51. Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

1. Ole Man Trouble*

2. Respect

3. Change Gonna Come*

4. Down in the Valley

5. I've Been Loving You Too Long*

6. Shake

7. My Girl

8. Wonderful World

9. Rock Me Baby

10. Satisfaction

11. You Don't Miss Your Water

A-

I'm of two minds about this album. On the one hand it's obviously an important and influential one. It features some truly brilliant production, too - the sound is warm and clear, and the backing band are note-perfect throughout, providing a driving yet classy rhythmic accompaniment to the songs that's worth the price of admission on its own. 

But on the other hand, the style in which Otis Redding sings on this album is perhaps my least favourite style of singing there is. Well, no, that's not quite fair - my least favourite style of singing is whatever the hell Chad Kroeger thought he was doing when he recorded "This Is How You Remind Me". But if I'm being honest, I do not like overwrought, fire-and-brimstone, brimming-with-grace-notes singing. Redding mumbles, wails, and makes countless asides through this album, and does practically everything except sing the bloody songs. Which is annoying, because he has a truly great voice, and if he had just reigned it in a bit (as he would do to great effect on "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay", for example), then this could have been a truly great album.

That said, after a few listens I began to warm up to ol' Ramblin' Redding. I can see why a lot of people admire this album so much. I realise I'm in the minority when it comes to my opinions on a lot of singers, and particularly what I consider over-singing (blame it on being raised in the 90s, and having to suffer through the peak of Mariah Carey's career). And really, it's not so excessive as to prevent this from being a great album. But for me the real selling point is the backing band. Booker T. & the M.G.s are back to provide rhythm and guitar, there's some marvellous horn work (which Redding was apparently in the habit of writing himself), and there's even Isaac Hayes on piano. I don't think the covers on this album can match the originals (or at least, "My Girl", "Satisfaction", and "Change Gonna Come", which are the ones I'm familiar with), and no sane person who's heard the Aretha Franklin version of "Respect" would ever side with the Redding original, but they're all great songs in their own right. 

Really, thinking about it, it's a testament to the greatness of Otis Redding that a guy like me, who really does not prefer this style of music, would enjoy it as much as I did.