Band: Otis Redding
Album: Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Otis Redding's voice and songwriting is nearly unparalleled. His mentor Sam Cooke started soul music, but Redding nearly perfected it and this collection is full of his best stuff.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: It's a greatest hits package for an artist who has multiple albums on this list.
Best song: "These Arms of Mine" is a great one.
Worst song: "Love Man" stinks.
Is it awesome?: Again, more greatest hits problems.
And here we have another double disc greatest hits compilation. Like the Same Cooke record on this list, a double disc of Otis Redding makes some sense. Most people look at Otis as a singles artist and don't identify him with a singular album or group of albums.
AllMusic.com puts it well:
So, Dreams to Remember is in limbo -- a fine collection that isn't really necessary. It's not a bad choice, to be sure, but The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 and Otis! are better choices, depending on your tastes.
I think that's fitting. If you're not a big Otis fan, you should pick this up. His hits are fantastic and he was one of the best songwriters -- and singers -- ever. Overwhelmingly, though, to put on the list is silly. Why have a greatest hits compilation for a guy with records on here?
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