{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2012}} {{Infobox album | name = Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul | type = studio | artist = Otis Redding | cover = Otis Blue.jpg | alt = | released = September 15, 1965 | recorded = *July 9–10, 1965 *(except April{{nbsp}}1965 for the mono version of "I've Been Loving You Too Long") | studio = Stax (Memphis) | genre = * Soul * R&B * blues * rock * Southern soul | length = 32:22 | label = Volt | producer = * Jim Stewart * Steve Cropper | prev_title = The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads | prev_year = 1965 | next_title = The Soul Album | next_year = 1966 }}
'''''Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul''''' (often referred to simply as '''''Otis Blue''''') is the third studio album by the American soul singer and songwriter Otis Redding. It was first released on September 15, 1965, as an LP record through the Stax Records subsidiary label Volt.
''Otis Blue'' is composed mainly of cover versions of contemporary R&B hits, exploring themes from the blues and love ballads, among others. Three of the LP's eleven songs were written by Redding, and three others were written by fellow soul singer Sam Cooke, who had died several months before the album was made. Except for one track, ''Otis Blue'' was recorded in less than 24 hours (22 studio hours in two sessions which spanned 28 hours from July 9 to 10, 1965), at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee. As with Redding's previous records, he was backed by the Stax house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a horn section featuring members of the Mar-Keys and the Memphis Horns, and pianist Isaac Hayes, providing a rhythmic Southern soul accompaniment for the singer's exuberant and forceful performances.
''Otis Blue'' was a crossover success for Redding and proved one of his best-selling LPs with more than 250,000 copies sold. It was his first to top the US R&B LPs chart and also reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, while three of its singles became top 40 hits: the Redding original "I've Been Loving You Too Long", the Rolling Stones cover "Satisfaction", and "Respect" (later repopularized by Aretha Franklin). Released at the beginning of the album era, ''Otis Blue'' is considered by critics to be Redding's first fully realized LP<ref>{{cite book |author1=Vladimir Bogdanov |author2=Chris Woodstra |author3=Stephen Thomas Erlewine | title = All music guide to soul : the definitive guide to R&B and soul | publisher=Backbeat Books | location = San Francisco, CA | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-87930-744-8 |page=568 }}</ref> and the definitive soul album of its period. It ranks frequently and highly on professional listings of the best albums, including ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (at number 78) and ''Time'' magazine's "All-Time 100 Greatest Albums" (at number 92). A two-disc collector's edition of ''Otis Blue'' was released in 2008 by Rhino Records.
== Background == Stax Records president Jim Stewart had released Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine" as a single after hearing him sing it at an audition in 1962. When it charted, he signed Redding to the label.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnXQSqTx2h0C&pg=PT201 |title=African Americans in the Performing Arts |page=193 |author=Steven Otfinoski |author-link=Steven Otfinoski |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=9781438128559 |access-date=24 October 2012 |archive-date=March 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318081834/https://books.google.com/books?id=gnXQSqTx2h0C&pg=PT201 |url-status=live }}</ref> The moderately successful LP albums ''Pain in My Heart'' (1964) and ''The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads'' (1965) followed, with both performing well on the newly established R&B LPs chart (published by ''Billboard''), although not on its pop counterpart.{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}} Preparations for a third album followed soon after, which would also serve as Redding's second to be released through Volt Records, a subsidiary label of Stax.{{sfn|Freeman|2002|p=77}}{{sfn|Gulla|2007|pp=401–408}}
== Recording == [[File:Stax Records Memphis recording equipment.jpg|thumb|Recording equipment from the Stax studio preserved at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis; house-band player Steve Cropper shown on an adjacent screen, 2013]]
Redding recorded the album with the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s (keyboardist/bandleader Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, drummer Al Jackson Jr.); Isaac Hayes on piano; and a horn section consisting of members of the Mar-Keys and the Memphis Horns. Apart from one track, the album was recorded in under 24 hours in two sessions within a 28 hour period between 10{{nbsp}}am on July 9 (a Saturday) and 2{{nbsp}}pm on July 10, 1965, with a break from 8{{nbsp}}pm Saturday to 2{{nbsp}}am on Sunday to allow the house band to play local gigs.<ref name="Memphis Flyer">{{cite web|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/a-memphis-music-landmark-lavishly-re-released/Content?oid=1143907|title=A Memphis-music landmark, lavishly re-released.|author=Stephen Deusner|publisher=Contemporary Media|access-date=July 21, 2012|archive-date=October 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006012019/http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/a-memphis-music-landmark-lavishly-re-released/Content?oid=1143907|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=John Metzger |url=http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2008/redding-otis-blue-05192008.html#axzz20iexofOG |title=Otis Redding – Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (Album Review) |publisher=Musicbox-online.com |date=May 19, 2008 |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=May 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522155038/http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2008/redding-otis-blue-05192008.html#axzz20iexofOG |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Glasgow">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lsJAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4674,2041087&dq=otis-blue&hl=en|title=Black star's posthumous come-back|author=David Belcher|publisher=The Glasgow Herald|date=January 14, 1984|access-date=July 15, 2012|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107204701/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lsJAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4674%2C2041087&dq=otis-blue&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="RS2" />
