The Ultimate Otis Redding

Otis Redding

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Strat. Mkt.
• ASIN: B000002LV6
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,661 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > R&B > Soul > Southern Soul

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
One Redding greatest-hits is pretty much as good as another--his work as the king of soul spanned barely five years, and the big issue is how you want to hear his hits sequenced. Ultimate leads off with a few signature songs, then concentrates on the very similar 6/8 deep-soul ballads that he specialized in early on. Redding, with his gritty-as-cornmeal drawl, could communicate the depths of romantic despair better than anyone of his era, but he was also a great uptempo soul shouter. It's not until the second half of Ultimate that a few more of the faster, more joyful numbers that he got to sing later on show up, as well as "Tramp," a priceless bit of Southern humor he sang with Carla Thomas. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Songs, Poor Quality, November 5, 2002

By	Fred Hoffman (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree with bigtimemusic lover: the sound quality of "The Ultimate Otis Redding" is sub-par. Although the choice of tracks is admirable, the mushy audio does not do Otis justice. If you still have your turntable hooked up, compare a hit track from an Otis LP (such as Atco's "The Best of Otis Redding") to the same track on this CD. You will be amazed at the difference.
If I were to own just one Otis Redding recording, it would have to be "Live in Europe". The energy, the crowd and - most especially - Otis' electric performance - make "Live in Europe" indispensable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Otis Redding CD., July 15, 2000

By	grundle2600 "grundle2600" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

"The Ultimate Otis Redding" is my favorite Otis Redding CD. Otis was a great singer. His voice was strong and powerful, and he knew how to properly use it to express emotion. He died much too early, but during his brief recording career, he managed to make quite a number of very fine recordings.

I like this CD so much because all of the songs on it are excellent, the disc contains a very nice mixture of rockers and ballads, all of the songs are in their studio versions, and the sequencing makes the disc very interesting.

Instead of doing what might be expected, and beginning with his one and only chart hit, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," the CD begins with the song "Respect." I suppose some people are unaware of the fact that Redding recorded this song before Aretha Franklin. His version is very different from hers. Of course, both of them did a great job on it.

This CD also has Redding's cover of the Rolling Stones's "Satisfaction." One could argue that Redding's version is the better of the two. His use of horns gives a very new perspective to the song. This is probably the best cover of a Stones's song that has ever been recorded by anybody.

Some of my other favorites here are "Mr. Pitiful," "Shake," "Tramp," and "I Can't Turn You Loose."

One of the things that I never liked about commercial radio and the so-called "classic rock" radio stations is that except for the song "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," they have totally ignored the wonderful music of Otis Redding. That's a shame, really, because every song on this disc is excellent.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rating Is For This Package NOT For The Quality Of The Music, November 23, 2001

By	John Peterson "bigtimemusiclover" (Marinette, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I agree wholeheartedly with all the reviewers of the quality of Otis Redding's music, I must break away from the ranks and say that the sound of this CD stinks. It sounds very weak and sterile (as do most of the CDs from the Warner Special Products label that were issued in the mid 80's), something that isn't deserving of Otis Redding's stature. Pick up Rhino's The Very Best Of Otis Redding (either volumes), or better yet, pick up the 2-CD set "Dreams To Remember" which is PACKED with the good stuff as this CD just doesn't cut it.

Peace.