Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding [LP]

by Otis Redding

Overview

Otis Redding's recording career really only lasted five years, from 1962 through 1967 (seven studio albums in all), and the balance of it, along with his biggest hits, really only came in the last two years of that time, with his biggest hit and first number one, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," released after his death. All of it was enough, though, to establish Redding as the greatest performer of the classic deep soul era, a designation he undoubtedly deserves. There are plenty of greatest-hits-type collections out there for those interested in Redding's pop and R&B chart impact, and at first glance, Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding seems like another of those. It has some of his classic hits, true, like "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Free Me," and "These Arms of Mine," but the rest of the dozen tracks are more obscure, although they're neither filler nor randomly chosen, each contributing to the overall theme, emerging as a powerfully unified compilation full of the pain, loss, and yearning that go along with being in love. Then there's the look of this set. It's done up to look like a Stax album release from the 1960s, and even the liner notes are in the present tense, as if this were simply a long lost reissued Redding album with nothing changed as it pops up again in the 21st century. It pulls off the hat trick of being a nice introduction to the deeper side of Redding's catalog, an intelligent, carefully considered facsimile of one of his original Stax albums, and a fresh statement on the issues and risks of love, all of which lead the listener straight back to the greatness of Otis Redding. It's the way reissues should work in a perfect world, not just presenting old material, but also arranging it in a striking new manner that leads us back to a great artist we thought we already knew. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/12/2013
Label:	Concord
UPC:	0888072341654
Rank:	2075

Tracks

1. I Love You More Than Words Can Say
2. Gone Again
3. Free Me
4. Open the Door
5. A Waste of Time
6. These Arms of Mine
7. I've Been Loving You Too Long
8. Everybody Makes a Mistake
9. Little Ol' Me
10. I've Got Dreams to Remember
11. Send Me Some Lovin'
12. My Lover's Prayer

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Otis Redding   Primary Artist,Vocals
Andrew Love   Primary Artist
Isaac Hayes   Primary Artist
Donald "Duck" Dunn   Primary Artist
Floyd Newman   Primary Artist
John Jenkins   Primary Artist
Wayne Jackson   Primary Artist
Al Jackson, Jr.   Primary Artist
Steve Cropper   Primary Artist
Booker T. Jones   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Alvertis Isbell   Composer
Bill Belmont   Project Assistant
Chris Clough   Producer
Gene Lawson   Composer
Eddie Floyd   Composer
John Marascalco   Composer
Joe Tarantino   Mastering
Joe Rock   Composer
David Gorman   Art Direction,Compilation Producer
Jerry Butler   Composer
Nick Phillips   Project Assistant
Otis Redding   Composer
Zelma Redding   Composer
Steve Cropper   Composer
Booker T. Jones   Composer
Leo Price   Composer
Abbey Anna   Project Assistant
Rikka Arnold   Editorial
Robinson Bishop   Composer
Star Tommy   Composer
Marty Hackman   Liner Notes