CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED OTIS REDDING COLLECTION
LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS
NEW 2-LP RED VINYL COMPANION COLLECTION
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY
FOR RECORD STORE DAY’s BLACK FRIDAY EVENT (11/25)
LP cover art / Click here to download
“The best gig I ever put on in my whole life…”
–Bill Graham
“He was my favorite singer at that time.”
–Robbie Robertson
Just weeks after the CD release of Otis Redding: Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings (Stax records), the critically-acclaimed collection will be made available as a 2-disc vinyl release exclusively on Record Store Day’s Black Friday Event (11/25).
Highlighting Redding’s legendary 3-night stand at Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go in 1966, the limited run of 2500 copies, is a double album printed on 180g red vinyl, and is housed in a gatefold jacket that features extensive liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley, plus original artwork. The live recordings have been newly mixed and remastered from the original 4-track tapes. Track listing below. After Black Friday, fans can visit the list of participating RSD stores to find a copy of the LP.
Since its initial release as a six-CD box set on October 28th via Stax Records (an imprint of Concord Bicycle Music), the thorough collection has been widely acclaimed, including Pitchfork’s 9-out-of-10 review proclaiming, “Decades later, these 1966 concerts at the Whisky A Go Go still possess the power to convert skeptics so it seems that Otis Redding did indeed get his wish: He made one of the greatest albums that ever came out.” (11/3). The box set includes the entirety of Redding‘s historic performances over three nights at the famed Sunset Strip venue. The seven sets, recorded Friday, April 8th – Sunday, April 10th,1966, feature the singer’s popular songs of the time, including “Respect,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.“ The collection was the first to offer fans the chance to re-live all the sets in their entirety–including between-song banter by Redding–exactly as they were performed.
Redding was a rising star in 1966 and these Whisky shows were groundbreaking, not only because of the quality of the performances, but he was one of the first black performers to cross the barrier into a rock club. Already a star, the shows drew such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Van Morrison and The Doors’ Robby Krieger. Of the shows, Robertson says, “Just before heading overseas on Bob Dylan’s 1966 ‘Going Electric’ tour, we heard that Otis was playing at the Whisky. He was my favorite singer at that time. Bob and I decided to go check it out and Otis didn’t disappoint. He sang with such power and passion it took your breath away. We got to spend time with him and his manager Phil Walden after the show. It was a night I’ll never forget.” Of Redding‘s December 1966 Fillmore show (8-months after these Whisky shows), iconic promoter Bill Graham said it was “The best gig I ever put on in my whole life…”
Track list for LP:
Disc 1
Side A
1. “Introduction” (0:33), 2. “I Can’t Turn You Lose” (4:43) 3. “Pain In My Heart” (2:16) 4. “Security” (2:28) 5. “Just One More Day” (4:33) 6. “Any Ole Way” (3:59)
Side B
1. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” (5:46), 2. “I’m Depending On You” (2:53), 3. “Mr. Pitiful” (3:02), 4. “Good To Me” (3:56), 5. “Respect” (2:13)
Disc 2
Side A
1. “Chained and Bound” (5:13), 2. “Ole Man Trouble” (2:52), 3. “Destiny” (2:56) 4. “These Arms of Mine” (3:12)
Side B
1. “A Hard Day’s Night” (4:14), 2. “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (10:08), 3. “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)” (3:21), 4. “Outro” (0:39)
Fans can purchase the 6-CD box set collection on Amazon.
Click here for the box set’s online media kit
Click here for previous press releases
Click here to download assets (cover art, photo of Otis, liner notes, track listing, etc.)
otisredding.com
staxrecords.com
###
For press inquiries, contact Reckoning PR:
Aaron Feterl: aaron@reckoningpr.com
Todd Brodginski: todd@reckoningpr.com
OTIS REDDING’S
LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS
SIX-CD COLLECTION OUT OCTOBER 28
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 “SOUL-A-BRATION” AT
AMOEBA MUSIC HOLLYWOOD ON SUNSET BLVD.
“He was my favorite singer at that time.”
–Robbie Robertson
Stax Records will celebrate the October 28th release of Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings with a Sunday, October 23 at 2:00 p.m. listening party at Los Angeles’ Amoeba Music Hollywood, just down the Sunset Strip from where it was recorded 50 years ago. The event will include box set giveaways, along with other Stax items like tote bags, t-shirts and vinyl Otis Redding albums.
Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings (Stax Records, an imprint of Concord Bicycle Music) is a six-CD collection including the entirety of Redding’s historic performances over three nights at the famed Sunset Strip venue. The seven sets, recorded Friday, April 8th – Sunday, April 10th,1966, feature the singer’s popular songs of the time, including “Respect,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Several of these recordings–all remixed and remastered from the original 4-track analog tapes–will be made available for the very first time on October 28. In fact, this collection will be the first to offer fans the chance to relive all of the sets in their entirety–including between-song banter by Redding–exactly as they were performed. Rounding out the package is a poster, plus new liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley.
