Live in Europe (Otis Redding album)
Live in Europe is a live album from soul singer Otis Redding. It was Redding's first live album as well as the only live album released during his lifetime, issued exactly five months before his death on December 10, 1967. The album was recorded during the Stax/Volt tour of Europe and Redding is backed by Booker T. & the MG's. Recorded at the Olympia Theatre, Paris; March 21, 1967.
| Live in Europe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | July 10, 1967 | |||
| Recorded | March 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:56 | |||
| Label | Volt/Atco | |||
| Producer | Jim Stewart, Tom Dowd | |||
| Otis Redding chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
The album is currently available on compact disc, digitally remastered by Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch as part of the Atlantic & Atco Remasters Series done on Rhino Records. Alternately, seven of its ten tracks appear as bonus tracks to the 2008 reissue of Otis Blue or the 2016 reissue of The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, also on Rhino.
Critical reception and legacy
In a 1969 piece called "A Short and Happy History of Rock", published by Stereo Review, Robert Christgau selected Live in Europe as a representative Redding LP in his basic rock "library" of 25 albums. He went on to write of Redding and the album in the context of rock history:
Meanwhile, back where it all started, black music was becoming self-consciously black, returning to blues and gospel, and the late Otis Redding was king. Despite the limitations of in-concert recording, this album is his best because Redding's stage presence was integral to his popularity, and because it contains most of his best songs. Remember that the audience is white. No other black performer has ever been able to bridge the racial barrier so completely while remaining so true to himself and his skin. That's why we miss him so much.[4]
However, Christgau's later appraisals of the album have ranged from it "captur[ing] a sensitive soul man at his toughest and most outgoing"[5] to it being "among [Redding's] worst" due to "too many concessions to an English audience that wanted fast rock and roll songs".[6]
In 2003, Live in Europe was ranked number 474 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Respect" | Otis Redding | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Can't Turn You Loose" | Redding | 3:20 |
| 3. | "I've Been Loving You Too Long" | Jerry Butler, Redding | 3:40 |
| 4. | "My Girl" | Smokey Robinson, Ronald White | 2:44 |
| 5. | "Shake" | Sam Cooke | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" | Steve Cropper, Redding | 3:37 |
| 3. | "These Arms of Mine" | Redding | 2:57 |
| 4. | "Day Tripper" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 2:54 |
| 5. | "Try a Little Tenderness" | James Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Harry M. Woods | 5:00 |
Charts
Album
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Singles
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References
- Allmusic review
- Rolling Stone review
- Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- Christgau, Robert (March 1969). "A Short and Happy History of Rock". Stereo Review. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Christgau, Robert (November 2, 1981). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- Christgau, Robert (March 1977). "Christgau Consumer Guide: A Guide to 1967". Creem. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2003.
- "Live In Europe - Otis Redding > Awards > AllMusic". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- "Otis Redding / Artist / Official Charts". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-10-28.