Otis Redding only released five solo albums and one collaboration with Carla Thomas in his lifetime. Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul, his third album and second in 1965, is often regarded as his best.
In addition to including the song “Respect,” which he wrote and which became a massive hit for Aretha Franklin, the album includes one other composition by him as well as a co-write with Jerry Butler, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” one of his other signature songs. The other two stand-out tracks that were a highlight of his live shows of the time are covers of Sam Cooke’s “Shake” and “Satisfaction,” written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
So much of what makes the album such a stone-cold, soul classic, is that it was recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis, was supervised by Jim Stewart and engineered by Tom Dowd, and the backing band is made up of Booker T. and the MG’s as well as the Memphis Horns and backing singers William Bell and Earl Sims. There is no way to overstate just how important and integral these musicians were to the success and long-lasting influence of this album. Soul, R&B or American music from the 1960s doesn’t get much better than this. Redding would only record two more albums in his lifetime, before his tragic death in December of 1967.
The Meters were one of the legendary groups of the New Orleans music scene from the late ’60s through most of the ’70s. Along with the Neville Brothers, they helped to move the rich and singular sound of New Orleans in new directions during the rock era. The group featured Art Neville, Ziggy Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, and George Porter Jr.
Fire on the Bayou was recorded at the studio mecca of New Orleans music, Sea-Saint Studios, and was co-produced by the co-owner of the studio, Allen Toussaint, and the group, with the co-owner of Sea-Saint, Marshall Sehorn, as the executive producer and providing remixing. Fire On The Bayou was the group’s third album, released in 1975 on Reprise, after three albums.
Fire On The Bayou was the group’s third album on Reprise, after three albums on the defunct Josie label. It came on the heels of what many regard as the group’s best album, Rejuvenation. The album was perhaps the group’s most accessible, and the group was at the height of its popularity at this time.
The New Orleans sound, of which they were at the center at the time, was having a major influence on popular music and was drawing the attention of artists like Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones. In fact, drummer Ziggy Modeliste would join Ron Wood and Keith Richards after this album in the short-lived group the New Barbarians, that also featured two members of the Rolling Stones touring group, keyboardist Ian McLagan, formerly of both the Faces and the Small Faces, and longtime sideman, saxophonist Bobby Keys, in addition to jazz bassist Stanley Clarke.
With a decidedly smoother and more accessible sound, the album wasn’t so much a more commercial affair than their previous releases as a product of the fact that New Orleans music was crossing over, with compositions and production by people like Allen Toussaint resulting in huge hits for various artists.
Along with the title cut, the song “Liar,” written by Russ Ballard of Argent, which became a hit for Three Dog Night, also received considerable FM airplay at the time. “Middle of the Road” is a long, jazzy jam that went down as easy as the water flowing down the Mississippi River. This is music that is such a treat to listen to on this new audiophile pressing. Classic, original Meters albums in mint condition are hard to find at reasonable prices, because these records were party records that often were played until the grooves were gone.
The album jackets for both reissues come in plastic sleeves and the 180-gram vinyl is in poly-lined sleeves. The lacquers are cut from the original mono masters by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman mastering. The sound is superb and hearing this music the way it was intended in mono reveals the punch and unmistakable group vibe evident on both albums.
There is an embarrassment of riches out there in terms of the number of various reissues, but this Rhino Reserve series is one of the best and has released some fine and welcome obscurities and classic gems of American music, particularly from the 1960s.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Otis Redding, Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
A
The Meters, Fire on the Bayou
B+
