While the Dictionary of Soul was written by Brown, Charles and Cooke in 1960 or so, Otis has the honor of being an editor. His cover of the ancient "Try a Little Tenderness", the only version of the song most people know, is probably his best song ever, thanks to the building emotion in the vocal that eventually explodes. He goes for the more direct emotional approach on some of his own songs, such as the soul shouter "I'm Sick Y'all", and the quiet, reserved, slow soul "Sweet Lorrane". He also writes "My Lover's Prayer", a song with a wonderful melody; the fun Willie Dixon-like blues "Hawg for You", with a fine guitar solo, and the raw "Ton of Joy" on his own; the M.G.'s co-wrote, and were heavily involved in winners like "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" and "I'm Sick Y'all": the oft-covered soul of "Tennessee Waltz" (which he probably picked up from Sam Cooke) also gets a strong performance. A couple weak points include a bad cover of "Day Tripper", which fails where "Satisfaction" succeeded, and "You're Still My Baby", a dumbed-down "Tenderness". Even with those faults, this is still a worthy successor to Otis Blue.
December 9, 2007 Otis Redding is smokin' hot with his wonderful retinue of songs! If you are looking for burning soul with horns,flourishes and classy crooning then this is the one for you!
My favorite, Try A Little Tenderness squeezes out every possible high note there is, Sad Song is a great gut bustin' fa fa fa fa fa fabulous venue for the master of soul. Buy it and you won't regret one single instant.
July 15, 2006i don't want to spoil anyone's listening experience but if you've never heard the first song on this album before then turn your stereo up really loud before you do 'cause the first words out of his mouth are so funny you will laugh.
February 20, 2005 |  | Singing " Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa". |  |
Otis Redding was one of the greatest soul singers of all time. He could rock like Little Richard, and then turn around and sing a ballad like Sam Cooke. This was his fifth album, from 1966. It contains a mixture of some classic hits like "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa" and "Try a Little Tenderness", and fine lesser known songs like "Hawg For You". But what really showcases Otis's unique talent is the cover songs here. He could take a country song like "Tennessee Waltz", a standard like "Try a Little Tenderness", a Beatles song like "Day Tripper" and and old R&B song like "You're Still My Baby" and when he got through with them they sounded like Otis Redding songs. Fans of classic sould should dig this album.
September 10, 2004This was my 2nd Otis CD, after "Otis Blue", and it is a great companion to that great record. I love the Memphis horn sound; much of the greatness of these recordings is the backing of Booker T and MGs. I really find these CDs to be fun, just fun to listen to, tap your feet to, sing along with. Otis has loads of personality and a distinctive voice. Good stuff.
December 23, 2003More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(7 reviews)