Dreams To Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology CD

Personnel includes: Otis Redding (vocals, guitar); Carla Thomas (vocals); Booker T. Jones (guitar, piano, organ); Steve Cropper (guitar, piano, bass); Johnny Jenkins (guitar); Charles "Packy" Axton, Andrew Love, Joe Arnold, Gilbert Caples, Gene Parker, Tommie Lee Williams (tenor saxophone); Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone); Wayne Jackson, Sammie Coleman, Gene "Bowlegs" Miller, Ben Cauley (trumpet); Isaac Hayes (piano, organ); Lewis Steinberg, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Wayne Cochran (bass); Al Jackson Jr, Rick Hall (drums); Phil Walden (tambourine); William Bell, David Porter (background vocals); The Pinetoppers.
Producers include: Jim Stewart, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson Jr, Nesuhi Ertegun, Lou Adler.
Compilation producers: Gary Stewart, David Gorman, Bill Inglot.
Recorded in Macon, Georgia, Muscle Shoals, Alabama and at Stax Studios, Memphis, Tennessee between 1960 and 1967. Tracks 20-24 on disc two recorded live at The Monterey International Pop Festival, Monterey, California on June 17, 1967. Includes liner notes by James Austin and Bill Dahl.
Digitally remastered by Bill Inglot & Dan Hersch.
Personnel: Otis Redding (vocals, guitar); Booker T. Jones (guitar, piano, organ); Steve Cropper (guitar, piano); Johnny Jenkins (guitar); Joe Arnold, Gene Parker, Gilbert Caples, Tommy Williams , Andrew Love, Charles "Packy" Axton (tenor saxophone); Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone); Gene Miller, Sammie Coleman, Wayne Jackson, Ben Cauley (trumpet); Isaac Hayes (piano, organ); Al Jackson, Jr., Rick Hall (drums); Phil Walden (tambourine); David Porter, William Bell (background vocals).
Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Liner Note Authors: James Austin; Bill Dahl.
Recording information: Macon, GA (??/??/1960-11/22/1967); Monterey International Pop Festival, Monterey, CA (??/??/1960-11/22/1967); Muscle Shoals (??/??/1960-11/22/1967); Stax Studios, Memphis, TN (??/??/1960-11/22/1967); The Monterey International Pop Festival (??/??/1960-11/22/1967).
Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology presents an interesting dilemma. Certainly, the music on the double-disc set is superb -- all of his hits are here, along with a wealth of great album tracks and five live cuts from the Monterey International Pop Festival. The question is, was the collection necessary? Casual listeners who just want the hits will be satisfied with the excellent The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1, while those who want to dig deeper will find the four-disc box Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding essential, or will opt for the actual albums. Dreams to Remember falls somewhere between the two extremes, containing too much music for the casual listener and not being extensive enough for serious listeners. Perhaps realizing this, Rhino added several tracks here that weren't featured on the box set, but any true collector will have these songs on the original albums. So, Dreams to Remember is in limbo -- a fine collection that isn't really necessary. It's not a bad choice, to be sure, but The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 and Otis! are better choices, depending on your tastes. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
If you're not prepared to shell out the big bucks for Rhino's earlier four-CD OTIS! box set, this sensibly put together two-disc set may be all the Otis you need at a more reasonable price. Everything of note is here, including an early Pinetoppers track recorded when Redding was a Little Richard wannabe, and then all the hits from 1963's "These Arms of Mine" to the posthumous 1967 "Dock of the Bay." You also get two terrific duets with Carla Thomas, including the extremely down-home "Tramp," and five cuts from the Monterey Pop Festival, with Redding, backed by Booker T. and the MGs, laying the assembled hippies out in the aisles.

2 Cds

Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.131) - Ranked #147 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "DREAMS offers the full spectrum, from hard-driving soul stomps such as 'I Can't Turn You Loose' to heartache ballads including 'I've Been Loving You Too Long'..."