As with Redding's previous album, engineer Tom Dowd came to the studio to assist the recording, considering Redding to be a "genius" alongside the likes of Bobby Darin and Ray Charles.{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=59}} "Ole Man Trouble", placed as the opening track on the LP, was finished in sessions earlier than the other songs and later released as a B-side of "Respect".{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}} The album's fifth track, "I've Been Loving You Too Long", had been previously recorded in April in mono with Booker T. Jones on piano. It was released as a single that month and became a number-two hit on ''Billboard''{{'}}s R&B chart; it was re-recorded in stereo for the album.{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}}<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |last=Bowman|first=Rob|title=Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul |others=Otis Redding |date=2015 |type=Liner notes |publisher=Rhino, ATCO |id=081227951856 |quote=For the ''Otis Blue'' sessions, Redding decided to recut 'I've Been Loving You Too Long' in stereo. The song had undergone substantial change since it was originally recorded in April.}}</ref>
==Music and lyrics== [[File:Stax crew Otis Blue.jpg|left|thumb|The Stax crew during ''Otis Blue''{{'}}s recording, from left to right: Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, engineer Tom Dowd, David Porter, Julius Green, Andrew Love, Floyd Newman, Wayne Jackson, and Isaac Hayes.]]
The majority of the tracks on ''Otis Blue'' are cover versions, including three songs originally by fellow soul singer Sam Cooke, who had been shot dead in December 1964.<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r47711/review|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|title=Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul|access-date=February 17, 2012|author=Bruce Eder|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107204703/https://www.allmusic.com/album/otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-mw0000264238|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Jason Mendelsohn of ''PopMatters'', the album is a "set of soul standards, blues and rock covers, Motown hits, and original material".<ref name="PM"/> The album opens with the "mournfully harried" "Ole Man Trouble", described by fellow ''PopMatters'' writer Claudrena N. Harold as one of Redding's most phantasmagoric tunes.<ref name="PopMatters"/><ref name="Pitchfork"/> The lyrics deal with a man, who is "unable to escape the brutal realities of the blues",<ref name="PopMatters"/> and has been compared with Paul Robeson's "Ole Man River".<ref name="Uncut">{{cite magazine|last=Spencer|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Spencer|date=April 29, 2008|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/otis-redding-otis-blue-collectors-edition-8017/|title=Otis Redding – Otis Blue (Collector's Edition)|magazine=Uncut|access-date=June 9, 2021|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610005235/https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/otis-redding-otis-blue-collectors-edition-8017/|url-status=live}}</ref>
"Respect" was possibly inspired by a quote of drummer Al Jackson Jr., who allegedly said to Redding after a tour, "What are you griping about? You're on the road all the time. All you can look for is a little respect when you come home."{{sfn|Black|2008|p=71}} An alternative story is told by Redding's friend and road manager, Earl "Speedo" Sims, who states that the song "came from a group I was singing with", and that even though Redding rewrote it, "a lot of the lyric was still there"; Sims adds: "He told me I would get a credit, but I never did".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRycxiRjvKoC&pg=PT183|title=Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom|pages=183–184|author=Peter Guralnick|publisher=Canongate Books|date=2 May 2002|isbn=9781847676375|access-date=24 October 2012|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019150842/https://books.google.com/books?id=IRycxiRjvKoC&pg=PT183|url-status=live}}</ref> Sims also states that he sang the backing vocals in the chorus.{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}} Essentially a ballad, "Respect" is an uptempo and energetic song, which took "a day to write, 20 minutes to arrange, and one take to record", according to Redding.<ref name="Uncut"/> Aretha Franklin covered this song in 1967 and with it topped the ''Billboard'' R&B and Pop charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/aretha-franklin-p4305/charts-awards/billboard-singles|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|title=Aretha Franklin – Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-date=January 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113222537/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/aretha-franklin-p4305/charts-awards/billboard-singles|url-status=live}}</ref> Redding shouted to a woman for more respect, while Franklin ironically countered the song and transformed it into a "feminist hymn".<ref name="Uncut"/>
thumb|upright|Redding (1966) performs in a forceful and energetic style throughout the album.
The next song is an energetic version of Sam Cooke's ballad, "Change Gonna Come"; a protest against racial segregation and disrespect for black people.<ref>{{cite web |author=Matthew Greenwald |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/a-change-is-gonna-come-mt0010592977 |title=A Change Is Gonna Come – Otis Redding : Listen, Appearances, Song Review |publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715154547/http://www.allmusic.com/song/a-change-is-gonna-come-mt0010592977 |url-status=live }}</ref> "Down in the Valley" is a funky cover of Solomon Burke's original, with whom Redding toured before the recording.<ref name="PopMatters"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/april/09Otis_Blue_Deluxe.shtml |title=Otis Blue Deluxe – antiMUSIC News |publisher=Antimusic.com |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=March 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325075231/http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/april/09Otis_Blue_Deluxe.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Nate Patrin of ''Pitchfork'' felt that the song "ratchets up both the gospel beatitude and the secular lust".<ref name="Pitchfork"/> The love song "I've Been Loving You Too Long" was co-written by Redding and the Impressions' lead singer Jerry Butler in a hotel near the Atlanta airport.{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}} Redding's rendition of Cooke's "Shake" is again funkier. The song is about the club dancing in the so-called discothèques, which debuted in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |author=Matthew Greenwald |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/shake-mt0027166397 |title=Shake – Otis Redding : Listen, Appearances, Song Review |publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715154859/http://www.allmusic.com/song/shake-mt0027166397 |url-status=live }}</ref> The song was described as "a hard-swinging, full-throated 2:40 of precision ferocity with a force that would flat-out explode during his live sets."<ref name="Pitchfork"/>
The last five songs are all covers by popular artists: the Temptations' "My Girl", written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White; Cooke's "Wonderful World"; B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby"; the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", on which Redding sings "fashion" instead of "faction";{{sfn|Bowman|1997|p=57}} and William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water", which was characterized as "sorrowful country blues",<ref name="PopMatters"/> and has "one of the most devastating pleading-man lead vocals in the entire Stax catalog."<ref name="Pitchfork"/> "Satisfaction" sounded so plausible that a journalist even accused the Stones of stealing the song from Redding, and that they performed it after Redding.{{sfn|Wyman|Coleman|1990|p=480}} Music writer Robert Christgau describes it as an "anarchic reading" of the Stones' original.<ref name="Christgau"/>
== Release == ''Otis Blue'' was released on September 15, 1965,<ref name="mojo">{{cite book|page=57|author=Anon.|title=The Mojo Collection|edition=4th|publisher=Canongate Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84767-643-6|chapter=Otis Blue|editor1-first=Jim|editor1-last=Irvin|editor1-link=Jim Irvin|editor2-first=Colin|editor2-last=McLear}}</ref> with Volt issuing the album in the US<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Phelps|editor-first=Shirelle|year=1997|title=Contemporary Black Biography: Profiles from the International Black Community|volume=16|page=180|publisher=Cengage Gale |isbn=0787612251}}</ref> and Atlantic Records releasing it in the UK.<ref name="mojo"/> The album sold more than 250,000 copies, according to music journalist Tony Fletcher, who notes its use of a photo of a white woman on the cover in comparison to the self-representative cover of Redding contemporary Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" (1965), which, conversely, "languished in the R&B racks".<ref>{{cite book|page=269|last=Fletcher|first=Tony|author-link=Tony Fletcher|year=2017|title=In the Midnight Hour: The Life & Soul of Wilson Pickett|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190252946}}</ref> The woman in the image, a stock photo, has never been definitively identified, but is believed to be German model Dagmar Dreger.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://otisredding.com/5-amazing-facts-about-otis-blueotis-redding-sings-soul/|title=5 Amazing Facts About Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul|date=September 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGlBEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Dagmar+Dreger%22&pg=PA113|title=Designed for Dancing: How Midcentury Records Taught America to Dance|first1=Janet|last1=Borgerson|first2=Jonathan|last2=Schroeder|date=October 19, 2021|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262044332 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Although ''Otis Blue'' only reached number 75 on the Pop LPs chart in 1966,<ref name="bbcharts">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-redding-mn0000414251/awards|title=Otis Redding – Awards|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|access-date=2012-07-16|archive-date=March 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315032103/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-redding-mn0000414251/awards|url-status=live}}</ref> three of its singles charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "I've Been Loving You Too Long" charted for 11 weeks and peaked at number 21, "Respect" spent 11 weeks and reached number 35, and "Shake" spent six weeks and reached number 47.<ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=otis redding|chart=all}}|title=Otis Redding Album & Song Chart History|at=Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2012-07-16}}</ref> Both the stereo and mono versions of ''Otis Blue'' charted in the United Kingdom; the former spent 21 weeks and reached number six in 1966, and the latter spent 54 weeks and reached number seven in 1967.<ref name="UKcharts">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/otis%20redding/|title=Otis Redding|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=2012-07-16|archive-date=October 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023034655/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/otis%20redding/|url-status=live}}</ref> Two different pressings of the song "My Girl" also charted in the UK; a 7-inch single peaked at number 11 and charted for 16 weeks in 1965, and a reissued single in 1968 reached number 36 and charted for nine weeks.<ref name="UKcharts"/> "Satisfaction" peaked at number 33 and "Shake" peaked at number 28 in the UK.<ref name="UKcharts"/>
''Otis Blue''{{'}}s commercial performance helped Redding cross over into the pop market.<ref name="Virgin">{{cite book | editor-last = Colin | editor-first = Larkin | title = The Virgin encyclopedia of popular music | publisher=Virgin Books In association with Muze UK | location = London | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-85227-923-3}}</ref> Summarizing its mainstream impact, Alan Lewis from ''Record Collector'' called ''Otis Blue'' "the soul album that sealed [Redding's] world reputation as the soul singer. The one whose title, with hindsight, probably did most to establish the use of the word 'soul' to define the music previously known as R&B."<ref name="RC"/> It also served as evidence that "the album era was here", according to music journalist Mat Snow, who cites it among a series of mid-1960s rock LPs – the Rolling Stones' ''Aftermath'', the Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'', Bob Dylan's ''Blonde on Blonde'', the Beatles' ''Revolver'', and the Who's ''A Quick One'' – proving hit singles were "no longer pop's most important money spinners and artistic statements".<ref>{{cite book|page=67|last=Snow|first=Mat|author-link=Mat Snow |year=2015|title=The Who: Fifty Years of My Generation|publisher=Race Point Publishing|isbn=978-1627887823}}</ref> ''PopMatters'' journalist Eric Klinger added that it was uniquely successful as a soul LP, noting that "outside of rock music, the album was a basically untapped medium. LPs were almost an afterthought, with a couple of recent hit singles and enough filler to justify the $2.98 cost."<ref name="PM">{{cite magazine|last1=Mendelsohn|first1=Jason|last2=Klinger|first2=Eric|date=December 9, 2011|url=https://www.popmatters.com/151464-otis-redding-2495917177.html|title=Counterbalance No. 61: 'Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul'|magazine=PopMatters|access-date=June 9, 2021|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610005239/https://www.popmatters.com/151464-otis-redding-2495917177.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022 it was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry, indicating 100,000 equivalent-units in the UK.<ref name="bpi"/>
== Critical reception and legacy == {{Music ratings | title = Retrospective professional reviews | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Allmusic"/> | rev2 = ''Blender'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Christgau">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bl/redding-08.php |title=Otis Redding: ''Otis Blue—Otis Redding Sings Soul'' |first=Robert |last=Christgau |magazine=Blender |date=May 2008 |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018013037/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/bl/redding-08.php |url-status=live }}</ref> | rev3 = ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2007|chapter=Otis Redding|page=1948|isbn=9780857125958|publisher=Omnibus Press}}</ref> | rev4 = ''MusicHound R&B'' | rev4Score = 5/5<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Otis Redding|editor1-first=Gary|editor1-last=Graff|editor-link1=Gary Graff|editor2-first=Josh Freedom|editor2-last=du Lac|editor3-first=Jim|editor3-last=McFarlin|year=1998|title=MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|isbn=1578590264|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/musichoundrbesse00graf}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev5Score = 10/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/11376-otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-collectors-edition/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131145840/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/11376-otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-collectors-edition/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |title=Otis Redding: ''Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul'' (Collector's Edition) |first=Nate |last=Patrin |date=May 9, 2008 |work=Pitchfork Media |access-date=October 6, 2011 }}</ref> | rev6 = ''PopMatters'' | rev6Score = 9/10<ref name="PopMatters">{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/otis-redding-otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-2496157711.html |title=Otis Redding: ''Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul'' |first=Claudrena N |last=Harold |date=May 2, 2008 |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609222641/https://www.popmatters.com/otis-redding-otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-2496157711.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | rev7 = ''Q'' | rev7Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Q">{{cite magazine|title=Otis Blue review |magazine=Q |date=February 1993 |page=92 |publisher=Bauer Media |issn=0955-4955}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Record Collector'' | rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RC">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/review-detail/2442 |title=Otis Redding – Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul: Collector's Edition |first=Alan |last=Lewis |magazine=Record Collector |date=June 2008 |publisher=Diamond Publishing |issn=0261-250X |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=September 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919065010/http://www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/review-detail/2442 |url-status=live }}</ref> | rev9 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RS"/> | rev10 = ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RSguide"/> }} ''Otis Blue'' has been regarded by music critics as Redding's best work.<ref name="Virgin"/> ''Uncut'' magazine's Neil Spencer called it "the greatest album of his career [and] arguably the definitive album of the soul era",<ref name="Uncut"/> while ''Rolling Stone'' described it as "Redding's true dictionary of soul, a stunning journey through the past and future vocabulary of R&B ... documenting a masterful artist rising to ... the immense challenge of his times."<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 17, 2000 |page=114 |publisher=Straight Arrow |issn=0035-791X |title=Otis Blue review}}</ref> In ''The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'' (2004), Paul Evans named it Redding's "first masterwork",<ref name="RSguide">{{cite book | editor1 = Nathan Brackett | editor2 = Christian David Hoard | title = The new Rolling Stone album guide | publisher = Simon & Schuster | location = New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-7432-0169-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&q=Otis+Blue&pg=PA680 | access-date = December 15, 2020 | archive-date = June 10, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210610020004/https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&q=Otis+Blue&pg=PA680 | url-status = live }}</ref> and fellow ''Rolling Stone'' critic David Fricke called it "perfect".<ref name="RS2">{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-collectors-edition-20080515 |title=Otis Redding: ''Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul'' <nowiki>[Collector's Edition]</nowiki> |first=David |last=Fricke |date=May 15, 2008 |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Straight Arrow |issn=0035-791X |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=May 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516132008/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/otis-blue-otis-redding-sings-soul-collectors-edition-20080515 |url-status=live }}</ref> Writing for ''Blender'', Christgau appraised it as "the first great album by one of soul's few reliable long-form artists",<ref name="Christgau"/> while ''The Mojo Collection'' regarded it as "the definitive Southern soul album"<ref>{{cite book|title=The Mojo Collection|edition=4th|publisher=Canongate Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84767-643-6|editor1-first=Jim|editor1-last=Irvin|editor1-link=Jim Irvin|editor2-first=Colin|editor2-last=McLear|page=57}}</ref> and Patrin deemed it the "greatest studio-recorded soul LP" from the 1960s.<ref name="Pitchfork"/>
