OTIS REDDING

LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP

2010-06-29

Most people these days know Otis Redding by his pop hit, "Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay". This disc is a reminder of Redding’s solid Soul credentials which had crowds sweating from coast to coast rather than simply whistling along with that great cut. Recorded in 1966 just a year before his unfortunate death this disc captures Redding in his prime in an intimate live venue, The Whiskey A Go Go. Featuring three complete sets recorded during the last two nights of a four night appearance Redding lights up the crowd with a number of his own hits as well as wild-eyed covers of the Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction", the Beatles, "A Hard Day’s Night" and James Brown, "Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag". With a ten piece band laying down the smoking grooves Redding took his audience to both church and the bedroom. Hearing his original version of "Respect" before it was co-opted by Aretha and his vocals pushing the hot horn charts of "I Can’t Turn You Loose" makes you realize just what a powerful performer he was. While the inclusion of three separate sets results in repeated performances of many of the tunes it is interesting to hear his consistent enthusiasm regardless of whether he was in first set or last set mode. The multi-set format of this release also gives you the chance to hear him mix up the pace and song selection from set to set to capture the maximum amount of audience enthusiasm. Thankfully, this release gives us a chance to share in the fun. Smitty