The Ultimate Otis Redding (CD - 1986)

Personnel: Otis Redding (vocals); Steve Cropper (guitar); Andrew Love, Floyd Newman, Joe Arnold, Packy Axton (saxophone); Wayne Jackson, Gene "Bowlegs" Miller (trumpet); Booker T. Jones (piano, organ); Donald "Duck" Dunn, Lewis Steinberg (bass); Al Jackson, Jr. (drums).

Producers: Otis Redding, Steve Cropper, Jim Stewart.

Recorded between 1962 & 1967.

Yet another anthology package, this one from Warner Special Products. The Ultimate Otis Redding is a single-disc economy item designed for those who only want a small sample of Otis Redding's greatness. If you're only going to get a nibble, you'd be better off getting one of his reissued albums rather than this sampler; it would be much more representative. ~ Ron Wynn

The title isn't exactly accurate; frankly, given the uniformly high quality of Redding's output before his tragic death at the age of 26--the ultimate Otis would have to be a box set of every single note he ever recorded. On the other hand, he already made an album called THE DICTIONARY OF SOUL (the only other title that seems apt), so let's not quibble. THE ULTIMATE OTIS REDDING is, in fact, an extremely well-chosen one-CD best-of by the greatest soul man of them all, highlighting his immense skills as a songwriter ("I Can't Turn You Loose," "Respect"), interpreter ("Try a Little Tenderness," "Satisfaction"), and singer ("That's How Strong My Love Is," "These Arms of Mine"). '60s R&B doesn't get any better. minimize