In a retrospective review for ''Pitchfork'', Patrin went on to call ''Otis Blue'' "a hell of a record, the crowning achievement of a man who could sound pained and celebratory and tender and gritty and proud all at once, with a voice that everyone from John Fogerty to Swamp Dogg to Cee-lo owes a debt to".<ref name="Pitchfork"/> Bruce Eder from AllMusic explained further that "Redding's powerful, remarkable singing throughout makes ''Otis Blue'' gritty, rich, and achingly alive, and an essential listening experience", showcasing "his talent unfettered, his direction clear, and his confidence emboldened".<ref name="Allmusic"/> "Song for song, it's difficult to imagine a better soul record", wrote Stephen Deusner in the ''Memphis Flyer'', crediting the singer's "effortlessly expressive vocals" and the "measured accompaniment" of the Stax house band.<ref name="Memphis Flyer"/> Similarly, Spencer praised "Cropper's stinging guitar and the atonal Memphis horns", saying it is "as much their album as Redding's",<ref name="Uncut"/> while ''Q'' noted how the performers' individual musical elements coalesce with "a beautiful precision which borders on a kind of Southern soul sorcery ... arguably the hottest and strongest half-hour in soul".<ref name="Q"/> Angus Taylor of BBC Music found ''Otis Blue'' to be "at the crossroads of pop, rock, gospel, blues and soul", with a series of "short, punchy" songs "flawlessly ordered to ebb and flow between stirring balladry and foot stomping exuberance", making it Redding's "definitive statement".<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/2dhj/ |title=Otis Redding ''Otis Blue'' Review |first=Angus |last=Taylor |date=December 7, 2007 |publisher=BBC Music |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=January 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109232740/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/2dhj/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Harold, in ''PopMatters'', also praised the diverse sound, which, according to her, is a mixture of "Motown pop, the blues, British rock, and Southern Soul", although she cited ''Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul'' (1966) as Redding's best album.<ref name="PopMatters" />
''Otis Blue'' has featured on many professional lists of the best albums. According to Lewis, it is "predictably named as a Top 100 album, the token soul set in lists compiled by trendies who surely never bought it at the time."<ref name="RC"/> In 1993, ''NME'' ranked it 35th on the magazine's "Greatest Albums of All Time" issue<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=NME |date=2 October 1993 |page=29 |issn=0028-6362 |url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1096926/a/Otis+Blue+-+Otis+Redding+Sings+Soul.htm |access-date=October 6, 2011 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610140239/http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1096926/a/Otis+Blue+-+Otis+Redding+Sings+Soul.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and 405th on a similar list in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barker |first1=Emily |title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 500-401 |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-500-401-1426363 |website=NME |access-date=11 June 2024 |date=21 October 2013}}</ref> The album was also ranked at number 74 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003), number 78 in a 2012 revised edition of the list,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/otis-redding-otis-blue-159597/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=Rolling Stone| access-date=September 23, 2019| archive-date=September 23, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923101247/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/otis-redding-otis-blue-159597/| url-status=live}}</ref> and number 178 in a 2020 revised edition.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-09-14|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=July 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702101400/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Time'' placed it at number 92 on the magazine's "All-Time 100 Greatest Albums". It has also appeared in ''Q'' magazine's "Best Soul Albums of All Time" and Robert Dimery's ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/1001albums.htm|publisher=Rocklist.net|access-date=November 15, 2011|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|archive-date=May 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508060133/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/1001albums.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
