Otis Redding Good To Me: Live At The Whiskey A Go Go, Vol. 2 CD

Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1992, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

This collection is the companion album to IN PERSON AT THE WHISKEY A GO GO and although it was released almost 15 years later as 1982's OTIS REDDING RECORDED LIVE, Redding's performance is no less incendiary. GOOD TO ME is a slightly different release than its predecessors due to the different versions of "I'm Depending On You," "Pain In My Heart" and "These Arms Of Mine." The LIVE AT THE APOLLO-like introduction of emcee Al Brisco Clark is also included for the first time and sets the tone for this performance.

Although an out-of-tune trumpet was the reason for these songs' posthumous release, songs like "Chained And Bound" and "Ol' Man Trouble" are no worse for wear. Redding's energy is even more electrifying than on IN PERSON, as the breathless Georgian exhorts the crowd to "...holler loud as you want...let your hair down, take your shoes off and get soulful..." Bouncing between the slow-burn of "Pain In My Heart" and renditions of "I Can't Turn You Loose" and a particularly roof-raising "A Hard Day's Night," it's clear that Redding's soon-to-be crossover success at the Monterey Pop Festival was a foregone conclusion.

Recorded live at The Whiskey A Go Go, Los Angeles, California on April 8-10, 1966. Originally released on Atlantic (19346). Includes liner notes by Lee Hildebrand.

Personnel: Otis Redding (vocals); Al Brisko Clark (spoken introduction); James Young (guitar); Robert Holloway, Robert Pittman, Donald Henry (tenor saxophone); Sammie Coleman, John Farris (trumpet); Clarence Johnson Jr (trombone); Ralph Stewart (bass); Elbert Woodson (drums).

Q (6/02, p.139) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Ageing northern soulsters still reeling over Redding's untimely death will find this salves that wound for at least three quarters of an hour...this is the real deal..Redding had no betters and few equals save for James Brown...here's the proof..."