The King of Soul (4-CD Box)

4 CDs with Otis' best from the studio and stage.

THE KING OF SOULs arrival coincides with the 50th anniversary of Reddings debut album, Pain In My Heart, which helped define the sound of Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. This new set features 92 songs and retraces the singers career from his meteoric rise to his untimely death in a 1967 plane crash.

The songs reveal the breadth of Reddings talent, starting with his gift for songwriting: I Cant Turn You Loose, Ole Man Trouble and (Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay, his posthumous #1 hit. His reputation as a magnetic and dynamic performer is well served by a selection of live performances recorded in 1966 at the Whisky a Go Go in L.A. (These Arms of Mine and Papas Got a Brand New Bag) and in 1967 during the legendary Stax/Volt Revue tour of Europe (Shake and Try a Little Tenderness.)

Redding was also an expert interpreter of other artists work, putting his distinct twist on everything from Solomon Burkes Down in the Valley and William Bells You Dont Miss Your Water, to the Stones (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction and Smokey Robinsons My Girl. THE KING OF SOUL also spotlights his unforgettable collaborations with singer Carla Thomas like Lovey Dovey and Tramp.


Tracklisting:

CD 1
01. These Arms Of Mine
02. Hey Hey Baby
03. That's What My Heart Needs
04. Mary's Little Lamb
05. Pain In My Heart
06. Something Is Worrying Me
07. Come To Me
08. Don't Leave Me This Way
09. Security
10. Chained And Bound
11. Your One And Only Man
12. That's How Strong My Love Is
13. Mr. Pitiful
14. A Woman, A Lover, A Friend
15. Nothing Can Change This Love
16. It's Too Late
17. For Your Precious Love
18. Home In Your Heart
19. I've Been Loving You Too Long
20. I'm Depending On You
21. Respect
22. Ole Man Trouble
23. Change Gonna Come

CD 2
01. Shake
02. Satisfaction
03. Down In The Valley
04. My Girl
05. Rock Me Baby
06. You Don't Miss Your Water
07. I Can't Turn You Loose
08. Just One More Day
09. Any Ole Way
10. It's Growing
11. Cigarettes and Coffee
12. Chain Gang
13. Nobody Knows You
14. Good To Me
15. Everybody Makes A Mistake
16. Just One More Day (Live, 1966)*
17. Mr. Pitiful (Live, 1966)*
18. Satisfaction (Live, 1966)*
19. These Arms Of Mine (Live, 1966)*
20. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag (Live, 1966)*
21. Don't Mess With Cupid
22. My Lover's Prayer

CD 3
01. Try A Little Tenderness
02. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)
03. I'm Sick Y'All
04. Tennessee Waltz
05. Sweet Lorene
06. Day Tripper
07. You're Still My Baby
08. Hawg For You
09. I Love You More Than Words Can Say
10. Let Me Come On Home
11. Open The Door
12. Tramp [Feat. Otis & Carla]
13. Knock On Wood [Feat. Otis & Carla]
14. Let Me Be Good To You [Feat. Otis & Carla]
15. Lovey Dovey [Feat. Otis & Carla]
16. New Year's Resolution [Feat. Otis & Carla]
17. Ooh Carla, Ooh Otis [Feat. Otis & Carla]
18. White Christmas
19. Merry Christmas Baby
20. Glory Of Love
21. The Huckle-Buck*
22. Tell The Truth*

CD 4
01. Respect (Live, 1967)*
02. Can't Turn You Loose (Live, 1967)*
03. I've Been Loving You Too Long (Live, 1967)*
04. My Girl (Live, 1967)*
05. Shake (Live, 1967)*
06. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) (Live, 1967)*
07. Try A Little Tenderness (Live, 1967)*
08. I've Got Dreams To Remember*
09. Nobody's Fault But Mine*
10. Hard To Handle*
11. Thousand Miles Away*
12. The Happy Song (Dum-Dum-De-De-De-Dum-Dum)*
13. A Waste Of Time*
14. Champagne And Wine*
15. A Fool For You*
16. I'm A Changed Man*
17. Direct Me*
18. Love Man*
19. Look At That Girl*
20. Free Me*
21. The Match Game*
22. A Little Time
23. Johnny's Heartbreak
24. Amen*
25. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay*

(*) Stereo Recordings
All other recordings appear in Mono

Original recordings produced by Jim Stewart, the Stax Staff (Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr., Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes & David Porter) and Nesuhi Ertegun.

See booklet for further details on each track's personnel, recording dates and composers.

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Review:

"Although his recording career only lasted five years, from 1962 through 1967 (seven studio albums in all), with his biggest hits coming in the last two years of that time, and his only number one, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," after his death, Otis Redding is still widely considered the greatest performer of the classic Soul era, a designation he undoubtedly deserves. A dynamic performer and a more than competent songwriter ("Dock of the Bay," for instance, is a Redding original), he brought the energy and directness of gospel into the secular world with a fervor and passion that made his songs, and particularly his live versions of them, into gritty sermons on the joy, loss, pain, and yearning that attends being in love. It helped, too, that his backing outfit on most of his tracks was the great Stax Records house band the MG's, who knew how to punch in and stomp it and also when to lay back in a quiet storm behind him, and the band and Redding together were an unstoppable force.

There have been plenty of Redding compilations over the years, with this one, The King of Soul, being yet another one, but it is distinctive for its breadth, tracking the arc of Redding's career through 92 tracks arranged chronologically over four discs, and because it also, particularly when covering the early years, includes mono mixes, which often carried more tightly focused punch than the stereo ones. Appearing during the 50th anniversary year of the release of Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, this set tells the story of the King of Soul as well as any other compilation out there. Everything essential is here, and with Otis Redding, it's pretty much all essential. He was that kind of artist."

Steve Leggett -All Music Guide