I agree with bigtimemusic lover: the sound quality of "The Ultimate Otis Redding" is sub-par. Although the choice of tracks is admirable, the mushy audio does not do Otis justice. If you still have your turntable hooked up, compare a hit track from an Otis LP (such as Atco's "The Best of Otis Redding") to the same track on this CD. You will be amazed at the difference.
If I were to own just one Otis Redding recording, it would have to be "Live in Europe". The energy, the crowd and - most especially - Otis' electric performance - make "Live in Europe" indispensable.

You can hear straight out that Otis sings with all his heart and soul. What a talented man he was. His voice is something you can't ignore, and why would you? This cd is full of his best songs and it comes with the story of how much of a great artist he was and how tragic his death was. My favorite song is "Try A Little Tenderness". If you like this song and you haven't seen "Pretty In Pink" yet, you need to. There is a great scene where Jon Cryer is lip synching and dancing to this song. It's too bad he's not still around. His music will always be remembered.

While I agree wholeheartedly with all the reviewers of the quality of Otis Redding's music, I must break away from the ranks and say that the sound of this CD stinks. It sounds very weak and sterile (as do most of the CDs from the Warner Special Products label that were issued in the mid 80's), something that isn't deserving of Otis Redding's stature. Pick up Rhino's The Very Best Of Otis Redding (either volumes), or better yet, pick up the 2-CD set "Dreams To Remember" which is PACKED with the good stuff as this CD just doesn't cut it.

Peace.

If you like Otis Reading this is the CD for you. It contains all of his best well-known gems and a few lesser well-known good ones as well. Complete work at a good price!

If you like Otis Reading this is the CD for you. It contains all of his best well-known gems and a few lesser well-known good ones as well. Complete work at a good price!

I have to admit the only Otis song I knew was Dock of the Bay, then I saw the movie "Pretty in Pink", and saw one of the characters in the movie do a lip sinq to "Try a little Tenderness", after that I was hooked, I think Otis is about the only singer who can give me chills and bring tears to my eyes listening to him sing...Ahh...no one can sing like him, and every song he sings is awesome, he died too young, a yr. before I was even born, this is one I would have liked to have seen in concert, I can't even imagine that...When you are feeling bad, turn your Otis on, lights out, close your eyes and listen to the entire thing, I swear you will feel better...

"The Ultimate Otis Redding" is my favorite Otis Redding CD. Otis was a great singer. His voice was strong and powerful, and he knew how to properly use it to express emotion. He died much too early, but during his brief recording career, he managed to make quite a number of very fine recordings.

I like this CD so much because all of the songs on it are excellent, the disc contains a very nice mixture of rockers and ballads, all of the songs are in their studio versions, and the sequencing makes the disc very interesting.

Instead of doing what might be expected, and beginning with his one and only chart hit, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," the CD begins with the song "Respect." I suppose some people are unaware of the fact that Redding recorded this song before Aretha Franklin. His version is very different from hers. Of course, both of them did a great job on it.

This CD also has Redding's cover of the Rolling Stones's "Satisfaction." One could argue that Redding's version is the better of the two. His use of horns gives a very new perspective to the song. This is probably the best cover of a Stones's song that has ever been recorded by anybody.

Some of my other favorites here are "Mr. Pitiful," "Shake," "Tramp," and "I Can't Turn You Loose."

One of the things that I never liked about commercial radio and the so-called "classic rock" radio stations is that except for the song "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," they have totally ignored the wonderful music of Otis Redding. That's a shame, really, because every song on this disc is excellent.

Deeply felt as much by the man himself as anyone who may be lucky to have this C.D. is the pure and honest manner in which these tracks are sung. A true classic in every sense of the word.