Great live soul from one of the genre's finest performers
Recorded in 1966, this terrific live album only came out after Otis Redding's tragic death in 1968. It's rather short, just 35 minutes, but it's filled with tough, sweaty, powerful performances...just listen to the opener, the driving "I Can't Turn You Loose", a pulsating soul stomper propelled forwards by the seven-man horn section and Redding's rough and emotional voice.

The sound quality is very very good, all things considered, and Otis Redding is equally great on slow, emotional numbers and rollicking up-tempo dance numbers alike. And just look at the track list: "Pain In My Heart", "Mr Pitiful", "These Arms Of Mine", "Respect"...
Otis Redding would only have been 66 now if he had lived, and we would have had so many more wonderful performances like this one.

4 1/2 stars for this one. One of Otis' finest moments, and one of the best, most energetic soul records of the 60, Redding's answer, if you will, to Sam Cooke's fabulous (and admittedly unsurpassed) live recording from Harlem Square Club.

60's Soul Music
About 14 months before the Monterey Pop Fest, a very successful GA based soul singer and his entourage were sent out to influence the multiple changes occurring on the music scene in Southern Cal. New discoveries and incredible record deals seem to happen every week, especially after a band played the Whiskey on the Strip.

Great tunes played a bit differently than the version's you can hear from 1967. Wow......it really took the crowd a while to get warmed up to him, as you can tell from the clapping. This CD - as well as the Live In Europe - is the kind of music and power those of us growing up in the deep south were used to experiencing, even if the soul group was NOT nationally recognized. Catch the wave!

Otis, My Man!
Simply Awesome. If you're not moved by this live version of "These Arms of Mine" you have no soul.

OTIS LIVE
for some reason, I've always preferred the Otis Redding live recordings to his studio work. He was undoubtdedly one of the greatest live performers ever, and his live albums capture some of that, if not all of it. The Monterey Pop Festivel recording is great as well (in addition to having some great live Jimi Hendrix on side 1).

A great album, but not perfect...
It's easy to understand how people can arbitrarily give this album 5 stars based on the genius of Otis, the man, THE BIG O. But unfortunately, although the man himself is in top form at this juncture, the band isn't up to snuff.

The track selection is fine, and the band handles capably enough, but they're not on equal footing, both in regards to performance and recording; the mix is a little unbalanced. Far better is his "Live In Europe" release, and (if you can find it) his "Live At Monterey Pop Festival".