Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]mid R&B-gig standards like the Temptations' 'My Girl,' the melodic invention in Redding's songs and the emotional investment in his performances mark the point at which he stopped merely singing soul music. He now created his own..." Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.114) - Ranked #74 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" Rolling Stone (8/17/00, p.114) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...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." Q (p.121) - "[H]e lends a passionate intensity to every song..." Q (5/00, p.135) - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Soul Albums Of All Time" Q (2/93, p.92) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "...the isolated constituent parts of OTIS BLUE come together with a beautiful precision which borders on a kind of Southern soul sorcery...arguably the hottest and strongest half-hour in soul..." Uncut (p.102) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[B]eautifully grained, gospel-rich performances....The band, Cropper's stinging guitar and the atonal Memphis horns, are phenomenal throughout -- this is as much their album as Redding's." Q (Magazine) (p.157) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is widely regarded as Southern soul's crowning glory. The almost perfect crystallisation of Stax's gritty house sound, there's no filler..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.124) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he album opens with a stolid blues, 'Ole Man Trouble,' but then explodes wide open with Redding's own 'Respect'..." NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #35 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of All Time.' Paste (magazine) (p.65) - "OTIS BLUE marked the beginning of increased visibility for Redding....Consistently gripping..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.83) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "So spare, so strong, not a note wasted, defining the very spirit of 60s soul and never sounding better. And riding it all, that amazing voice, that unique fusion of pain and pride, of yearning and percussive drive."