Live in London & Paris (Dig) [Live, Original recording remastered]

Otis Redding | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1967
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording remastered
• Label: Stax
• ASIN: B001EGS5BK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,056 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #39 in Music > R&B > Soul > Memphis Soul
  • #45 in Music > R&B > Soul > Southern Soul

Editorial Reviews

Otis Redding, Live in London and Paris

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soul master at the peak of his powers, September 25, 2008

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Live in London & Paris (Dig) (Audio CD)

Redding's live performances of the mid-60s are surprisingly well documented. Individual pieces of his work on Stax's package tours of Europe can be heard on Live in Europe, The Stax/Volt Revue, Vol. 1: Live in London, the Ace Records collection 1,000 Volts of Stax, and the DVD Stax/Volt Revue Live In Norway 1967. His stateside performances have turned up on several Monterey Pop artifacts, and two albums worth of tracks document his shows at the Whisky A Go Go (1 2). What separates this new release from the rest is the full picture of Redding's set at the top of the Stax ticket. Stretching to over an hour, the nineteen tracks collect performances from back-to-back concerts in London and Paris, showing off not only the incendiary songs, but the excitement of the shows, from Emperor Rosko's name-spelling introduction in London to the climactic renditions of "Try a Little Tenderness" that leave both audiences chanting for more.

Heading up a bill that featured Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd and Sam & Dave, and backed by Booker T. and the M.G.'s and the Mar-Keys, Redding's headlining slot found the party already well under way. Even so, his introduction was enough to take the crowd to a new level of excitement. With the M.G.'s kicking off the pulsing intro of "Respect," Redding hits the stage like a soul hurricane at full speed, pulling the band into the cyclone with all his might. In the shorter London set he slows for a cover of "My Girl," burning with emotion on what had been his first hit single in the UK. The band plays more grittily than Motown's funk brothers, with the Mar-Keys' horns stretching to hit high notes and Redding scatting to close the song. The rolling drum and horn intro of "Shake" elicits a cheer from the crowd, dialing up the electricity as the crowd shouts along to Redding's exhortations.

Redding included two British Invasion hits in this set, working the Beatles' "Day Tripper" and the Stones' "Satisfaction" into Stax-styled soul shouts. The former found Redding weaving his way in and around the lyrics at double-speed with the horn section on his tail, the latter revs up Redding's soul testimony to a frenzy. The London show closes with a tour de force seven-minute version of "Try a Little Tenderness," opening with melancholy horns that segue into the opening stanza from Redding and organist Booker T. Jones. It's the calm before the storm, as the song rises to crescendo after crescendo, sustained for three minutes by the emcee and crowd's invitations for more, and culminating with most of the Stax revue joining in the finale.

The Paris program opens similarly to London's with a call-and-response introduction and the pounding intro of "Respect." Unlike the London show, which had a curfew, Redding's Paris set was longer, and kept up the pulsing rhythm with "I Can't Turn You Lose" before turning to the showcase ballad "I've Been Loving You Too Long." The song's starts and stops leave the crowd breathless, and Redding's vocal pyrotechnics elicit both shouts and applause. The set list reprises several selections from London before adding a somber version of "These Arms of Mine" and closing the show with yet another barn-burning version of "Try a Little Tenderness."

Remixed from the original multitrack masters (recorded originally by the legendary Tom Dowd), the results are crisp and punchy, with Redding's vocals forcefully at the fore and the Stax band solidly underneath. The disc is delivered in a digipack with a 16-page booklet that includes period photos and poster art, and liner notes from Bill Belmont, Ace Records' Roger Armstrong, French author Jean-Noel Orgouz, and M.G. guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding's return to Europe was a triumph, and his stage patter showed deep appreciation for his audiences as he playfully acknowledged "it's good to be home." Home for Redding was anywhere that people loved soul music, and at the height of his powers there were few who could unleash anything more soulful than this. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How about 10 stars?, February 2, 2009

By 

T. Korol "music lover" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Live in London & Paris (Dig) (Audio CD)

Everyone has their own taste. For me, Otis was the greatest male vocalist ever. Period. As part of the touring Stax review, no artist got hour or more long sets, so these are actually (I think) the longest sets of the review shows. Hyperbolium did an excellent overview of the history and show details - much thanks.

All I can add is pounce. Otis' vocals are mixed front and center, but the band mix is very clear and crisp (Booker/MG's, MarKays - you simply do not get any tighter.)Both sets are on fire, starting with the MC whipping the audience into an early frenzy. Throughout the crowd response is audible and I think they kind of liked it ;-)

No highlights for me, just two red hot sets. And each Try a Little Tenderness goes higher and higher with the MC exhorting the crowd and Otis repeating the chorus over and over and over - it becomes a religious revival type experience. Fans know. The man sang with passion and all his soul. He put it all out there, every last ounce.

What a great loss. Otis uniquely was bridging R&R and R&B/soul, and his performance at Monterey opened the door to a large new audience. Who knows where it would have went from there. If anyone is not familiar with him, this is a great place to start. Then backtrack to his superb studio output and many other available live performances. There are also a couple of great DVD's - Remembering Otis and The Legacy of Otis Redding - to see the man do his thing. There will never be another like Otis Redding, and Stax/Volt has released a real treat here. I hope there is more to come...

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars. Fans will not want to miss this one, April 18, 2009

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live in London & Paris (Dig) (Audio CD)

This 2008 release brings together two 1967 performances from London and Paris respectively. The March 17th set from London was originally issued by Atlantic in 1967, but as far as I can tell the Paris set from March 21st has never been available before, and certainly not in its entirety - oddly enough, since it is the best of the two.

Otis Redding is backed by Booker T. and the MGs here, and they have brough the Mar-Keys horn section along, too. And Redding himself in top form, delivering each performance with incredible urgency and fervour.
The London set is only seven songs to the eleven recorded in Paris, France, and a couple of those performances are either extraordinarily wild and urgent, or simply rushed and sloppy, depending on your point of view. I was never very fond of "Satisfaction" played as a soul tune, no matter by whom, and these two performances haven't made me come around on that one, but the Beatles' "Day Tripper" lends itself well to this treatment, and the London version is particularly juicy.

And, well, everything else is pretty much indisputable. Backed by the powerhouse that was Booker T. Jones and the Memphis Group, and a churning, pulsating horn section, Otis Ray Redding, jr. was the master, delivering up-tempo soul stompers and emotional ballads with equal vigour. Here he tears through a series of incredibly energetic performances, from a fiery rendition of Sam Cooke's "Shake", to his own "I Can't Turn You Lose", and even the slow tunes, like "Try A Little Tenderness" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long", burn the house down.

If you think the London set is perhaps a bit up and down, sit tight for the Paris set, which is one of the finest, most exhilarating performances ever captured on tape, the equal of anything the great Otis Redding ever did. Not to be missed!