OTIS REDDING – LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, OCTOBER 21
COMPREHENSIVE SIX-CD COLLECTION CELEBRATES THE SOUL SINGER’S BARRIER-BREAKING 1966 PERFORMANCES ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ROLLING STONE.COM PREMIERES NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED VERSION OF MR. PITIFUL
05 AUGUST 2016 (Toronto, ON) – Stax Records, an imprint of Concord Bicycle Music, is pleased to announce the October 21 release of
Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings via Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company. In chronological order, this six-CD collection presents the entirety of Redding’s historic performances over three nights at the famed Sunset Strip venue.
The seven sets, recorded Friday, April 8
th – Sunday, April 10
th,,1966, feature the singer’s popular songs of the time, including
Respect,
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long and his cover of The Rolling Stones’
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Several of these recordings--all remixed and remastered from the original 4-track analog tapes--will be made available for the very first time. In fact, this collection will be the first to offer fans the chance to relive all of the sets in their entirety--including between-song banter by Redding--exactly as they were performed. Rounding out the package is a poster, plus new liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley.
Today,
Rollingstone.com debuted an unreleased live version Otis' 1965 hit
Mr. Pitiful from these Whisky shows, from the first set on April 9, describing the performance as "heartfelt and passionate...
full of fluttering horns and staccato rhythm guitar," before going on to give insight to the stage banter: "When it's done, he tells the audience how happy he is to be there recording a live album and encourages the crowd to get as loud as they want. 'Holler as loud as you want to, stomp as hard as you want to,' he said. 'Just take your shoes off. Get soulful. … We'll get into a thing.'"
By the spring of 1966, 24-year-old Otis Redding was a bona-fide star on the R&B and soul radio waves. The singer was enjoying the critical and commercial success of his third studio album,
Otis Blue, and was watching his singles cross over to the (typically very white) pop charts. Redding had yet to be fully embraced by a white audience, and this weekend-long gig in Hollywood--booked at a venue known more for hosting hippies, and launching bands like The Doors, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield--was a shrewd move to introduce Redding to a new market. In fact, Redding would be the first major soul act to perform on the Whisky’s stage. In her liner notes, Lynell George adds context: “The Strip, like much of 1960s Los Angeles, had invisible but tough to permeate dividing lines...Redding began to see this three-night run as just the right spark to help him jump over all those many lines--from star to superstar, from R&B/soul to pop, from all-black rooms to arenas…”
In the end, these Whisky sets (with Otis' nine-piece band) did prove to be an important step in Redding’s career, and introduced him to the emerging counter-culture of the '60s. Of the Whisky shows, The Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger said, "I remember standing right in front of the stage for the whole show. I never heard of Otis Redding before and I was amazed at the energy that he created on the stage.” A year later, Otis would be the star act at the Monterey Pop Festival, sharing a lineup that included Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Tragically, just as his career was reaching its peak, Redding’s life would be cut short in a plane crash, in December 1967.
Redding has been inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has been honored with a U.S. Postage stamp and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Rolling Stone named him the eighth greatest singer of all-time and U.K.'s
Q magazine ranked him at number four.
In his liner notes, Bill Bentley recalls, “Redding’s music had a power and urgency that grabbed you by the throat…There wasn’t any other singer like him then, and those of us who had discovered his music knew we were listening to the very essence of what soul music really was.” Bentley wasn’t alone. The
Los Angeles Times’ music critic, Pete Johnson, covered one of Redding’s sets that weekend, calling the performance, “The most exciting thing the rock-worn room had ever harbored.” Redding’s legacy is well known – his brief but iconic discography speaks for itself; but these particular recordings will allow fans to step back in time, and experience a pivotal moment in the rise of a star.
preorder available now
otisredding.com
staxrecords.com
Otis Redding
Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings
Track List:
Disc 1:
Friday, April 8, 1966
Set 1
1. Introduction
2. I Can’t Turn You Loose
3. Pain in My Heart
4. Good To Me
5. Just One More Day
6. Mr. Pitiful
7. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Set 2
8. I’m Depending on You
9. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
10. Good to Me
11. Security
12. Respect
Disc 2:
Friday, April 8, 1966
Set 2 (cont.)
1. Just One More Day
2. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
3. Any Ole Way
4. These Arms of Mine
5. I Can’t Turn You Loose
6. Pain in My Heart
7. Good to Me
8. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Disc 3
Saturday, April 9, 1966
Set 1
1. Introduction
2. Mr. Pitiful
3. Good to Me
4. Respect
5. Just One More Day
6. I Can’t Turn You Loose
7. Ole Man Trouble
8. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Disc 4
Saturday, April 9, 1966
Set 2
1. Introduction
2. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
3. Any Ole Way
4. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
5. I’m Depending on You
6. I Can’t Turn You Loose
Set 3
7. Introduction
8. Security
9. Just One More Day
10. These Arms of Mine
11. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
12. I Can’t Turn You Loose
13. Chained and Bound
14. Respect
Disc 5
Sunday, April 10, 1966
Set 1
1. Introduction
2. I’m Depending on You
3. I Can’t Turn You Loose
4. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
5. Chained and Bound
6. Just One More Day
7. Any Ole Way
8. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
9. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Disc 6
Sunday, April 10, 1966
Set 2
1. Introduction
2. Destiny
3. Security
4. Good to Me
5. Respect
6. Chained and Bound
7. Mr. Pitiful
8. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
9. Ole Man Trouble
10. I Can’t Turn You Loose
11. A Hard Day’s Night
12. These Arms of Mine
13. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
14. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction