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Watchin’ the Tide Roll Away: Rhino Collects Otis Redding’s Final Recordings on “Dock of the Bay Sessions”

March 13, 2018 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

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Rhino is revisiting the final recordings of Otis Redding on a new set due on May 18.  Dock of the Bay Sessions is the label’s reconstruction of an album that never was, built around the song that became America’s first posthumous chart-topper and Redding’s only No. 1 hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”  That song, produced and co-written by Steve Cropper, reached the pop zenith 50 years ago this Friday, March 16, 1968.

Following his blazing performance in June 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival, all eyes were on Otis Redding to see what he would do next.  As he blended soul, blues, rock, and pop into a heady musical brew, expectations were high for the studio album Redding began to cut that fall in Memphis.  Upon his tragic death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, however, the album as Redding envisioned it was scrapped.  Instead, on February 23, 1968, Atlantic and Volt Records released The Dock of the Bay, anchored by the soon-to-be-immortal title track but surrounded by recordings of various vintages.

Although it will never be definitively known what Redding had planned for his new LP, Dock of the Bay Sessions collects the recordings Redding made during this final period of his life to assemble a strong might-have-been release.  It was compiled with input from Roger Armstrong of Ace Records and Redding biographer Jonathan Gould and has the Redding family’s full endorsement. While the individual tracks comprising this set have been previously released on posthumous albums and various compilations, this marks the first time they have been brought together cohesively.  In the new liner notes, St. Etienne’s Bob Stanley writes: “This album is the first indication of a new Otis Redding, one that has slayed audiences in Europe, one which won him a whole new crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival.”

The many sides of Otis are on display on Sessions, from gospel (“Amen”) to funk (“Hard to Handle”) and soulful balladry (“I’ve Got Dreams to Remember”).  Six tracks were first issued on LP on The Immortal Otis Redding, his second posthumous LP originally released in June 1968: the aforementioned trio, plus the single “The Happy Song,” “Think About It,” and “Champagne and Wine.”  The June 1969 release of Love Man premiered that title track as well as “Direct Me” and I’m a Changed Man.”  Still more tracks didn’t see their first release until decades later.

This snapshot of Otis Redding’s final studio sessions is due from Rhino on May 18 on CD, vinyl, digital download and streaming.  You’ll find pre-order links and the track listing below!

Otis Redding, Dock of the Bay Sessions (Rhino, 2018)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada TBD
Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada TBD

  1. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”
  2. “Think About It”*
  3. “Hard To Handle”
  4. “The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)”
  5. “Love Man”
  6. “Direct Me”
  7. “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember”
  8. “Champagne And Wine”*
  9. “Pounds And Hundreds (LBS + 100S)”
  10. “I’m A Changed Man”
  11. “Gone Again”
  12. “Amen”

(*) denotes stereo track.  All other tracks in mono.

Track 1 from The Dock of the Bay, Volt S 419, 1968
Tracks 2-4, 7-8 & 12 from The Immortal Otis Redding, Atco SD 33-252, 1968
Tracks 5-6 & 10 from Love Man, Atco SD 33-289, 1969
Tracks 9 & 11 from Remember Me, Stax SCD 85762-2, 1992

Categories: News Formats: CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: R&B/Soul Tags: Otis Redding

Joe Marchese

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Peggy Lipton, Doris Day, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and his work still appears with frequency in the magazine. In 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as The Supremes, Melissa Manchester, Laura Nyro, Bobby Darin and Johnny Mathis, legendary producer Bob Crewe, soul legend Wilson Pickett, and many others. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Gootsy says

    March 13, 2018 at 1:29 pm

    Great album BUT… A missed opportunity IMO. They could have added a disc of alternate takes and rehearsals…

    Reply
    • David Olstein says

      March 14, 2018 at 8:40 pm

      That may not have been possible. Most of the Atlantic Records multitracks from the 60s we’re lost in a warehouse fire.

      Reply
  2. Ronald Wielink says

    March 18, 2018 at 5:06 am

    I agree with Gootsy. There are some outtakes, I have 2 alternate versions of (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay that are on a compilation of outtakes / alternates that was released in the 90s, i think released under multiple titles, mine is called “remember me”.

    Reply

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