Customer Reviews

In Person at Whiskey a Go-Go

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's easy to understand how people can arbitrarily give this album 5 stars based on the genius of Otis, the man, THE BIG O. But unfortunately, although the man himself is in top form at this juncture, the band isn't up to snuff.

The track selection is fine, and the band handles capably enough, but they're not on equal footing, both in regards to performance and recording; the mix is a little unbalanced. Far better is his "Live In Europe" release, and (if you can find it) his "Live At Monterey Pop Festival".

soul singers ever. On this side, recorded 35 years ago, he and his band are in top form, threatening to "blow the roof off" The Whiskey.

Look at the list of tunes: Respect, These Arms of Mine, Satisfaction, Pain in My Heart, Any Ole Way -- I mean this album hits you upside the head and you come back asking for more!

My favorite cut, though, is Otis' version of James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Hey, I like it every bit as much as James's! This thing just cooks, baby! And keeps on cookin!

You like soul from the 60s? Don't fool around, buy this CD. You couldn't spend your money any better! Hey, I've had the vinyl issue of this side forever, and it's been through so many parties, that it's scratched, mutilated and damn near worn out! Glad to see this being put on CD.

Wasn't no one better than Otis!

Recorded in 1966, Otis Redding's In Person At The Whisky A Go Go is his best live album, beating out Live in Europe, and is one of the best and most energetic live albums ever made. The album kicks off with the great I Can't Turn You Loose followed by Pain In My Heart, from Redding's first album. This is followed by the soulful plea of Just One More Day and a great version of his earlier hit Mr. Pitiful. The recording of Satisfaction on here is even better then the version on Otis Blue, and easily rivals the Stone's version. This is followed by three great soul songs, I'm Depending On You, Any Ole Way and the great ballad These Arms of Mine. Reddin then goes into a kickin' version of James Brown's Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, which at least as good as the original. The album closes with the classic Respect. This is just a tour de force performance and you can feel the energy coming off of it. This prooves just how great of a voice Otis Redding had and just how soulful he was. This is an essential album in Otis Redding's catalog and in the history of Soul and R&B.

This is the best live album I've ever heard without any doubt at all. While the backup band on this release is no competition to Booker T & The MGs, Otis' recording & occasional touring band (heard on Live In Europe), the energy they put into this performance is incredible. The drummer and bassist drive every song with raw, whiskey-dripping, gut wrenching power and emotion. Otis' full-throttle singing (and straight-up yelling) complement the raw production - on the fast ones he rocks the house unlike anything you've heard, and on the soulful tunes, he'll make your cold heart melt. And the horns, oh god, the horns...unbelievable. While this may not be the most polished live recording ever, it's raw energy will make you want to stand up and just boogie/fist-fight/screw with complete disregard for anyone around you. By far the most exciting live record I've ever heard; In Person at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go makes the others all look tired, silly, and weak...buy this right now. Do not hesitate. You know you want to shake your butt. This album will help you lose the fear of looking like an idiot...

He was at his best live and this is a great recording. Otis in a studio with strings just does not do it for me. In a live venue he just pours out his heart and soul as nobody else can. This is his best CD. If you only buy one this is it. I have owned the vinyl and CD and memorized every note a hundred years ago. I have no other album/CD that I have listened to more over a longer period of time.

I went to the Whiskey A Go-Go a few months ago to hear another band. I hardley noticed them. All I could hear was Otis.

That being said, there is one high note the trumpet player goes for and misses badly. Many might not notice, but it bugs me. That is the good and bad of live performances. The point is that Otis and the band had nothing left in the tank after that performance and this should be on everybody's all time great performances list.

This 1966 recording is one of the main items in Otis Redding's too-brief legacy. A bit ragged, sure, but all the more intense and powerful for it, and even though it's only 35 minutes long, it doesn't feel particularly short. There is just so much energy in these 35 minutes, and you're almost out of breath when it's over!

Grittier and sweatier than Sam Cooke, or shall we say grittier than what Sam Cooke was allowed to record five to ten years earlier, Redding's output was of an immensely high quality, and here he is in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Whisky A Go Go, a nightclub in on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
The rough-voiced Otis Redding is backed here by his usual touring band, and he tears trough fiery, pulsating renditions of several of his best and best-known songs. He wrings every bit of emotion from slow, intense numbers like "Just One More Day" and "These Arms Of Mine", and he burns the house down on up-tempo raves like "Mr Pitiful" and gritty soul stompers like "Respect" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag".

He delivers "I'm Depending On You" and his own classic 1965 single "I Can't Turn You Loose" with incredible passion and urgency, and if the tough backing band with the rumbling rhythm section is less stylish than Booker T. and the MGs, who backed him in the studio and at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, they are no less energetic, and the seven-man horn section is a driving, pulsating steam engine.

"In Person at the Whisky a Go Go" is one of the great soul records of the 60s, and no soul fan should miss it. Or its equally wonderful companion volume, for that matter, "Good to Me: Live at the Whisky vol. 2".
Both are highly, highly recommended.

for some reason, I've always preferred the Otis Redding live recordings to his studio work. He was undoubtdedly one of the greatest live performers ever, and his live albums capture some of that, if not all of it. The Monterey Pop Festivel recording is great as well (in addition to having some great live Jimi Hendrix on side 1).

It's gritty and emotional. I bought this CD years ago, and to this day I keep it in my top 10 rotation. Music with passion has a different element to it, and live performances leave everything wide open. Not everyone can pull it off. Otis Redding left us too soon.

About 14 months before the Monterey Pop Fest, a very successful GA based soul singer and his entourage were sent out to influence the multiple changes occurring on the music scene in Southern Cal. New discoveries and incredible record deals seem to happen every week, especially after a band played the Whiskey on the Strip.

Great tunes played a bit differently than the version's you can hear from 1967. Wow......it really took the crowd a while to get warmed up to him, as you can tell from the clapping. This CD - as well as the Live In Europe - is the kind of music and power those of us growing up in the deep south were used to experiencing, even if the soul group was NOT nationally recognized. Catch the wave!

This is a seriously groovin' album. Right from the start Otis has this young white Los Angeles audience rockin' with the uptempo "I Can't Turn You Loose."

He reaches deep on the classics "Mr. Pitiful," and "Pain In My Heart," delivering more soul than this audience is used to.

Redding delivers a swinging version of the Stones' "Satisfaction" that has the crowd jumping once again. James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" follows the tender "These Arms Of Mine," both done in superb fashion.

Closing the set, Otis sings a song that he wrote, but often gets little credit for, "Respect."

The crowd loves this.