Redding‘s 1966 Whisky shows were groundbreaking not only because of the quality of the performances, but he was one of the first black performers to cross the barrier into a rock club. Already a star, the shows drew such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Van Morrison and The Doors’ Robby Krieger. Of the shows, Robertson says, “Just before heading overseas on Bob Dylan’s 1966 ‘Going Electric’ tour, we heard that Otis was playing at the Whisky. He was my favorite singer at that time. Bob and I decided to go check it out and Otis didn’t disappoint. He sang with such power and passion it took your breath away. We got to spend time with him and his manager Phil Walden after the show. It was a night I’ll never forget.”
Pre-order the collection on Amoeba.com.
Press info: http://mediakits-showcase.concordmusicgroup.com/p/otis_agogo
Download assets (cover art, photo of Otis, liner notes, track listing, etc.) here: https://we.tl/oTmA7HYUDs
otisredding.com
staxrecords.com
If you go:
Sunday, October 23 at 2:00 PM
Amoeba Music Hollywood (6400 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028)
###
OTIS REDDING –
LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS
SET FOR OCTOBER 28th RELEASE
COMPREHENSIVE SIX-CD COLLECTION CELEBRATES THE SOUL SINGER’S
BARRIER-BREAKING 1966 PERFORMANCES ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ROLLING STONE PREMIERES NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED
“HEARTFELT AND PASSIONATE” VERSION OF “MR. PITIFUL”
Click here to download assets
Los Angeles, CA – Stax Records, an imprint of Concord Bicycle Music, is pleased to announce the release of Otis Redding – Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings. In chronological order, this six-CD collection presents the entirety of Redding’s historic performances over three nights at the famed Sunset Strip venue. The seven sets, recorded Friday, April 8th – Sunday, April 10th, 1966, feature the singer’s popular songs of the time, including “Respect,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and his cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Several of these recordings–all remixed and remastered from the original 4-track analog tapes–will be made available for the very first time on October 28. In fact, this collection will be the first to offer fans the chance to relive all of the sets in their entirety–including between-song banter by Redding–exactly as they were performed. Rounding out the package is a poster, plus new liner notes from Los Angeles-based journalist Lynell George and box set co-producer Bill Bentley.
Today (8/5), Rollingstone.com debuted an unreleased live version from the Whisky shows of Otis‘ 1965 hit “Mr. Pitiful,“ calling it “electrifying,” “heartfelt” and “passionate.” Click here to check out the premiere. The excerpt includes lively stage banter, where Otis implores the Los Angeles crowd to “Holler as loud as you want, stomp as hard as you want to…Just take your shoes off…Get soulful…”
By the spring of 1966, 24-year-old Otis Redding was a bona-fide star on the R&B and soul radio waves. The singer was enjoying the critical and commercial success of his third studio album, Otis Blue, and was watching his singles cross over to the (typically very white) pop charts. Redding had yet to be fully embraced by a white audience, and this weekend-long gig in Hollywood–booked at a venue known more for hosting hippies, and launching bands like The Doors, The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield–was a shrewd move to introduce Redding to a new market. In fact, Redding would be the first major soul act to perform on the Whisky’s stage. In her liner notes, Lynell George adds context: “The Strip, like much of 1960s Los Angeles, had invisible but tough to permeate dividing lines…Redding began to see this three-night run as just the right spark to help him jump over all those many lines–from star to superstar, from R&B/soul to pop, from all-black rooms to arenas…” In the end, these Whisky sets (with Otis‘ nine-piece band) did prove to be an important step in Redding’s career, and introduced him to the emerging counter-culture of the 60s. Of the Whisky shows, The Doors’ guitarist Robby Krieger said, “I remember standing right in front of the stage for the whole show. I never heard of Otis Redding before and I was amazed at the energy that he created on the stage.” A year later, Otis would be the star act at the Monterey Pop Festival, sharing a lineup that included Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Tragically, just as his career was reaching its peak, Redding’s life would be cut short in a plane crash, in December 1967.
Redding has been inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has been honored with a U.S. Postage stamp and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rolling Stone named him the eighth greatest singer of all-time and U.K.’s Q magazine ranked him at number four.
In his liner notes, Bill Bentley recalls, “Redding’s music had a power and urgency that grabbed you by the throat…There wasn’t any other singer like him then, and those of us who had discovered his music knew we were listening to the very essence of what soul music really was.” Bentley wasn’t alone. The Los Angeles Times’ music critic, Pete Johnson, covered one of Redding’s sets that weekend, calling the performance, “The most exciting thing the rock-worn room had ever harbored.” Redding’s legacy is well known – his brief but iconic discography speaks for itself; but these particular recordings will allow fans to step back in time, and experience a pivotal moment in the rise of a star.
The package can be ordered here: http://smarturl.it/Otis_CompleteWhisky.
Press info: http://mediakits-showcase.concordmusicgroup.com/p/otis_agogo
www.otisredding.com
www.staxrecords.com
###
For more info, please contact:
Aaron Feterl: Aaron@ReckoningPR.com
Todd Brodginski: Todd@ReckoningPR.com