==Track listing== {{track listing | headline = Side one | title1 = Ole Man Trouble | writer1 = Otis Redding | length1 = 2:55 | title2 = Respect | writer2 = Redding | length2 = 2:05 | title3 = Change Gonna Come | writer3 = Sam Cooke | length3 = 4:17 | title4 = Down in the Valley | writer4 = Bert Berns, Solomon Burke, Babe Chivian, Joe Martin | length4 = 3:02 | title5 = I've Been Loving You Too Long | writer5 = Redding, Jerry Butler | length5 = 3:10 }}
{{track listing | headline = Side two | title1 = Shake | writer1 = Cooke | length1 = 2:35 | title2 = My Girl | writer2 = Smokey Robinson, Ronald White | length2 = 2:52 | title3 = Wonderful World | writer3 = Cooke, Lou Adler, Herb Alpert | length3 = 3:00 | title4 = Rock Me Baby | writer4 = B.B. King | length4 = 3:20 | title5 = Satisfaction | writer5 = Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | length5 = 2:45 | title6 = You Don't Miss Your Water | writer6 = William Bell | length6 = 2:53 }}
=== 2008 collector's edition === An expanded double-disc collector's edition of ''Otis Blue'' was released in 2008 by Rhino Records. It includes both the stereo and mono versions of the original album alongside bonus tracks in B-sides, live recordings, and previously unreleased alternate mixes.<ref name="PopMatters"/><ref name="Pitchfork" /> Christgau graded the edition with four out of five stars, saying it "comes with many useless alternate takes, but also with live tracks that preserve for history Redding's country-goes-uptown style of fun".<ref name="Christgau" />
{{track listing | headline = Disc one: ''Otis Blue'' (mono version) and selections from ''In Person at the Whisky a Go Go'' (1968)
| title1 = Ole Man Trouble | length1 = | title2 = Respect | length2 = | title3 = Change Gonna Come | length3 = | title4 = Down in the Valley | length4 = | title5 = I've Been Loving You Too Long | length5 = | title6 = Shake | length6 = | title7 = My Girl | length7 = | title8 = Wonderful World | length8 = | title9 = Rock Me Baby | length9 = | title10 = Satisfaction | length10 = | title11 = You Don't Miss Your Water | length11 = | title12 = I've Been Loving You Too Long | note12 =Previously unreleased / Mono | length12 = | title13 = I'm Depending on You | note13 =Bonus track | length13 = | title14 = Respect | note14 =Previously unreleased / Mono | length14 = | title15 = Ole Man Trouble | note15 =Previously unreleased / Mono | length15 = | title16 =Any Ole Way | note16 =Bonus track | title17 =Shake | note17 =Bonus track: Live 1967, Stereo Mix of Single Version | title18 =Ole Man Trouble | note18 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go | title19 =Respect | note19 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go | title20 =I've Been Loving You Too Long | note20 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go | title21 = Satisfaction | note21 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go | title22 =I'm Depending on You | note22 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go | title23 = Any Ole Way | note23 =Bonus track: Live at the Whisky a Go Go }}
{{track listing | headline = Disco two: ''Otis Blue'' (stereo) and selections from ''Live in Europe'' (1967) | title1 = Ole Man Trouble | title2 = Respect | title3 = Change Gonna Come | title4 = Down in the Valley | title5 = I've Been Loving You Too Long | title6 = Shake | title7 = My Girl | title8 = Wonderful World | title9 = Rock Me Baby | title10 = Satisfaction | title11 = You Don't Miss Your Water | title12 = Respect | note12 = Bonus track: 1967 version | title13 = I've Been Loving You Too Long | note13 = Bonus track: Live in Europe | title14 = My Girl | note14 = Bonus track: Live in Europe | title15 = Shake | note15 = Bonus track: Live in Europe | title16 = Satisfaction | note16 = Bonus track: Live in Europe | title17 = Respect | note17 = Bonus track: Live in Europe }}
==Charts== {|class="wikitable" |- !Chart !Peak <br /> position |- |''Billboard'' Pop chart | style="text-align:center;"|75<ref name=chart>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-redding-mn0000414251/awards |title=Otis Redding – Awards : AllMusic |work=allmusic.com |access-date=October 4, 2012 |archive-date=March 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315032103/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-redding-mn0000414251/awards |url-status=live }}</ref> |- |''Billboard'' R&B chart | style="text-align:center;"|1<ref name=chart/> |- |UK Album Chart | style="text-align:center;"|6<ref>{{Cite web |title=otis blue {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/otis-blue/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=www.officialcharts.com |language=en}}</ref> |}
