Mitch's Playlist: 0.4

• The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 -- Otis Redding. Albums with titles such as this one, often fall far short of their boasted greatness. In rare cases, an artist's body of work does not merit a 'best of' album; but that is rare. Most commonly, the songs that are chosen as 'the best of' don't meet the listener's expectations.
  

With this collection, though, one suffers no let-downs. I came to love both the CD, and Otis! All the songs here display Redding at his best -- often backed by the Stax record label's legendary house band! Highlights for me include: 'That's How Strong My Love Is', 'Pain in My Heart', 'I've Got Dreams to Remember' and more.

Otis was to make huge impact, in a short time. He played a highly-memorable set at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Sadly, he was killed in a plane crash later that year, aged 26.

Redding's 'deep soul' music lives on.