While it is widely accepted that Aretha Franklin holds the title of the Queen of Soul, there is no such consensus on who should rightfully be deemed the "King." One name that should come up in such a debate would be Otis Redding, a man who pretty much exemplified the Stax sound in the early '60s, only to have his life cut cruelly short at the tender age of 26. Although his recording career only lasted five years, he left us with a deep catalog of music, spanning six studio albums and four posthumous releases, that will be cherished by generations to come. Since his death almost 50 years ago there have been no shortage of anthologies, compilations and "from the vault" collections that have attempted to distill the essence of Otis as an artist, pulling together his biggest, most recognizable hits, but many sound just that, like "collections" rather than cohesive "albums." One such collection that comes close is the recently released Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding, a compilation of songs selected by producer Dave Gorman that, while not new, have never appeared before all together on one disc.
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Rather than trying to encompass everything that Otis was (and still is to those who hold his legacy dear), Lonely & Blue focuses on what may have been his biggest strength, his ability to literally pour pain, heartache and loneliness into his songs. Big hitters "These Arms Of Mine" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" make an appearance, anchoring the middle portion of the album, and providing a reference point for those only familiar with his biggest hits, but it's the remainder of the selections which help to drive the point home, that Otis is the master of the soul ballad. Sure, die-hard Otis fans will already possess all the tracks on this release (maybe with the exception of the alternate take of "I've Got Dreams to Remember," complete with darker, more melancholy lyrics), but it's the way they have been so lovingly put together for this release, complete with new Stax-styled artwork and a limited edition blue vinyl version, that make this worth picking up. As one reviewer stated, this may well be "the best album Otis never made."
