And like so many other artists who were taken before their time Otis to me is as much of the sixties as Bob Dylan, Beatles, Stones and Santana. Anyone interested in the music of the 60's must stop and visit with Otis "On the Dock of the Bay".

What a loss. Otis was the best. You can overdose on this album.

Otis Redding, born September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia, was one of those rising young stars taken from us - not through alcohol or drug abuse - but by the fickle finger of fate. Like Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry Richardson [The Big Bopper], Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, and Jim Reeves [to name just a few], Otis perished in an airplane crash, in his case on December 10, 1967.

He was just 26 years old, and already he had 21 R&B hit singles to his credit, most of which also scored on the Billboard Pop Hot 100. Following his death he would have another 10 posthumous hits, including his greatest, Sittin' On The Dock Of Bay, which he recorded just three days before the crash and which ultimately reached # 1 on both the R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts early in 1968.

In this first of two 16-track volumes re-issuing earlier vinyl LPs, Rhino includes that hit, along with four bonus tracks, and all 16 [unlike Volume Two] were among his 30 charted hits. It starts off with his first ever hit for the Volt subsidiary of Stax Records, These Arms Of Mine, which hit # 20 R&B/# 85 Hot 100 in late March 1963, and also includes one of his hit duets with Carla Thomas [Tramp, which reached # 2 R&B/# 26 Hot 100 in spring 1967].

The insert contains a complete discography of the contents to go with six pages of notes written by Kevin Phinney and six nice photos of Otis and, in addition [in spite of another review], the AAD sound quality is just fine.

The material brought me back to the late sixties 1968, with memories of his death, December of that year and the coming out of the Beatles White album that same month. It has been a long time since a performer was of his ilk.

Otis Redding was one of the greats of soul. He was taken early at the age of twenty- six in a plane crash just three days after recording the song which would be his first number one on the charts, 'Sittin on the Dock of the Bay' That tremendous song is here. It has so much both in its lyric quality and the gripping power of its music. These are its lyrics" I heard it first many years ago and it has been playing in my mind ever since.

Sittin' in the morning sun
I'll be sittin' when the evening comes
Watching the ships roll in
Then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time

I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the Frisco bay
'Cos I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothing's gonna come my way
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time
[...]

Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, listen

Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone, listen
2000 miles I've roamed
Just to make this dock my home
Now I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh wee, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time

There are also other outstanding works here. Redding reportedly did not want to do 'Try a Little Tenderness' but his version is an original and strong one.
The grainy coarseness of his voice was nonetheless lyrical, catching and upbeat in its way.
This is 'Soul Music ' at its best.

Otis Redding is another of the "great voices" of the past!! His music is unforgettable!! And it's "superb"!! You can't go wrong with this CD...I'll bring you alot of joy & relaxation!! Try it...you'll like it - Guaranteed!!

So many times I see movies and love the music; only to find out it is Otis Redding. This cd has his best, and you will recognize virtually every song. I love it.

I have always liked Otis Redding. When I listened to the sample tracks on Amazon, I knew that I had to have this CD. It is timeless and I can listen to it and Al Green, over and over. Buy it.

My dad introduced me to Mr. Redding as a kid (I'm 30). I was hooked from the get-go and received this CD as a gift from him as a teen-ager. I've been in love with it ever since. This CD hits the best of the best...I have 2 others but this is my favorite. Love the "Sad Song" and of course "Sitting on the dock of the Bay" is the best crooning you will hear from any of the greats of the time. If you are not an Otis fan...you should be. This music never gets old.

i am very disapointed with my purchase 4 of the songs on my wison pickett c d were damaged the disc looked new but the recordings of these songs were ruined they did not play

This is an excellent compendium of Otis Redding's songs that will take you back.

"The Very Best of Otis Redding" is what else....incredible! This package is so perfectly remastered, direct, and assembled it is essential for those who are looking for an introduction to Otis Redding or Soul Music and also the seasoned Otis Redding aficiando! The remastering is superior. You can hear so many subtle nuances and Redding's voice is more discernable. This is soul music at its rawest and whether you're a fanatic or a casual listener you will appreciate this genre of music even more. The song sequencing is magnificent and the annotation is good(could have been much better)Absoulutely essential music not just for soul but for music period.

This is a great CD. Great songs, sung by a great artist.
Good selection. Good sound quality.
This CD is worth every cent you pay for it and if you are 40 or older this CD should not miss in your collection.
It will bring back wonderful memories of a wonderful era.

I have always been quite a hard core Indie fan. I cam across my first Otis Redding song 'Try a Little Tenderness' when I was watching the 80s Teen Flick, Pretty In Pink. It struck me as being one of the most emotional, moving and captivating song I had heard in a long time. It caught my emotions exactly at that moment and now remains a song that is very precious to me.
I would like to say thank you to Otis Redding for opening my eyes to different varieties of amazing music, and for creating this incredible album. As someone said before, it is a shame we lost him at such a young age as he had such a unique talent, but i am thankful his music remains to keep his memory forever.

Though his first hit, "These Arms of Mine" only peaked at #83 in 1963, it wasn't until 1965 that Otis Redding's career began to make headway. With his gritty soulful pipes, and soul music accompanied by a brass section and a strong rhythm section on those foot-stomping numbers, his brief impact on the music scene hinted at things to come had he not died aged 26.

The slow-dance of "I've Been Lovin' You Too Long" is simply heartwarming, nice for the last dance of the evening. His first Top 40 hit reached #21.

Redding describes "Respect" as a song taken away from him by a certain girl. While his version charted at #35 on the pop charts and #4 on the R&B, that certain girl, a Ms. Aretha Franklin, took it to #1 for two weeks (pop) and four times that long on the R&B charts. But Otis's original still has that original stomping rhythm in it. Ditto for "I Can't Turn You Loose," a #11 R&B hit that deserved better on the pop charts. Small wonder the Chamber Bros. covered it the year after he died. And "Mr. Pitiful," which barely missed the Top 40, has a shaking funky rhythm that would presage early 70's style soul.

Though a #6 hit for Ted Lewis in 1933, Otis Redding's version of the tender "Try A Little Tenderness" made it to #25, (R&B #4), higher than the other covers of the rock & roll era, though Three Dog Night came close with it in 1969 at #29. Rod Stewart did his hand of it on his Out of Order album.

He and Carla Thomas duet and rap with each other in "Tramp," where she gives him a hard time about his clothing and haircut, about how he's too country and not cosmopolitan. But he's okay with it, and holds his own. There is a brief horn melody that the Beatles later used or may have used in the "Hey la hey la hello-a" section that closes "Hello Goodbye."

His performance at the Monterey Pop Festival (June 1967) was considered to be one of the highlights, as Michelle Phillips, one of MPF's prime organizers, saw Otis as THE reason she wanted the festival in the first place. He performed a cover of the Stones' "Satisfaction," which had reached #31 a year prior. His version featured a brass arrangements, making his version an interesting contrast to the original. He also did a rousing cover of Sam Cooke's "Shake" and reached out successfully to the flower power crowd. Seeing the footage of him at Monterey doing this song made me want to get his music.

It was thus unbelievable that he only had six months left to live after Monterey. He then recorded a song quite different from his usual oeuvre. Three days later, he and four members of the Bar-Kays died in a plane crash on 10 December 1967. The track, the brooding and reflective "Sitting On The Dock of the Bay," became his only #1 pop hit, three months after he recorded it, and staying there for four weeks, also spending three weeks atop the R&B charts. Countless others, including the Dells, Sammy Hagar, and notorious R&B song shredder Michael Bolton have covered it, but Otis's version remains the most respected and brightest. I first heard this in Top Gun, when Tom Cruise explains to Kelly McGillis how it was his mother's favourite song.

Of his other posthumous singles, "The Happy Song" reached #25, and is a return to his usual style, while "I've Got Dreams To Remember" featuring a nice female backing chorus, fits in with his slow songs a la "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "Try A Little Tenderness."

What would Reddings' career have been like had he survived? His success at Monterey hinted at bigger things, definitive crossover potential, though among the R&B pantheon, he still would've faced stiff competition from Motown artists like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and the Temptations. Very Best Of is just that, a reminder of what was and what might have been.

you should get this if you are even remotely interested in branching out your musical tastes. Also get his Live in Europe cd, which has most of the same songs, but more emphasis on his gravelly type voice. He comes across as a bit of a crooner on a few songs on here, but for the most part his voice is very raw. This should be a part of any music collection, along with the live album. I was happy to be able to get songs like "the dock of the bay" and "dreams to remember," both really good songs. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone.

