[Today: Otis Redding wants to take you higher...]
Quantifying the power of Otis Redding as a performer is a lot like talking about the depths of the universe – no matter how lovingly and expansively any case is built, words are destined to fall short of capturing their subject in full. Thank goodness then for a vibrant document like Live In Europe. A simple drop of the needle on side one of this record tells the story of Redding’s brilliance better than encyclopedias full of detail and tribute.
The album was recorded in March 1967, during the Stax/Volt ensemble tour of Europe, which represented the first chance for many in attendance to see Redding in person. The album opens with a cheesy “O-T-I-S-R-E-D-D-I-N-G” chant led by the emcee that ably demonstrates how deeply this crowd was I-N-T-O-I-T. It’s rare for a live album to overflow with the enthusiasm of the audience, but in several places here it’s possible to hear the crowd literally surge with excitement. The blistering showmanship on display foreshadows Redding’s knockout performance at the Monterey Pop Festival just a few months later.
Redding is backed by an airtight horn section that perfectly punctuates his every emotional expression. His take on The Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’ uses throbbing horns to blow the original version of the song out of the water (Keith Richards has said as much on many occasions). He so thoroughly muscles up The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’ that it sounds like they were covering him rather than the other way around. ‘Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)’ turns into an audience singalong with Otis conducting the crowd. Every moment of the ten songs captured here crackles with the electricity of a performer and audience feeding off one another and pushing each other ever higher.
Live In Europe was the last album released during Otis Redding’s much too short life. On December 10th, 1967 his plane plunged into an icy Wisconsin lake, killing him and four members of his backing band, The Bar-Kays. He was 26 years old.
Listen: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction [Live]
Tags: Live In Europe, Otis Redding, Stax/Volt
10 January 2008 at 4:20 pm |
I know a man who sits everyday near the dock of the Bay.
Otis Redding is his handle…
Much respect to both legends…
20 January 2008 at 1:01 am |
[...] Masterpiece: Live In Europe 9 January 2008 by dkpresents Quantifying the power of Otis Redding as a performer is a lot like talking about the depths of the universe – no matter how lovingly and expansively any case is built, words are destined to fall short of capturing their subject in full. Thank goodness then for a vibrant document like Live In Europe. A simple drop of the needle on side one of this record tells the story of Reddings brill source: Masterpiece: Live In Europe [...]
4 November 2008 at 10:07 am |
[...] until 1968, after Redding’s untimely death, and it certainly enhances his status as a heavyweight live performer. The sound quality here is terrific, and Redding and company rip through a host of originals [...]