Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Certainly some solid hits, but the album plays out as one long thought without much variation. It's pretty mono-thematic and is very much "music I put on when I want to fuck", and there's nothing wrong with that. I also can't divorce the album from its association with sentimental white people dancing at weddings.

This was a fun one. At times, it's light-hearted, at times it's full of pain and sorrow... it runs the gamut in a way that most records from this era refuse to and it comes out the other end stronger for it. While Respect is weird (and a little dark) when sung by a man, it's balanced with wonderful covers of the perennial classics, My Girl, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and Wonderful World. So much great music and misicianship on display. Easy five.

The pace, the horns, the voice: They're all so close to perfect! It's a slow but steady and energetic blues walk through songs both familiar and not. I suppose the ones I didn't know had better become known: This deserves its classic status with every cut.

One of the all-time best soul albums of all time - Otis Redding has an amazing voice and is backed up by an incredible instrumentation

Listening to this album feels like participating in music history. Great covers. Great originals that would go on to be covered (Respect). Funky, soulful, uplifting. What else can be said? Best track: Down in the Valley

Nice! This bops!

Again me saying more things about a Soul artifact like this seems silly. Some of these iconic songs honestly seem like they descended from a higher realm.

Enjoyable compilation of very good songs covered very well by Otis Redding, what more could one want on a rainy day?

Practically the definitive 60s soul album. Loaded with a few covers but every song is distinct and made his own. Long live Otis

One of the G. O. A. T albums, in my top 5. 10/10

I should love this. But I don't. I still feel the same as I did when I heard it as a teenager - it's somehow not what I want it to be.

classic rnb album. worth the listen

Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965) Themes: My interpretation is that Otis opens the album with a plea to be spared from pain. The inflections in his voice seem to come from a place that knows his actions are at least partially to blame for the trouble he constantly finds himself in. It’s followed by a demand for respect from his loved one as he feels under appreciated for his sacrifices in the working world. It seems that as a result, he seems to unknowingly distance his loved one as a result of his outburst. The album continues as the distance grows yet his heart grows fonder as well. He reaches a point where he feels the love become a balance between a sunk cost fallacy and him truly loving this girl and feeling that way earnestly. It seems the love is rekindled and it’s followed by a few tracks of celebration of enjoying love and life. Otis finally comes to terms that he is his own worst enemy and can’t be satisfied despite the love finally returning to him. Again, as a flawed man plagued by his actions, he is left, this time for good. He sings this very painfully and is very remorseful, but also with a tone of acceptance that has finally come to terms with his shortcomings as the other half to someone else. Notes: I knew about Respect being his original work and becoming iconic through Aretha Franklin, but I had no idea about Otis covering The Rolling Stones on this record, he does an amazing job and gives it his own spin. Score and Review: This album is an undeniable classic. Otis is a king at displaying emotion with his raw vocals and soulful crooning, the instrumentals blow you away with the trumpets being a highlight throughout the record. I’m giving it a 9/10, it’s damn near perfect, deducting a little bit as there are a few covers on here, although they work great. He also has quite a few fadeouts on here which I am not a fan of as a trend in music, few times do they work as a purposeful ending to a song in my opinion, and this record is so amazing that I think a truly definitive ending to these tracks could make them even more impactful.

I'm usually a bit underwhelmed by these kinds of albums, featuring a few classics embedded amongst a series of inessential cover versions. However, this one is a clear exception, many outstanding tracks of which a few are actually the originals (e.g., Respect!). "..Too Long" is the highlight with its all-time-great vocal, but it's all good. I will, of course, recommend the Greatest Hits but only because *all* of those hits are fabulous. Imagine if he'd lived?!

One of the most expressive performers of all time. Most of the songs are covers, but I'd argue - with few exceptions - these are the best versions of these songs.

Good Album Standout songs: Change Gonna Come Shake Rock me Baby

Love the vamping and jamming at the end of the songs. Is this the best covers album ever? Would it be better if he wasn’t doing covers and just camping and jamming. Backing band deserves credit for the jams. I found this album to be punctuated by the fade outs, songs always ended just when he was beginning to have fun—probably a radio play thing, but it’s cutting off the best part of the band and his performance each time. I think these songs would each be 7 minutes in a modern album. Love track 1, intro is on point, love that guitar sound, saved for later. Less of a fan of track 2, generic swing R&B. Voice really shines in track 3, better than the Sam Cooke original. Track 4 really swings, head bopper, would be fun to dance to, loved the skat at the end. Track 5 is another song showcasing the voice, nice waltz, hood breakdown at the end. Track 6 is swinging but kind of cookie cutter, though it includes the line, “shake it like a bowl of soup” haha. Track 7, hard to beat the vocal harmonies of the temptations on the chorus, the vibrato on “girl” is beautiful. Track 8, another cover, meh, does include the line, “I don’t know what a slide rule is for” lol, anti-intellectualism. Track 9, Nice driving blues, guitar solo in the middle was just okay, he does ask the girl to fuck him until “my back ain’t got no bones.” Track 10, don’t like this version of satisfaction, worst song on album, original is more nuanced. Track 11, nice ballad, chill, FADE OUTS!!

This is pretty cool, just that oldies-style blues stuff. But like heaps of music with this writing/production etc, it's also that bit too dated for me to honestly rate it in 2021. 3/5?

Great voice but rules are rules and you can't just do covers.

