Pain in My Heart

by

Otis Redding

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"Pain in my Heart" was Otis Redding's first LP, recorded at various sessions between 1962 and 1964, an issued by Stax Records in January, 1964.

And it's a great one, a must-have, really, for fans of classic deep soul music.

Otis Redding, at about 22 years of age, sounds a bit more restrained than on subsequent albums, and he relies rather heavily on covers, but this is far from a sugary pop record. Stax was a soul label, and nobody tried to make Redding into a mainstream pop singer.

He may not let loose quite as much as he would a couple of years later, but there is no mistaking the hoarse, gritty, powerful voice, and the arrangements are pure tough soul.

The Rolling Stones were heavily inspired by deep Southern soul like this, and by this album in particular, actually, and while it doesn't quite measure up to "Otis Blue", "Pain in my Heart" is nevertheless a terrific debut. Get it!

As with many early Stax full-lengths, this album was built around the success of a couple hits. In this case, it was a pair of soulful ballads. What had originally been a recording session for Johnny Jenkins & The Pinetoppers (for whom Otis was the vocalist) in 1962 resulted in Otis introducing "These Arms of Mine." It was released at the end of the year and went on to become a Top 20 R&B hit, followed by "Pain In My Heart" in 1963. Another session in January 1964 produced the rest of the tracks, most of them covers. There are songs by two of Otis' heroes, Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" and Little Richard's "Lucille," as well as renditions of "Stand By Me," "I Need Your Lovin'," "Louie Louie," and Rufus Thomas' "The Dog." While some of it is unremarkable filler material, Redding's "Something Is Worrying Me" and the excellent "Security" make this disc worth a listen. The backing band is Stax's legendary rhythm section, Booker T. & the MG's, with horns provided by the Mar-Keys. Jenkins plays guitar on "These Arms of Mine" and its B-side "Hey Hey Baby." At the time, Otis hadn't completely found his groove yet, so the album is fairly inconsistent. However, it's interesting to hear the seeds of what he would become, and his wonderful singing on the slow numbers was already in fine form. It stands as a promising debut record that's enjoyable but not essential. The strongest tracks off this CD can also be found on Rhino's 2-Disc Otis Redding anthology, "Dreams To Remember" (which also features "Shout Bamalama," the Pinetoppers song that brought them to Memphis in the first place).