OTIS

Otis Redding possessed a voice that could melt hearts and inspire deep thought as easily as it could impel listeners to leap out of their seats and "Shake." Watching clips of him at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 singing "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" is, contrary to the song’s message, like watching a tormented man exorcising bad mojo demons. He clenches his eyes shut and staggers around as if he were cast in a funky R&B trance. Howling like an animal with its leg caught in a trap, Otis digs deep and pours all he can into the performance, leaving a quart of sweat on the stage in an apparent effort to free himself from the duress of an overwhelming love. Similarly, on "Pain In My Heart," Otis attacks the lyrics with the gusto of a manic painter. He colors them blue ("she’s treating me cold") before splashing them with red when he pleads "come back, come back, come back." While he can be smooth and in control, he’s also capable of completely losing himself in the song. "Try a Little Tenderness" is a good example. He sputters and scats, nearly choking on his saliva in the pursuit of home-fried, deep south soul splendor. Backed by the crack Stax house band (otherwise known as Booker T. and the MGs) led by Steve Cropper, Otis and company stew a puissant brew, at once exhilarating and unbound, at other times sharp and stirring. Died young--plane crash. LISTEN TO OTIS BLUE and TELL THE TRUTH