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Artist: Otis Redding
Label: Atlantic / Wea Category: Music Average customer rating: Media: Audio Cassette UPC: 075679170545 EAN: 0075679170545 ASIN: B000002JNZ Release Date: 1991-06-11 |
The Soul Album
Tracks:
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Although Redding was a great songwriter (he gave us Aretha's "Respect" and Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music"--'nuff said), he partially made a reputation for himself as a great interpreter of other people's material, ranging from Beatles and Stones covers to "Louie Louie" to standards like "Try a Little Tenderness," which had originally been a hit for Bing Crosby. And unlike other soul artists of the time, including the great Jackie Wilson, Redding--with the help, of course, of guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, and drummer Al Jackson--could take even schlock, at least in R&B terms (i.e., "The Tennessee Waltz"), and transcend it, making it his own. Otis makes all 11 tracks here his own--not that any of them were ever considered schlock. But many, including Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang," Roy Head's "Treat Her Right," and Wilson Pickett's "634-5789," were closely associated with their originators. Redding's cover of Smokey Robinson's "Scratch My Back" is so awesome that it makes you forget the Miracles' original. <I>The Soul Album</I> is sometimes underrated because it's a covers album--but it's a classic covers album, nevertheless. <I>--Bill Holdship</I>Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Find.......2007-01-10
Good but not the best........2005-09-05
Scratch My Back.......2004-06-25
Untoppable soul.......2000-08-17
Musically, Redding proves himself over and over to be perhaps the greatest soul singer of all time (though Ray Charles during his Atlantic period might give him a run for the money). The eleven tracks on this disc (about 32 minutes) find Redding reaching to the depths of his emotions for vocals that no one else could ever rival. Everything his vocal chords touch becomes *his*. Covers of hits that are unforgettable in their original version (e.g., Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang", Wilson Pickett's "634-5789") become something entirely different when Redding turns his attentions to them.
The band (including Booker T., Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson Jr., Sammy Coleman, Wayne Jackson, Bowlegs Miller, Andrew Love, Charles "Packy" Axton and Floyd Newman) provides some really incredible backing. Booker T's organ and Steve Cropper's guitar, in particular, create an incredible atmosphere, punctuated beautifully by the horn section. There is a cohesiveness between Redding's vocals and the musical background that is not evident in lesser soul recordings. There is a sort of empathy between the players and the vocalist that is jazz-like and rare.
From the slower, soulful ballads such as "Just One More Day", the wrenching "Cigarettes and Coffee", and "Good To Me" through the medium paced blues of "Scratch My Back" through upbeat pieces like "It's Growing", Redding never misses a beat. His vocals are a revelation every time you listen to the disc.
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