No. 474: Live in Europe

Band: Otis Redding
Album: Live in Europe
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Otis Redding's last album released before his death, "Live in Europe" has several of Redding's best songs. Backing band Booker T. and the MGs rock Redding's hits and the power of his voice fills the album.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: I'm happy with this placement.
Best song: "Try a Little Tenderness" is a classic.
Worst song: I like every song on this record, though "Shake" isn't as strong as the rest of the tracks.
Is it awesome?: Sure.

"Live in Europe" was the final Otis Redding album released during his lifetime. On the tour, Otis pulled out all his hits and the popular songs of the time. Not surprisingly, he absolutely hit each song out of the park; Working the crowd perfectly and lilting his voice to each note.

The great thing, of course, about "Live in Europe" is Redding's backup band. Because they were the studio band for Stax/Volt, Booker T. and the MGs played on most of Redding's studio records, but hearing them tear through "Respect," "Satisfaction" and "These Arms of Mine" is striking and perfect.

The set closes with "Try a Little Tenderness" and Redding shows why he's one of the defining voices of soul. His voice fills the pressured silence perfectly as the crowd -- I assume -- watches in amazement.

It's a fantastic live record and one that showcases Redding's amazing talent shine.

No. 251: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul

Band: Otis Redding
Album: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: On the last record released before his untimely death, Otis was branching out by doing a more varied set of songs. He hit C&W, rock and roll and his own classic soul to assemble this seminal album.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: There's a lot of Otis on this list and with each one, I get a little more tired of him. Certainly, yes, he was the greatest soul singer, but with each subsequent record, I find more flaws.
Best song: “Try A Little Tenderness” and "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" are synonymous with Redding's name and signature songs.
Worst song: “You're Still My Baby” isn't great.
Is it awesome?: If only on the strength of those two songs, yes.

I have a friend (the same friend who wanted to make love to Frank Zappa) who used to claim that Otis Redding wrote 40% of the truly great R&B songs. That's a gross overestimation, but, certainly, Redding was a fantastic songwriter.

On “The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul,” Redding wasn't doing the writing, per se, but still doing plenty of other people's songs. Surprisingly, his version of the Lennon/McCartney classic “Day Tripper” is fantastic. Taking risks, he made the classic country standard “Tennessee Waltz” his own and put his own stamp on the big band classic “Try A Little Tenderness.” In fact, on “Try A Little Tenderness,” Redding's name has overtaken the original artists of the song, making it his own.

In addition, the record showcased Redding's ability to sing with sadness in his heart and a hitch in his voice. His own songs, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" and "She Put the Hurt on Me” are brilliant songs, filled with achingly beautiful vocals.

Otis' band, including the famous MG Steve Cropper, is tight as can be on this record. The stops in “Day Tripper” mirror their version of “Satisfaction” and the ability to arrange the “Tennessee Waltz” to an R&B song is brilliant.

Overall, a wonderful record and something to discover, despite the overkill in regards to Redding.

No. 161: The Dock Of The Bay

Band: Otis Redding
Album: The Dock Of The Bay
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Otis Redding is one of the finest voices in soul music and his early death in a plane crash is one of the defining moments for black music fans in the 1960s. "(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay" is probably his most famous song and a beautiful departure from raucous soul.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: While a fine album, the amount of Otis Redding on this list is kind of irritating me.
Best song: The title track is, of course, a classic.
Worst song: "The Hucklebuck" is kind of crappy.
Is it awesome?: It's good, but how much more Otis do I have to listen to?

The title track was recorded in the hopes that Otis could embark on a new phase of his career, doing more soft stuff.

Otis Redding died in December 1967 and "The Dock Of The Bay" came out two months later. It's mostly a collection of b-sides and singles. I imagine those involved likely just wanted to get some money out of this. The songs span the gamut from blues-oriented rock ("Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out") to soul balladry (the title track). The disjointed nature of the record is loved by some (Allmusic says "this is an impossible record not to love"), but I'm not in love with it. I think I'm just getting Otis fatigue.

Of course, I still have two more Otis records before I'm done with him. I guess five of his records isn't ridiculous; He is one of the defining singers of early R&B. But, I'm tired of him.

No. 147: Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology

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?

No. 74: Otis Blue

Band: Otis Redding
Album: Otis Blue
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Otis Redding's third album contains his recording of some really well-known songs. Not surprisingly, Otis hits them out of the park, packing them with soul.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: For one, each of the good songs on the record was done by someone else in a superior form.
Best song: Some say his version of "Respect" (he wrote it) is better than Aretha's, though I'd disagree. The best song on the album is the oldie "Wonderful World."
Worst song: "You Don't Miss Your Water" isn't great.
Is it awesome?: Sure, it's Otis' best record.

Otis Redding is one of the great songwriters of the '60s, penning "Try a Little Tenderness," "Respect" (on this album), and "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay." More importantly, he had one of the better voices in the history of pop music. His voice wasn't sweet like Al Green's or soft like Curtis Mayfield, it was somewhere below that, with a tinge of grit that gave his music a slightly more dangerous feel.

Most of the songs on "Otis Blue" are not Redding originals (he wrote or co-wrote only three of the 11 tracks) and one of those originals is considered the signature song of another artist ("Respect"). Still, Otis puts his stamp on each song in a way that'll have you reimagining the songs.

The Smokey Robinson-penned "My Girl" loses a little of its innocence when Otis sings it, while the line "Don't know much about history" rolls off his tongue in "Wonderful World."

Otis' versions of Sam Cooke's "Shake" and "A Change Is Gonna Come" are wonderfully divergent, with Otis, well, shaking out the former and crooning, hopefully, the latter.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Otis' version of "Respect." I'll say this: "Satisfaction" holds up under nearly ever cover I've heard (my favorite version, of course, is Cat Power's, followed by Devo's), and this one is no different. Otis seemingly makes up words ("satis-fashion," for one), but fills in the instrumental breaks with "got ta"s and "baby"s that augment the song in a way Mick Jagger only wish he could.

It's probably Otis' strongest album, front to back. And for that, it's deserving of its 74 rating.