It was indeed tragic that we lost Otis at such a young age and at the height of a dynamic career. It's another shame, as I've read in the liner notes, that when he died the pop audience hardly knew him. It was that same old "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" that kept getting played and played. That's now his singature song for pop fans. For R&B fans, it's either "Try A Little Tenderness", check that out: starts real low and smooth and then builds and Otis really cuts loose, or there is the original "Respect". That song is hot stuff; it has a jumpy beat, dynamic bass and sax spots yet this song is so criminally ignored. Sure, Aretha hit it big with it, but let's give credit where it's due. The rest of this album rocks with a lot of soul. His duet with Carla Thomas on "Tramp" is here also with Carla criticizing Otis of his hobo looks. They should've done more duets together like Marvin and Tammi. Too bad the duet of "Knock On Wood" isn't on here, but on this it looks like the bigger of the two hits was chosen. Just hearing Otis will make you a soul/R&B fan instantly.

It was the summer of 1967. Otis Redding was in the midst of the performance of his life at Monterey International Pop Festival. What he was referring to of course was the way Aretha Franklin had turned his song "Respect" into one of the biggest hits of the year. His version topped out at #35 on the pop charts a couple of years earlier. But I digress. Otis Redding was just beginning to hit his stride as summer turned to autumn in 1967. This veteran performer had been around for a while. The fact is that up until this point he had made the Billboard Hot 100 a total of 19 times although his records usually ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of the chart. His tunes fared much better on the Soul/R&B charts where 8 of them had made it into the Top Ten. It is really difficult to understand why the man had not had greater commercial success up until this point. After taking a few months off Otis Redding returned to the studio in early December 1967. There he recorded a song he had co-written with Steve Cropper. Everyone thought it was a mistake. His wife hated it. Three days later Otis Redding was dead at 26, a victim of a tragic plane crash in Wisconsin.
When the story appeared in the newspaper I remember thinking to myself "Who is that?" And although I had been collecting records for about three years I had never heard of him. Despite his enormous talent Otis Redding had just not quite connected with general audiences. Less than two months later in January of 1968, Volt records released that tune his wife and friends hated so much. "(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay" went all the way to #1 on the Pop charts and remained there for a month. Everyone was now beginning to realize just how talented this man had been. There are a few different Otis Redding collections around but I find this to be the best of the lot. You'll hear his version of tunes that went on to become hits by other artists like 1965's "I Can't Turn You Loose" and his dynamic version of the great blues standard "Try A Little Tenderness". In the meantime, you'll also enjoy the exhilirating work of the Stax/Volt house band who were undeniably at their peak during this time. For me other favorites on this compilation are the 1968 hit "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum") and Otis' high energy duet with Carla Thomas "Tramp". An informative 12 page booklet with interesting biographical information and chart data for each track is also included. Believe me you cannot go wrong with this one. Highly recommended.

Love this CD! Not a bad track on here!

Otis Redding was regarded as the leader of the great southern soul singers of the 60's. Thats really saying something when you regard the competition-Solomon Burke, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, James Carr and Percy Sledge, to name but a few. This album has all the major hits- "Dock of the Bay", "Try a Little Tenderness","Respect","I Can't Turn You Loose" and his version of The Stones' "Satisfaction". The only major omission is "Hard to Handle", but thats nitpicking. This is a solid collection of some of the best Soul music ever recorded.

Rhino's The Very Best of Otis Redding is a wonderful 16-track "Greatest Hits" compilation of soul music by the late singer. Not only was Redding a great singer, but he was also an accomplished songwriter; 10 of the tracks on this album were written or co-written by Redding (including "Respect," which was famously covered by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin). One can't listen to this "Very Best of..." collection and wonder what soul music could have been had Redding survived the airplane crash that silenced him on Dec. 10, 1967.

No wonder, then, that a generation of rock and rollers embraced his music after his death. Most of them (myself included) had not heard of him before his death. As The Very Best of Otis Redding shows, he left a rich legacy that is surprising for such a young man.

Like most of the great singers of the genre, Redding sang his songs with such heartfelt emotion feelings that he drew the listener into feeling he or she was actually in Redding's heart and soul.

I was only 13 when I first heard Redding's posthumous No. 1 hit, (Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay. When I read the liner notes of this CD, I was saddened by the fact that he never got to realize how big a hit that song became. (Three months after his premature death, (Sittin' on) The Dock of The Bay climbed to become No. 1 song on the charts.

While I enjoy the entire album, my three favorite songs on this CD are (Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay, That's How Strong My Love Is, and I've Got Dreams to Remember.

If you want a good soulful music CD by one of the greats of the genre, The Very of Otis Redding is definitely worth your money and your time.

