The Days of Lore

Otis Redding. Redux. Again.

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 | musiX | No Comments

It’s hard to believe that Otis Redding was only 26 when his plane crashed into Lake Monona on Dec. 10, 1967—26. Just a kid. You watch that old concert footage and there was this smartly dressed, larger-than-life man whose soul poured out in buckets of sweat. And that voice—it could pierce your heart or rip your head off … both good things, of course, only in the analogical sense.

The Best: See & Hear is the umpteenth collection dedicated to Redding—a two-disc CD/DVD of his songs as well as footage from two 1967 performances from Oslo, Norway and the Monterey Pop Festival. Both the audio and video portions don’t offer anything new (everything on the discs has been previously released), but serve as a good reminder that no one can touch his voice, or those songs.

The Norway show was part of the Stax/Volt tour that included fellow Stax-ers Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the MG’s, both of whom are also featured on the disc. Shot in black and white, the footage is striking, and the energy coming from the stage could power a small city. The best part? Watching the very prim European audience take in these soul performers who at times looked like they were possessed. You can tell the crowd is having the time of their lives.

Otis Redding’s performance at Monterey Pop was just as explosive. The entire three-day festival was captured by D.A. Pennebaker, who directed the Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back. The mostly white audience numbered in the thousands—easily the biggest show of Redding’s career—as he referred to them as “the love crowd.” Otis Redding died only six months after the Monterey performance, and only three days after recording his biggest hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” The unfinished song (the whistling portion was to be replaced with lyrics) was released posthumously one month after Redding’s death. It marked a notable departure from the furious soul burners he had written in his short career. No doubt one of his best, and perhaps a glimpse of what was to come.

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” - Otis Redding

“Tramp” - Otis Redding (with Carla Thomas)

Otis Redding live in Oslo, Norway, April 7, 1967

Tags: Booker T. & the MG's, D.A. Pennebaker, Monterey Pop Festival, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Stax Records, The Best: See & Hear