretrieved at the bottom of Lake Monona, a small and shallow body of water in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. The evidence surrounding the accident is so scant, it's possible his plane just ran out of gas.

guys i'm drunk and all kinds of funky and

http://www.sundazed.com/shop/images/LP5133.jpg

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ so hot

it was joe tex then headhunters now this i am on a drunk funk rampage

yall don't even understand

feelin like bimble up in this

(u know it's jokes, bimble)

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-otis-redding-20100520,0,4041455.story

"Otis Redding — Live on the Sunset Strip" double CD released this week.

The set expands on a 10-song single LP originally released two years after Redding's performances, and about a year after his death in 1967 at age 26 in a plane crash. The new CDs capture the electricity of the music, presenting them for the first time in complete performances as Whisky fans heard them. But it's hard to convey the full influence his shows had on the crowd.

"It was unbelievable," said guitarist, singer and songwriter Ry Cooder, who at the time was a member of the Rising Sons (along with Taj Mahal), the opening act for Redding and his 10-piece Memphis-based band on all four nights of their stint. "He'd get up, stomp his foot, wave his arm, grab a microphone and sing with such searing intensity, I thought, this man's going to have a heart attack if he keeps this up. He's not going to make it. But it was good — a great R&B show, the likes of which I'd never seen."

ooo weee na good gettin' gooder

Otis total classic of course, also I think he drew some amazing performances out of the bands he played with

I've Been Loving You Too Long >>>>> (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

I can't figure out one good reason why Sittin' charts higher (even on ILX)

Try a Little Tenderness >>>>> both of 'em.

don't change the subject

Otis Redding in Alabama, 1967

http://216.226.178.196/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOBOX1=&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=exact&CISOBOX2=otis%20redding&CISOFIELD2=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP3=any&CISOBOX3=&CISOFIELD3=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP4=none&CISOBOX4=&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=all&t=a

cool.

This thread reminds me that I still need to get that live in California album that was released last year.

Listening to Live on Sunset... YES. Does anyone feel like Otis feels? Jesus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ_nG7XavOw

I fucking love this shit even though it was ruined by all baby boomers ever.

Nothing could ever ruin Otis. Not even the fact that Michael Bolton's 'Dock of the Bay' was the first version I ever knew ;_;

Listened to his Monterey Pop set tonight. 20 mins of bliss.

Michael Bolton's 'Dock of the Bay' was the first version I ever knew ;_;

;_; ;_; ;_;

I was only 12! It was the before-time! *sobs*

I don't hold it against you, it is just a sad story.

ty crut. *sniffle*

Nothing could ever ruin Otis.

― Janet Snakehole (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, November 5, 2011 1:26 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

Yep. So so wonderful.

I heard I've Got Dreams to Remember last night while I was out. I think that's still my favorite OR song. I knew I liked the place we were at right then and there.

Listened to his Monterey Pop set tonight. 20 mins of bliss.

This. Fucking relentless.

Years ago I was watching some programme on TV (probably a soul documentary or something, can't remember) and there was footage of an absolutely amazing live version of Try A Little Tenderness, dunno where from - could it be from Monterey?

"This is a song I wanna dedicate to all the miniskirts."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fu5qMx3mpU

That's a lol music video thing through most of that, but there's some concert footage at the end too.

tell the truth is my favorite album of his,odd as that may be.listening to it just makes me wanna explode and fall on my knees and holler I got-ta got-ta got-ta!!!!!
similar to what brown does to people,but even more powerful!

Live on Sunset version of "Good to Me" starts out with him saying "Okay we got paid we're gonna goof around a little with a new song"...and of course proceeds to KILL it. This guy...

There's just been a pretty great Documetary biography of Otis on BBC4 which reminded me of a question I've been wondering about for years

Does anybody know anything about the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club influenced material that Otis Redding was working on before he died.
I read about this years ago and have always wondered if there was any of it somewhere taht just hadn't been released for some reason. Or maybe I just wasn't aware it had been.
Sounds from the documenatry that was just on BBC4 that Otis had had to take it easy for a 6 week period sometime in '67 because of polyps on his vocal chords. This doc said he couldn't actually talk for the 1st 2 weeks of this period. but what he did do wwas sit and listen to Sgt Peppers which expanded his idea of what he could achieve with his own music. He had already recorded The Beatles Day Tripper a while earlier but this period influenced him to sketch out several tracks the best known of which was Sitting On THe Dock of The Bay.
So I've always wondered what happened to the rest of this music. Was it recorded at all? Even in demo form? THe documentary said taht he didn't even get to finish recording Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay, I'm not sure to what extent taht refers to.
Otherwise I'm wondering what sketched out means since I don't think he could read or write music. That doc did show him playing an acoustic guitar at one point, not been sure how he wrote songs up to now at all.
Still wondering to what extent if any that music survives.
So, anybody know anything?

& in case you missed it the Documentary Otis Redding Soul Ambassador is very worth trying to find. Somebody may have it up on Pirate bay if you're outside of BBC i-player territory or can't get that to work.

The new box set of mono singles sounds tremendous. Such power.

been checking that out. even on songs that aren't top notch his delivery carries it

Very true. Because of the Stax house band and his commitment to sell every vocal the lesser b-sides are still nice to hear.

otis could sing the phone book and it'd be an emotional rollercoaster

And alphabetical!

I sure do like

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy44Vaa-ZfQ/UYuprjrNmlI/AAAAAAAAUTs/GAJQb7F9wK4/s400/Front.jpg

the Documentary Otis Redding Soul Ambassador is very worth trying to find

it's currently on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8PzZknVbo8

The greatest soul man of all imo. He hit the ground running and never faded, and the thought of what he could have achieved in the late 60s/early 70s makes my heart ache.

I hope that Soul Ambassador doc is still on Youtube. I need to watch it sometime

I honestly don't think anyone has ever sounded as sincere and noble and calmly anguished as Otis on I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now).

reading about his final days in that new Stax book is such a bummer.

ooh, new stax book? tell me more, is good?

yeah it is great! total page-turner, full of great stories, crazy record biz shenanigans. Respect Yourself by Robert Gordon.

thanks - will search out! gordon is a name to trust.

I've been wanting to check it out, but haven't read Rob Bowman's book yet; would one make the other redundant?

It's been a while since I read it, but the Guralnick book Sweet Soul Music has a lot of good material on Stax

yeah I haven't read Bowman's book -- obviously it's gotta cover a lot of the same ground (though there are so many people involved in the story that there are probably plenty of unique perspectives in each book).

been a long time since I read the Bowman book - I liked it OK but I don't remember it at all as a "total page-turner" shenanigans-fest so the Gordon book actually sounds great

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-06-09/mark-ribowsky-dreams-to-remember-otis-redding-stax-records-and-the-transformation-of-southern-soul

Mark Ribowsky author of seven books, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations" has a new one out about Otis Redding. He's gonna be on this syndicated US public radio show

I like his Phil Spector bio

What a weird question Did someone actually say 'dud'? I can't be bothered to read the whole thing.

Don't worry about answering.

I wish somebody would compile his work from just before he died. He was supposed to have taken a large influence from Sgt Peppers which fed into him doing things like Dock of The Bay. But when he died the label just put out lps with material mixing recording eras dating back for the previous 5 years. So as far as I know the later era material has never appeared in one place and is scattered over a number of lps or unreleased.
Surprised that nobody has done that over the years unless they have recently and i haven't heard about it.

^The third disc of the Rhino "Otis!" box may be what you're looking for.

that box is straight fire

Is there a version of Pain In My Heart with stereo separation in the channels? I'm looking for a version with the vocals in one channel and the instrumentals in the other like the early Beatles stereo albums.