Otis Redding is perhaps my all-time favourite singer, and "Shake and Other Hits" is the first CD by him that I bought. Although this basic compilation consists of only 10 songs and excludes some of his best work like "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay", I still recommend this CD to anyone who is not familiar with Redding's work and wants to be introduced to it, and to people who simply have aesthetic musical tastes. This CD includes a lot of my favourite songs by him, among them several duets with Carla Thomas, who is also outstanding.

1. "Shake" I couldn't think of a better opening song. Nothing defines good southern music as well as this song, right away I feel like I'm being transported into an Atlanta night club. You'll really wanna move to this one.
2. "Hard To Handle" Such a great song. I love the funky piano intro. Most people are more familiar with the Black Crowes' cover, but this one is way better.
3. "Slipping and Sliding" This one is so catchy.
4. "Happy Song" Simple catchy melody with sweet lyrics that make you choke up if you listen them. Or you could ignore the lyrics and just enjoy the song. It's like a hologram- no matter which way you perceive it, you'll get something good.
5. "Tramp" Tee hee this song makes me laugh. Otis and Carla acting out a hilarious argument dialogue over a catchy beat. It's better than any rap song. It sounds ridiculous at first, but it will grow on you, I assure you.
6. "Try A Little Tenderness" I hate ballads, but this is an exception because Otis's voice can make any song good.
7. "Knock On Wood" My favourite Otis/Carla duet. Carla Thomas is a great singer with a beautiful voice, yet so underrated. I'd pick her over Diana Ross any day.
8. Ballad. Yawn. Next.
9. "Lovey Dovey" Another Carla Thomas duet . Cute lyrics with a wall-sound brass intro.
10. "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)" Sort of like a reprise to "Happy Song", yet ironically the tone of this song sounds happier than the other one, at least in my opinion.

If you have an ear for substantial classic soul/rock music, check this guy out; you won't be disappointed.

I have this cd and it prompted me to finally buy the box set of this excellent artist. This is a good place to start. If you like this it will really get you into his music. When you listen to "These arms of mine,Try a little tenderness,Pain in my heart,Shake and Tramp. My mom call these serious @ my house songs, lights off baby. Program some of these songs on the cd player and find out what happens. :)*grin*

This CD is great for anybody, ecspecially R&B and soul lovers. I love just about all the songs on this CD. His #1 Pop and R&B hit '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay', is included. As well as a Rolling Stones cover of 'Satisfaction' and an Aretha Franklin cover of 'Respect'.
What I like about this CD, is that it has 4 bonus tracks included. These songs are 'That's How Strong My Love Is, My Lover's Prayer, The Happy Song (Dum Dum) and I've Got Dreams To Remember.
The sound quality is not the best, but it's descent. Inside the jewel case, there are pictures and a mini biography on Otis Redding (On the inside of the packet that is shown as the front cover.)
I would recommend this CD to anybody. Like the title says, It Is The Best Of Otis Redding.

i first heard about Otis on the oldies station on the airplane. i had to find out who the singer was. i listened to the station over and over waiting for the song to come again and again.

this cd has all the classic Otis Redding songs, an shockingly good cd. just amazing

Otis Redding died at the age of 26 in a tragic plane crash. It's sad to think of how much he accomplished in such a short time and makes me think of Buddy Holly if only these two men have lived what other wonderful pieces of music would they have made. Redding's sad and emotionally charged "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay" was recorded only days before he died and remains one of the best known tunes around. It is a masterpiece in itself. His song "Respect" which was made known by Aretha Franklin, she released his song and made it popular even though he wrote it. "Try a little tenderness" is an awesome soul song and if anyone wants to hear a great cover of it check out the Duets Soundtrack which Paul Giamtti and Arnold McCuller covered. "Satisfaction" "Pain in my heart" and the wonderful "These arms of mine" as well as the classicly known "I can't turn you loose" add to the wonder of this collection. A great buy for any Redding fan getting his feet wet.

Many people are unfamiliar with Otis Redding's work, aside from his penultimate single, "Dock of the Bay." He reportedly wrote that song after being inspired by the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's" album, and it represented a new direction for his work. Otis died in a plane crash before the song was released and did not get to enjoy its enormous success.

His musical legacy, however, goes far beyond "Dock of the Bay." Throughout the 60s, Otis was one of the premiere artists on the Stax label, along with Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the MGs. During that period, Otis released a steady stream of hits that have become soul classics. Best known among these are "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "Try a Little Tenderness." Inexplicably, Otis does not seem to get played very much on oldies stations, especially when compared to the smoother sounds of the Motown label (Marvin Gaye, Supremes). I love much of the 60s Motown sound, but Otis' music sounds fresher, perhaps because it has not been overplayed.

This collection gathers together his biggest hits into one package. It's a great collection of ballads ("Try a Little Tenderness"), remakes (the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction"), and up-tempo songs ("The Happy Song"). My favorite songs on the collection are "Respect" and "Tramp." "Respect" was written by Otis and became a mid-chart hit; of course it was later released by Aretha Franklin and became a standard. In Otis' hands, the song is entirely different and should have been a bigger hit. "Tramp," a duet with Carla Thomas (of Rufus & Carla), celebrates Otis' background as a "tramp" from the backwoods of Georgia. This music is really great!

ive nver heard a singer that could make me cry till i found otis redding.he speaks my languge.he is sorely missed but he will never ever be forgotten

This is a wonderful, wonderful collection. Every song you could possibly want is here, from "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" to the overlooked (in my opinion) "Dreams to Remember." You need this collection

How do you like your soul? Haunting and mournful? Otis does that - in Pain in My Heart and I've Been Loving You Too Long. Do you like it raw and powerful? Otis does that in Respect and Satisfaction. Love songs? Try My Lover's Prayer. When I first looked at the CD - I wondered why Dock of the Bay was not the last song. It just seemed fitting that the CD would close with Otis' posthumous hit. But I've Got Dreams to Remember serves, in my opinion, as a more apt closing track. We've got Otis to remember - and this CD does a great job of helping people discover and/or rediscover a remarkable talent.

I am listening to this right now. Listening to her needing a little tenderness and it's real. I'm not talking the silly, superficial cash in of anybody who's on the Billboard now but the realness of someone to whom music means something. Not contrived, not remixes, not sampling, not so beat laden you wonder who sits around saying give this one or that a millions dollars. But real. Like Harold Melville, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Coltrane, Monk, Prince, Teddy Pendegrass, Luther---you know what I mean, music that gets you up and then slams you back down. I'm talking goosebumps and flesh moving and slap your momma good. Buy the best of? Nah, get real yourself and collect everything. Getting the best of is saying you understand Shakespeare after reading a few plays. Be a real man or woman of committment and get it all, have a dozen Otis cd's on your wall so people know you're for real. Then go Shake, Lord Have Mercy---Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake!!!

Listening to this great CD will compel one incontrovertable conclusion: Otis Redding died way too young. Heaven only knows what wonderful songs we could be enjoying today, had his plane not crashed back in 1967.

But thankfully, listen we can, to some phenominal music from that too-short career. He could burn down the house (as he did in Monterrey) with cuts like "I Can't Turn You Loose", "Satisfaction" and of course "Respect". He could also croon with some of the most deeply soulful love songs, like "Pain in my Heart", and the incomparable "I've Been Lovin' You Too Long To Stop Now". There is no need to mention "Dock of the Bay" recorded just three days before his death. Words are inadequate to describe that song.

This is a must have CD. Too many are now recorded as the "Best of", but this is one which really deserves that moniker.

Otis could sing like nobody's business. "Sittin on the dock of the bay" is my favorite song, the only song that can get my to cry. The emotion he puts into songs, and lyrics, gets to your soul like no1 else ever could. Genius.

What can I say. I picked this up on a whim, and before the second song had finished playing it became my new favorite CD. Really, I just wanted Dock of the Bay and That's How Strong My Love Is. Well believe it or not, those songs dont even stand out next to some of the stuff on this CD that I'd never heard before. I went out the very next day and picked up the second volume of this collection. Otis Redding was the man.

the boy died when he was twenty-six years old (my age as of now) and he left a legacy of albums and a few live performances that are epic and monumental in the movement of soul music in the mid 1960's. Has there ever been anyone like him? I don't think so. He did favor the stylings of Sam Cooke but he took that to another, more raw level of vocals. He sang his heart each and every second and it seems that is a hard thing to come by in this day and age. He wrote "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay", arguably his greatest and most famous work three days before his death. If that doesn't give you chills and make you think that you should check out some of his work, dip your toes in with this greatest hits selection and soon you'll be searching for "Good to Me", the incredible part II to his performance at the Whiskey A Go-Go in West Hollywood in April of 1966.