OTIS BLUE A MELTING POT SOUL EXTRAVAGANZA FOR OTIS REDDING

I think i got my mojo back tonight, i have re-captured some motivation that has eluded me of late, i guess sometimes the apathetic habits of some of my not so genuine followers can knock the wind out of my sails a bit. But i know i got a small loyal following and i want to thank you guys for making the Lost Treasures venture a little worthwhile for me. Now here's something old school that gets me back to basics, back to the nitty gritty purpose of why i started this blog up two years ago, a classic bonafide soul music masterpiece. With such a description, it would have to be close to being the greatest soul album ever recorded, and to me, it probaly is. OTIS REDDING and his third album from 1965 titled OTIS BLUE is the one. Given the addition of the word 'blue' in the album title, you would be correct in assuming that there must be a hint of blues in this definitive soul release, and most definitely there is. Essentially black soul music in the 60`s was partitioned between MOTOWN and the STAX record label, MOTOWN generally stuck to the more church, gospel and pop orientated african american soul acts, while the STAX label went after the more blues influenced artists. Redding of course was signed to the latter given his more rowdy and R&B style of singing soul. I love OTIS BLUE to bits, it possesses a warm and comforting atmosphere, lyrically introspective but still musically robust and challenging. It's a mixture of covers and originals either written entirely or co-written by Redding. The best ones besides this funky and innovative interpretation of the Rolling Stones' (I CANT GET NO) SATISFACTION include the ballad I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG, the classic frenetic R&B of RESPECT, which would become a hit for Aretha Franklin a few years later, B.B King's ROCK ME BABY, now that proves how bluesey the king of soul could be, and to add some really funky stuff to the mix, a cover of the Solomon Burke original DOWN IN THE VALLEY. The whole album is great without me mentioning every other song. Although maybe not quite as radio friendly as LIONEL RICHIE, if i had to choose one soul album and one only OTIS BLUE would be it hands down.