“Tell The Truth” by Otis Redding - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1970Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s

TJR says

There’s something quite beautiful about the fact that Otis continues to party on into the 1970s with a great new album. I think the term is “bittersweet”. It’s the third year in-a-row that Otis’s fans have had the comfort of a new music album to help ease the sense of loss, following on from “The Immortal Otis Redding” (1968) and “Love Man” (1969). Amazingly, “Tell The Truth” proves to be the hottest yet – what a treasure trove he left. Alas, there are no ballads on this one – but it’s a shallow complaint, for the party is swinging with numbers which veer from easy and graceful mid-tempos to full on dancefloor stompers. There are 3 covers on-board; “Tell The Truth” (The “5” Royales, 1958), “Out Of Sight” (James Brown and his Orchestra, 1964) and “Slippin' And Slidin’” (Little Richard and his band, 1956). The latter was always a classic song, but I really like Otis’s version – it’s borderline funky and completely different from Little Richard; just what you need from your cover versions. The greatest moments in the set come from the pen of the man himself. The spirited “Wholesale Love” whips up a storm; “I Got The Will” finds the Stax gang at their very sharpest and “Swinging On A String**” finishes side 2 with one of the sexiest grooves team Otis ever laid down. This is a helluva final final statement, sheer dynamite. Way to go Otis.

The Jukebox Rebel
14–Jan–2010

Tracklist
A1 [02:25] 7.0.png Otis Redding - Demonstration (Otis Redding, Don Covay) Soul
A2 [03:11] 5.8.png Otis Redding - Tell The Truth (Lowman Pauling) Soul
A3 [02:18] 6.2.png Otis Redding - Out Of Sight (James Brown) Soul
A4 [02:54] 6.4.png Otis Redding - Give Away None Of My Love (Otis Redding) Soul
A5 [02:28] 9.0.png Otis Redding - Wholesale Love (Otis Redding) Soul
A6 [02:51] 8.8.png Otis Redding - I Got The Will (Otis Redding) Soul
B1 [02:28] 6.7.png Otis Redding - Johnny’s Heartbreak (Otis Redding, Arthur Alexander) Soul
B2 [02:13] 7.8.png Otis Redding - Snatch A Little Piece (Otis Redding) Soul
B3 [01:56] 8.3.png Otis Redding - Slippin’ And Slidin’ (Richard Penniman, Edwin Bocage, James Smith, Albert Collins) Soul
B4 [02:55] 7.0.png Otis Redding - The Match Game (Otis Redding, David Porter) Soul
B5 [02:33] 6.9.png Otis Redding - A Little Time (Otis Redding) Soul
B6 [02:51] 8.5.png Otis Redding - Swingin’ On A String (Otis Redding) Soul

© The Jukebox Rebel 2005-2020 All Rights Reserved