=== Singles === {|class="wikitable" |- !Song !Chart !Peak <br /> position |- |rowspan=2|"Respect"<br/>b/w "Ole Man Trouble" |''Billboard'' Pop chart | style="text-align:center;"|35<ref name=chart/> |- |''Billboard'' R&B chart | style="text-align:center;"|4<ref name=chart/> |- |rowspan=2|"I've Been Loving You Too Long"<br/>b/w "Just One More Day" |''Billboard'' Pop chart | style="text-align:center;"|21<ref name=chart/> |- |''Billboard'' R&B chart | style="text-align:center;"|2<ref name=chart/> |- |rowspan=2|"Shake"<br/>b/w "You Don't Miss Your Water" |''Billboard'' Pop chart | style="text-align:center;"|47<ref name=chart/> |- |''Billboard'' R&B chart | style="text-align:center;"|16<ref name=chart/> |- |rowspan=2|"Satisfaction"<br/>b/w "Any Ole Way" |''Billboard'' Pop chart | style="text-align:center;"|31<ref name=chart/> |- |''Billboard'' R&B chart | style="text-align:center;"|4<ref name=chart/> |}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Otis Redding|title=Otis Blue|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2001|certyear=2022|id=4936-1496-2|access-date=August 6, 2022|refname="bpi"}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
==Personnel== '''Musicians''' *Otis Redding – vocals *Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes – keyboards, piano *Steve Cropper – guitar *Donald Dunn – bass guitar *Al Jackson Jr. – drums *Wayne Jackson, Gene "Bowlegs" Miller – trumpet *Andrew Love – tenor saxophone *Floyd Newman – baritone saxophone *William Bell – backing vocals (track 2) *Earl Sims – backing vocals (track 2)
'''Additional personnel''' *Tom Dowd – engineer *Jim Stewart – supervision *Yves Beauvais – reissue producer *Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch – remastering *Pete Sahula – cover photo *Haig Adishian – cover design *Bob Rolontz – liner notes
==See also== *List of number-one R&B albums of 1965 (U.S.)
==References== {{Reflist|3}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|first1=Rob|last1=Bowman|year=1997|title=Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records|location=New York, NY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XLdsRwpZ9oYC&q=Soulsville%20USA%20Rob%20Bowman%20steve%20cropper&pg=PP1|publisher=Schirmer Trade|isbn=978-0-8256-7284-2|oclc=36824884}} * {{cite book|first=Scott|last=Freeman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4uuzPAAACAAJ&q=freeman+Otis+redding|title=Otis!: The Otis Redding Story|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-312-30297-9|oclc=47443887}} * {{cite book|first=Bob|last=Gulla|year=2007|title=Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLgqFaYmgw8C&q=Icons%20of%20R%26B%20and%20Soul%3A%20An%20Encyclopedia%20of%20the%20Artists%20Who%20Revolutionized%20Rhythm%2C%20Volume%201&pg=PA395|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-34044-4|oclc=220310006}} * {{cite book|ref=none|first=Peter|last=Guralnick|author-link=Peter Guralnick|url=https://archive.org/details/sweetsoulmusicrh0000gura_g0m5|publisher=Back Bay Books|title=Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom|year=1999|isbn=978-0-316-33273-6|oclc=41950519|df=mdy-all|url-access=registration}} *{{cite book| title = Otis Blue album liner notes by Bob Rolontz | publisher=Atlantic Recording Corp}} *{{cite book|last=Black|first=Johnny|title=Classic Tracks Back to Back: Singles and Albums|year=2008|publisher=Thunder Bay Press|isbn=978-1-59223-872-9}} *{{cite book|last1=Wyman|first1=Bill|last2=Coleman|first2=Ray|title=Stone alone: the story of a rock 'n' roll band|date=November 20, 1990|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-82894-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/stonealone00wyma}}
== Further reading == * {{cite magazine|ref=none|last=Harper|first=Simon|date=September 18, 2015|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/talkin-about-heart-and-soul-otis-redding|title=Talkin' About Heart And Soul: Otis Redding|magazine=Clash|access-date=June 9, 2021}}
==External links== <!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices --> *[https://archive.today/20130416122144/http://www.radio3net.ro/dbartists/supersearch/T3RpcyBCbHVlOiBPdGlzIFJlZGRpbmcgU2luZ3MgU291bCAoU3RheCk=/Otis%20Blue:%20Otis%20Redding%20Sings%20Soul%20(Stax) ''Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul''] (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed) * {{Discogs master|type=album|1760}}
{{Otis Redding (navbox)}} {{Authority control}} {{Good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otis Blue Otis Redding Sings Soul}} Category:1966 albums Category:Albums produced by Jim Stewart (record producer) Category:Atco Records albums Category:Otis Redding albums Category:Volt Records albums