Otis's entry, which I read as my usual preliminary, summoned a "not another" on the death-in-place-crash text, and a medium wander through the "Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents" page, a bitty memorial to the unhealthy relationship between tour-ravaged artists and often-blitzed WW2-era pilots and their budget air bangers, with some outliers - did you know John Denver was killed by his inability to switch fuel tanks in his weird canard, which was a kit plane designed by the guy who made SpaceShipOne, which started Richard Branson's dalliance with commercial space flight? As well as blunt force trauma. This is a fine album haunted by different, sometimes better versions of its songs: Respect, Wonderful World, and Satisfaction, probably some others. I read that it was recorded at a rattle, and it has the efficient air of a record blasted out to juice some cash, mostly covers with a trio of originals, including Respect. Listened to it maybe four times, appreciated his voice and the incredible band, but it didn't cohere for me.

made me feel something. very soulful. they don’t make it like this anymore

It doesn’t get more classic soul than this.

GREAT

Good

Never a bad time for Otis.

Classic soul album. Timeless. Can listen to it any moment.

Had no idea that Otis was the first one to write and perform 'Respect' - massive tune. Feels like a 4, feels so classy and original. Damn, every track is a classic, Respect, My Girl and Satisfaction. Gotta be a 5/5, its an album full of classics

Classic

It's Otis Redding. Doing what he does, so well.

Otro pedo este wey

Very nice album

I liked this one.

Obvious 5, probably listened to it more than any other album all the way through

Absolute classic, bangers all around

A great album of covers - Otis Redding just has such a phenomenal voice. Incredible

What a voice, what songs, what versions. It's achingly beautiful.

Every song a stone cold classic.

What can you say. A masterpiece

Great album. Some classic hits that are great to sing along to. Otis has such a distinctive voice and the tunes are fantastic. Also great to hear some slower numbers that are less well known.

Amazing.

Brilliant.

An absolute classic. I never get tired of listening to this.

I once grew the nail on my big toe so long that when I eventually clipped it, instead of using a key like everyone else, I would use the toe nail as a cocaine shovel. Yes, endless nights were spent shovelling charlie up my schnozz and listening to Otis Redding. Everyone in London knew me. I was a somebody, the toe nail king of the West End. I've left all that behind me now though and can't even look at a bare foot without wincing.

More soul than SHACK's size 18 shoes. Soul/sole - see what I did there?

Classic, wonderful album. Beautiful singing and excellent musicianship, particularly love the bass work.

Чистое великолепие соул-музыки!

When it comes to soul music, this is as good as it gets. For some reason My Girl sounded particularly good, and it was interesting to hear Redding's version of Wonderful World, a song obviously made famous by the great Sam Cooke. A superb album that made my day.

A stone cold classic album - Otis with one of the best backing bands ever.

Love Otis!

Excellent. Otis Redding is so easy to listen to.

Have listen to a few of his song, always a good time.

So many songs sampled from this album

Du sucre à mes oreilles. Ecouté et réécouté inlassablement.

stone cold classic. The voice :adore: the arrangments :adore: 9.3/10. Minor points off for (probably) overfamiliarity and me not being fussy about a few of the original songs. A minor quibble.

A wonderful soul album.

A perfect record

Fire

very good!

So good that it looks like a greatest hits: Respect, A Change is Gonna Come, My Girl and a cover of I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)

The definitive Soul album. About half the album is covers (Satisfaction is the standout IMO). Aretha Franklin covered Respect from this album.

One of the best albums so far this year

Listened to some of it, it was okay. Had classics I had no idea about

Man knew how to bang.

Great voice. Filled with classic tracks. Wish I could write a slightly less asinine review :D

Blues for my soul, RnB for my body

Amazing!!!!

Sorry I can't write any notes because I am still recovering from this sexual experience

Anything Otis is automatically 5*

um clássico efêmero. parece, ao mesmo tempo, muito mais novo e antigo do que é.

LOVE

The Immortal Otis Redding. I grew up listening to this, and I got the album with Jimi Hendrix and Otis on each side from the Monterrey Pop festival. His voice is amazingly textured.

A lot of songs that are fundamental in the Lexicon of soul, rock, and pop. Very cool and jam-packed with hits.

Some good ass soul. Otis is the man

Very good. 5 stars

Wow what a find!

Excellent. Mostly covers. All hits.

Very blue or soul idk, but I liked the whole album.

Simply amazing. Temazos todos

Amazing album! Perfect for a cozy rainy morning or a dimly lit evening in. Vocals and brass that show why Otis is so well known.

Soul primigenio, puro. Mítico. Discazo.

The title is self-explanatory: Otis Redding gives his soul spin on classic tunes.

1965 - Blues / Band / Soul

Absolutely beautiful album. Otis did a wonderful cover of "Change Gonna Come" and "Wonderful World".

Otis covers - feels like hanging out with a friend

Otis Redding had such an expressive voice. It was versatile, acrobatic, yet had a persistent grit to it. However, on songs like 'I've Been Loving You Too Long,' his voice smooths out revealing its delicacy. His songs are buoyant with a lilting beat and a robust horn section. He simply inhabits the music in a way that only the best soul/R&B artists do.

Excellent album.

Very lovely

fuck yes otis - banger after banger

Never listened to this actual LP, though pretty much all of the songs were familiar. Absolutely fantastic.

This is already getting 5 stars before I even listen. Otis Redding is one of my favorites.

Stand out tracks were "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "You Don't Miss Your Water".

Listened to it twice in a row. A great soul record.

my girl ...

Legendary.

Phenomenal album. Might have been how my day was going but this one hit me just right. Every song has a great groove. Love the Satisfaction cover. New find for me will be listening to this one many more times.

Wonderful. The musicianship from the band is incredible and what a voice. Nearly lost a point for the Stones cover which I'm not sure works but that'd be churlish. 5/5

Her - vor - ra - gend

I consider this a near perfect album. Redding's voice has such authority. He is missed.

So many hits here. Unbelievably good.

Can't go wrong with Otis