Customer Reviews

Live in London & Paris (Dig)

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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]

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...

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!

The original album, "Otis Redding Live In Europe," has been one of my all-time favorite albums for more than 40 years. This expanded release has two full concerts that were edited into the original album. The London show is good, even very good. But the Paris show is incredible! It's an exuberant, exciting performance that will thrill you.

Otis Redding and the band (Booker T & the MGs with a Stax horn section) build the excitement and the tension, then release it some, then build it again to new heights. Otis Redding rips it up. He implores the band to "Keep the groove going!" The audience is going crazy. The band, driven by drummer Al Jackson, builds the tension further and further until it finally explodes at the end with "Try A Little Tenderness." The audience is going crazy. The MC begs Otis to come back out. Otis, the whole band and other headliners from the tour pour their hearts into the climax. It doesn't get any better than this.

There are moments in time that stand out. This is one of them.

INCREDIBLE!!!!! Okay, my best friend got me recently the fantastic DVD of Stax/Volt Revue Live In Norway, and besides a reminder that Donald "Duck" Dunn is the greatest bass player who has ever lived, along with the thrill of seeing Arthur Conley and everybody else, was seeing more Otis footage besides his mind-blowing performance at Monterey. But that's another review; it reminded me once again of the greatness that was Otis Redding, and afterward I quickly stumbled across this CD here on Amazon. Luckily!

This CD consists of the entire CD "Live In Europe" (the second half of this, Paris 3/21/67), plus a London show from four days before that completely blows it away! It is utterly astonishing; maybe I should start expecting nothing less from Otis, I don't know! Respect is at a breakneck pace (though not as much as Monterey), and Otis's voice in as fine from as ever, and considering NOBODY sang every note with more intensity and true feeling, that says a LOT! The whole concert, like the opening of My Girl, or Shake, each song, is greeted with such an incredible response of utter joy, he beat anyone for getting a crowd going; he was a master live of reading his audience, and was at his peak power here. And the London crowd responds properly, bordering at times on pandemonium!

This has the best Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa you will EVER hear, I can't imagine a more soulful version; and Try A Little Tenderness, this one goes on so long, the audience manic, with Arthur Conley, Sam Moore and Carla Thomas all coming out. It's unbelievable. No words can completely convey how great this all is, but the liners here, this comes with a nice 16 page booklet, with brief but GREAT liners.

The Paris concert, it has been a while since I have heard the Live In Europe LP, and it's all here, including the quintessential version of Can't Turn You Loose (whose part, the first false ending, with Otis leading the band further on, is one of the most beautiful moments of ANY live albums I have ever heard).

Add to all this the often-forgotten fact that Booker T. and The MG's were not just one of America's greatest bands ever, they surely were the most perfect back-up band of all time! While all members deserve utter praise, for me it's Donald "Duck" Dunn who is the most amazing, and his fluid bass lines throughout this disc are an utter joy to hear.
The Mar-Keys horns are heavenly also.

This is simply one of the most exciting live albums ever, so along with Monterey, this captures Otis at his absolute best. The greatest soul singer ever at his best.

There's no way I can't recommend this to anyone interested in soul music. Otis was at his best live, and compared to on here, the faster songs are sluggish on his studio albums, and the slower more soulful ones, much more intense here as well. The greatest!

Those horns on Respect are so glorious...

There are two separate concerts from the same tour, recorded just days apart, so there is some repetition - yet not really, because the performances vary just slightly from show to show. I feel like the songs feel a bit more relaxed and muscular in Paris, but that may be just my imagination. In addition to the Otis standards, his covers of Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards are excellent - he takes the songs and makes them his own. Both shows are worthy performances, and an excellent addition to anyone's collection. This is soul at its finest!

"Live in Europe" ? I'm referring to the Paris set - I think it's the same set - but I'm picking up little off hand remarks and even lines in the song from Otis that don't appear on the earlier set - it may just be a different source tape (it's closer to Otis than the earlier release tape) Could it possibly be a different set? I don't remember the "keeps you in a groove" line or "dig this" during FA-FA-FA-FA-FA for one example. Any one know? It's the same, but different!

Most live recordings lack quality sound and seem to reveal mediocre average performances from various artist down throughout history, not the case here on this Otis Redding combined - "Live In London and Paris", both shows on one disc. The rock/soul singer showed up to perform and perform he did in front of an enthusiastic European audience who were lucky enough to purchase a ticket ... Redding is energized, brilliantly backed by Booker T. and the MG's, with the brass section of - The Mar-Keys and the distinctive guitar licks of Steve Cropper, the rest is Otis all the way, prominently alive and vital, wailing all the hits, RESPECT, SATISFACTION, MY GIRL, SHAKE, THESE ARMS OF MINE - Redding's first recording), FA-FA-FA-FA-FA(SAD SONGS), listen for the mesmerizing - I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU, with the grand finale, TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS. Some of the songs are repeated giving a different perspective of Redding's stand out performances of each show. The Paris concert is the stronger set of the two, both combined makes for one helluva compilation. Otis Redding, a man who knew "how" to sing a song, a 2008 release on Stax/Volt records, with booklet, packaging is a cardboard flip open 'mini' album cover, disc is placed in a secure holder.

Otis is one of my favorite soul singers and theses European performances are at his height. With Booker T and the MGs you can't go wrong. Great audio and a great song selection. There is a DVD from the same Stax tour that also has a Sam and Dave preformance that is exceptional.

holy geez, you need this album like you need to breathe air. i have the live in london, not paris, but judging the songs are the same, the delivery has to be equally good. this is one of the best live albums i have ever heard ranking with james brown live at the apollo. read some of the longer reviews if you wish, but dont waste your time. just buy it now.