51. Otis Redding — Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

Not blue-eyed soul

1. To avoid burying the lede: this is the best studio soul album I’ve encountered so far in the 1001. It’s a stone cold stunner. I’m just blown away by Redding’s voice, as varied and powerful and soft and gritty and irresistible as any other out there. It’s entirely depressing that two years after its release, Redding’s plane crashed in Wisconsin and robbed us of more.
2. The song selection — a mix of covers and originals, some by Sam Cooke — ebb and flow perfectly between dancy jams and hard hitting ballads. Cooke demolishes the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” — apparently he’d not even heard the song when covering it, and that lends it its own flair. You’d think it was his originally, not theirs. Meanwhile is “Respect” (which was a Redding original) doesn’t quite hang with Aretha, but Otis is maybe the only artist who could come close. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” is just hauntingly gorgeous. This album is all killer, no filler.
3. Lots of credit to his insane band as well. Otis lined up Booker T and the MG’s to back him up, along with the Memphis Horns, and Isaac Hayes on piano. That’s just an insane group of musicians for your session band, and they earn their keep here, matching Otis’s expressions and rhythms note for note.
4. All of this is captured in an incredibly lush production. The sound engineering, recording, and mastering is chef’s kiss. It can’t be easy to capture the full range of Redding’s voice this perfectly, and yet they pull it off.
5. The version of this album on Spotify is a collector’s edition, which includes some live recordings. The recording of “Satisfaction” is wild, kicking up the bpm to ludicrous speed while the audience loses its mind. I recommend checking it out.
   
   After you listen to the album itself, which you should do ASAP.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify: