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.
Probably the best cringe album i’ve ever heard (so far..)
In my view the arc of the story in this album begins with the church organ in the beginning. It seems to symbolize an almost cartoonish image of george michael immediately falling in love with a girl at first sight…. and desperately wanting to have sex with her lol. The title track seems to be him rehearsing what he wants to say, before he goes up to meet her. The following song is him actually talking to her but telling her what he thinks she wants to hear. George Michael’s adolescent horniness then gets the best of him and he confesses that he mainly just wants to have sex with her in a lyrically cringey, yet electric 2 part song as he faintly reassures her he also loves her. He realizes he messed up and before the conversation is over, he submits his final pleas for her on One More Try. GM fails and spirals down a dark path where he blames her for all of his short comings because she didn’t give him a chance (or bang him). Followed by views on society that seem to blame women not giving attention to those who need/demand it for their ill effects on society. Mainly Jimmy who goes on a shooting spree, and then a woman who lost her mother (and received no attention) and in turn became a prostitute. Monkey paints a picture of a man and woman in a relationship but the woman has an addiction. I interpret this as a metaphor for GM’s love interest being interested in a man who’s giving her the runaround, a mirror image of what GM believes is happening to him. He’s turned off by this and gives up. Kissing A Fool seems to have GM encounter this same woman, years later after the prine of her life. GM sees how she ended up as a waste, and reminds her that she shouldn’t have listened to the people in her circles that told her not not give him a chance. He attempts to reassure her that their lives would be much happier than they currently are if she just had a little faith. Though it seemed like GM had made peace with how everything turned out, the story takes a dark turn on the last track. He goes back to his horny ways, and wants another chance at having sex with her, despite all of the events that transpired. GM is sitting in a bar watching her, waiting for the gin to hit, and wants to make sure her car keys don’t end up in her hand. Sounds like it’s about making sure she’s safe at first, but then he says he’s a gentleman, but even gentlemen can only stand so much. Pretty fucking dark George Michael.
This album is pretty dark and lyrically cringeworthy throughout the middle and latter portions despite the upbeat and happy intro/title track “Faith”. “One More Try” is also a beautiful cut. Lyrically I’d have to give this a 2, however the man can sing at a high level and the production is top-tier throughout. I gotta say the execution really brings it up a lot. 4/5, best cringe album i’ve ever heard
I genuinely do not like listening to this music but it’s not bad. I appreciate the artistry for sure though, and it reminds me of music from a Tom and Jerry cartoon lol. I read that one of the artists involved did the 60s Batman theme and that makes total sense
It seems like the first rock band ever, except most rock bands do everything they tried to do better lol. They had good ideas but the execution was pretty poor to be honest. Only 2 songs were decent imo, the rest were a chore to listen to. I respect the attempt though
It seems like the first rock band ever, except most rock bands do everything they tried to do better lol. They had good ideas but the execution was pretty poor to be honest. Only 2 songs were decent imo, the rest were a chore to listen to. I respect the attempt though
There’s a few gems and some tasty licks! A bit bloated and is unjustifiably lengthy. Highlights are the title track, Strawberry Letter 23, and Ice Cold Daydream. Sparkle City has some pretty great lyrics, the execution just didn’t do it for me though.
Nice blues/rock and roll. I noticed these are sampled by a few other people in newer songs so that was cool to hear
Pretty sweet album, nice and funky
It doesn’t really flow with that tracklist order but it’s otherwise a pretty great rock album. Not their best though