The Soul Album

Description

In 1966Otis ReddingreleasedThe Soul Album. Not a soul album, mind you, butThe Soul Album. Not that its title was necessarily intended to suggest that it’s the soul album to end all soul albums especially not when one considers that he also recordedThe Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads,Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, andComplete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul but when looking back at a list of the many classic R&B albums released during the course of the 1960s,The Soul Albumis certainly right up there with the best of the best.

The fourth studio album of Redding’s career,The Soul Albumfound the singer tackling songs penned by some of the greatest R&B composers of the day, including Jerry Butler (“Cigarettes and Coffee”), Sam Cooke (“Chain Gang”), Eddie Floyd (“Everybody Makes a Mistake,” “634-5789”), and Smokey Robinson (“It’s Growing”). Redding also tackled James Cox’s classic “Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down and Out)” and Slim Harpo’s “Scratch My Back,” but don’t get the idea that the album was all covers: Redding also contributed a few tracks of his own composition, including “Just One More Day,” “Good to Me,” and “Any Ole Way.”

As strong as its contents may have been,The Soul Albumonly spawned one hit single: “Just One More Day,” which hit No. 15 on the R&B charts. Unfortunately, it stalled at No. 85 on the Hot 100, which may be why it hasn’t become quite as iconic as some of Redding’s other studio albums. Like most everything else he recorded in the 60s, though, it’s a stone cold classic and one that’s always worth a spin.

1. Just One More Day
2. It’s Growing
3. Cigarettes And Coffee
4. Chain Gang
5. Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down And Out)
6. Good To Me
7. Scratch My Back
8. Treat Her Right
9. Everybody Makes A Mistake
10. Any Ole Way
11. 634-5789