Otis Redding was the best. I listened to Try a Little Tenderness with my class and felt so spirited and exuberant afterwards. Idk what it's like to get a blood infusion but that is how I imagine it. That song!!! Most classic of classic.

truth!!! it’s such an invigorating song <3

my students loled at me a little because i couldn't stop myself from clapping and stomping a little
WOO!!

the dynamic trajectory of that song is just total magic

He really was magic. Was thinking about him this week because it was his birthday a couple days ago. Honestly one of my favorite singers ever.

He was so great, but that cover of Tenderness is something else, an epic - the sweetness of the first half, the unalloyed passion and desperation and gutbucket soul of the second half...

ha, sounds like you're talking about the original! i like the live version here. it's so good i don't even mind the watermark
the band straight up sizzles and i love watching the audience wig out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ9n2_5mbig

Picked up one of 2 current biographies I'm aware of of him a few weeks ago not read it yet.
So hoping i get more info on the influences he was picking up in late 67.
THis book is the Stax and Southern soul one Dreams TO Remember by Mark Ribowsky published in 2016.

just listened to this 28-minute piece on "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" & really enjoyed it, great tidbits about the writing & recording from Booker T & Steve Cropper and some affecting interviews with different random civilians about their relationship to the song:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000dgxx

cool, checking it out now

Otis passed away at only 26 years of age!

I know! Crazy, especially given how much and what he recorded in his very last sessions. Of all the early deaths in rock history, his is probably the most incalculable in terms of age, his health, how much he was creating, and where he might've went with his work.

I love Otis so much. I called my 7 year old a tramp the other day and hurt his feelings a little

Watching the stax hbo thing and it’s becoming apparent what an amazing trajectory that was cut short. I want Otis in the 70s so bad

Sure he would have made out fine during the early, neoclassical-soul part of the decade. Would he have made the transition when disco came along? Some '60s soul singers did, some didn't.

otis? YA MEAN GOATIS AMIRITE?

clearly a diety that was only assigned here for a short project. i often think of someone like johnny taylor as having some of the potential "what if" qualities of 70s otis. although, knowing what we know about how stax went in the 70s, idk. maybe like more of a country bill withers vibe. i kind of always fantasized about potential 70s otis going in more of a rockin/arthur lee direction.

otherwise, yes. vote otis. follow his examples. use his words. amplify them. let others learn.

I think Otis could've thrived for at least five more years while staying close to the new territory he opened up with his last batch of music. But that would ignore the potential he had for breaking new ground - he was listening to what was going on and he kept at it even when an occasional album like Blonde on Blonde didn't connect with him. Meanwhile with James Brown's next phase, Marvin Gaye's next phase, Al Green, Parliament/Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, a mature Stevie Wonder and Gamble & Huff (& Bell) all around the corner, who knows how Redding would've responded. Only Jimi Hendrix was feasibly a bigger loss in the rock era IMHO.

Hendrix is the one that still haunts me. We'd all have hoverboards if he'd lived. He was an agent of evolution.

I've never gotten into JH but for me Otis is the guy I think about and wonder what he would/could have done. I was floored when I found out he was only 26 when he died.

A big reason why his loss was so immense. It can be tricky to predict what's to come: Sam Cooke was 33 and from what I can tell writing and recording less and less original material, but at the same time, his final songs were a huge breakthrough and I'm sure he would've done more songs addressing civil rights. Buddy Holly was supposedly thinking about transitioning into producing, maybe becoming more of a behind-the-scenes guy than a working musician spending too much time away from his new family, but he was only 22 - that's so ridiculously young, I can't imagine any choice he'd make being set in stone that quickly.

I called my 7 year old a tramp the other day and hurt his feelings a little

In your defense, he's straight from the Georgia woods.

It was interesting in the stax doc when they mentioned him getting really in to sgt pepper right before he died and also thinking Dylan was too wordy