The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads

The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads
Studio album by Otis Redding
Released	March 1965
Recorded	February 6, 1964 – January 20, 1965[1][2]
Genre	Soul R&B[3]
Length	32:18
Booker T. & the MG's
Otis Redding chronology
Pain in My Heart (1964) The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965) Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, simply referred to as Soul Ballads or Sings Soul Ballads, is the second studio album by American

The album opens with "That's How Strong My Love Is". Written by Roosevelt Jamison and altered by Cropper, the song was first performed by O. V. Wright on Goldwax Records, where it was cut by both Jamison and Wright. Redding's version was released days after the original. The Rolling Stones covered the song shortly afterwards^[1] and included it on their album Out of Our Heads (released in July 1965). Isaac Hayes made his debut as a pianist with Otis Redding, possibly on songs "Come to Me" or "Security".^[1] It is unclear because prior to 1966, the Memphis Musicians Union kept little or no sessions documentation; Fantasy Records, who bought Stax in 1977, has none at all prior to 1966. That Hayes debuted in 1964 with Redding is known; which song remains in question. "Come to Me", Redding's fourth Volt single, was written by Redding and Phil Walden and became the second song after the Volt session not to feature a horn section. The song is a typical 6/8 ballad and features piano triplets, including an organ. The single peaked at number 69 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.^[1]

"Mr. Pitiful" was recorded in December 1964 at the Stax studios. The song was written by both guitarist

format on July 29, 2008.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Record Mirror	[9]

Sings Soul Ballads received mixed critical reception. Lindsay Planer from

Allmusic gave a mixed review of the album. While she liked "That's How Strong My Love Is", Chuck Willis' "It's Too Late", "For Your Precious Love" (previously a hit by The Impressions), Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love", and Cropper's/Redding's "Mr. Pitiful", she was less enthusiastic about "Chained and Bound", "I Want to Thank You" and "A Woman, a Lover, a Friend", which mimic aspects of Cooke's sound. The second was compared with "Another Saturday Night", the latter with "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha". She gave the album three of five stars.^[5] The Rolling Stone Album Guide, on the other hand, gave the album five stars.^[7]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"That's How Strong My Love Is"	Roosevelt Jamison	2:24
2.	"Chained and Bound"	Otis Redding	2:25
3.	"A Woman, a Lover, a Friend"	Sidney Wyche	3:18
4.	"Your One and Only Man"	Redding	2:48
5.	"Nothing Can Change This Love"	Sam Cooke	2:59
6.	"It's Too Late"	Chuck Willis	3:00

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	" Jerry Butler	2:49
8.	"I Want to Thank You"	Redding	2:35
9.	"Come to Me"	Redding, Phil Walden	2:38
10.	"Home in Your Heart"	Otis Blackwell, Winfield Scott	2:10
11.	"Keep Your Arms Around Me"	Obie McClinton	2:46
12.	"Mr. Pitiful"	Steve Cropper, Redding	2:26

Personnel

Credits are taken from The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads's liner notes.[10]

Musicians

• Otis Redding – vocals
• Booker T. Jones – keyboards, organ, piano
• Steve Cropper – guitar, keyboards, piano
• Johnny Jenkins – guitar
• Donald Dunn – bass guitar
• Al Jackson Jr. – drums
• Wayne Jackson, Sammy Coleman – trumpet
• Packy Axton – tenor saxophone
• Floyd Newman – baritone saxophone

Production

• Paul Ackerman – liner notes
• Yves Beauvais – reissue producer
• Loring Eutemey – artwork
• Dan Hersch – remastering
• Bill Inglot – remastering
• Jim Stewart
  – production

Charts

Album Chart Peak position Billboard Pop chart[11] 147

Singles Song Chart[12] Peak position "Chained And Bound" Billboard R&B chart 70 "Come To Me" Billboard R&B chart 69 "Mr. Pitiful" Billboard Pop chart 41 Billboard R&B chart 10 "That's How Strong My Love Is" Billboard Pop chart 74 Billboard R&B chart 18

References

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bowman 1997, p. 56.
2. ISBN 978-0-87140-874-7
   .
3. ISBN 0-7535-0354-9. Archived from the original
   on October 8, 2021.
4. ^ Bowman 1997, p. 55–56.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Planer, Lindsay. "The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
6. ^ Bowman 1997, p. 57.
7. ^ ^{a b} "RS Album Guide review". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
8. ISBN 978-0195313734
   .
9. ^ Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (August 28, 1965). "Otis Redding: Soul Ballads" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 233. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
10. ^ The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (Media notes). Otis Redding. Volt/Atco. 1965.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. ^ "Otis Redding Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
12. ^ "Otis Redding – Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 11, 2012.

Bibliography

• Bowman, Rob (1997). Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. New York, NY: Schirmer Trade.
  OCLC 36824884
  .