Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart LP (From Definitive Studio Albums Box Set)

Atlantic (2017)

As I continue to grow and document my collection of old soul records, I figured I would write up each of these Otis Redding records individually as opposed to just trying to cram in everything I want to say into one review about the entire box set.  That said, I really like having the box set as a whole, I just wish it had included the other main posthumous albums so I could have everything in one nice and easy set.

First up is Otis Redding's debut album, Pain In My Heart.  As great as it is, you really can tell this is his first release.  It's a little sparser than some of his other albums and in a lot of ways you can hear how he was still trying to find his voice.  The really plays like a collection of random songs than it does a cohesive album.  It's a little scattershot with a few chugging rockabilly songs, some slower soul ballads and a somewhat unnecessary version of "Louie Louie."

But, when Otis is playing to his strengths on songs like "Pain In My Heart" and "Security" you can tell that he's really, really close to hitting on the formula that he's been looking for.  Pain In My Heart may not be the Otis album crammed with the most hits, but it's probably the only record of his where you really see his talents coming together.  By his next album he emerged a full blown soul superstar, so it's really interesting to listen to his first crack at it, even if there are a few moments that don't hold up as well as the others.

Otis Redding - "Pain In My Heart":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR0qfLnbwPI

Otis Redding - "Security":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXM_4YVsDHs

Record Store Day Haul #1: Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart LP

Atco (2014, Reissue)

Record Store Day 2014 was the year that the event seemed pretty bloated to me.  Last year was a bit chaotic, but the fact that there were 2 Rocket From The Crypt records and a Superchunk 7" made things still seem pretty exciting.  2014's version didn't have anywhere near as many records as I've wanted as previous years.  On top of that, man oh man, there were a lot of crap reissues.  Maybe Record Store Day is losing its way (pretty sure it is), but when the day came I couldn't help myself from getting caught up in everything and once again standing in line in front of a record store all night.

While the number of records I wanted was way down this year, the few I did grab were pretty good.  This is a reissue of the first Otis Redding full length.  It's presented in its original mono release.  I don't know why I need to have the mono version of a record if that's the way the first version came out, but it's something I've been looking into more and more over the years.  It's also undoubtedly why I'm probably going to end up dropping some serious coin on a Beatles mono box set if they ever get around to putting it out.

Anyway, Pain In My Heart does sound really great.  Great enough to warrant the $30 price tag? Yeah, probably. The vinyl is is thick and heavy, the artwork is printed on strong cardstock and the record really does sound wonderful.  Maybe it's not as exciting as a Rocket From The Crypt record and maybe it's part of the reissue problem that Record Store Day is going through, but it's great to be able to add a great sounding version of a pretty important record to the collection.  So I can't really complain too much.

Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14GZtDpC_lE

Otis Redding - Louie Louie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZLZCsXYOFo