Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966)

 

Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, or simply Dictionary of Soul, is the fifth studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding and his last solo studio album released before his death. The successful Otis Blue and the following performance at Whisky a Go Go led to his rising fame across the United States. The first side of the album mainly contains cover versions, and the second songs mainly written by Redding.

The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul was released in October 1966 on the Stax label and peaked at number 73 and at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and the R&B LP charts respectively. The album produced two singles, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" and "Try a Little Tenderness". In 2000 it was voted number 488 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.^[1] In 2012, the album was ranked number 254 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. An expanded version, which includes stereo and mono mixes of the original album, as well as additional tracks, was released in 2016. 

 

The success of Redding's third album, Otis Blue, saw a rearrangement of the Stax company. Producer and co-founder of the American label Stax Records, Phil Walden, signed musicians including Percy Sledge, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter, and Eddie Floyd, and together with Redding they founded the production companies "Jotis Records" (derived from Joe Galkin and Otis), on which only four recordings were released, two by Arthur Conley and one by Billy Young and Loretta Williams, and Redwal Music (derived from Redding and Walden).^[2]

Redding decided to perform at the nightclub Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in front of a predominantly white audience, becoming one of the first soul artists to play in the western United States. His performance received critical acclaim by the press, and musician Bob Dylan offered an alternative track of his hit song "Just Like a Woman" to him, but he declined his proposal.^[3][4] After his performance there he went back to the Stax studios to continue recording new songs.^[5] This would be his final solo studio album.

 

Dictionary of Soul features the Booker T. & the M.G.'s—organist Booker T. Jones, pianist/guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, drummer Al Jackson, Jr.—pianist Isaac Hayes, and the Memphis Horns, consisting of tenor saxophonist Joe Arnold, trumpeter Wayne Jackson, tenor saxophonist Andrew Love and baritone saxophonist Floyd Newman.^[7]

The album opens with "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)".^[8] Derived from the theme of The $64,000 Question,^[9] the song was written by Redding and Cropper and its lyrics are about Redding's habit to hum or sing the horn lines. David Porter served as the background singer, singing the "fa-fa-fa-fa-fa" part alongside Redding.^[8]

The second single on this album, "Try a Little Tenderness", was written by English songwriter duo Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and American Tin Pan Alley songwriter Harry M. Woods in the early 30s, but it was not until February 1933 when bandleader and clarinetist Ted Lewis' version became a hit. The first version by a black artist was by Aretha Franklin, who recorded it in 1962 for her The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin.^[5] Two years later, Sam Cooke recorded it as a part of a medley alongside Tin Pan Alley standard "For Sentimental Reasons" and "You Send Me" on his At The Copa. According to Cropper, Redding listened to the latter two songs but rearranged it with the help of pianist Hayes. Examples of what the latter arranged and introduced were the tree-part, contrapuntal horn line in the first seconds, which was inspired by Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" strings, and the cymbal break in the peak, which Hayes later featured on his "Theme from Shaft".^[5] The song was recorded on September 13 and released on November 14, 1966, charting at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 4 on the Hot R&B chart. Parts of the song were later mixed in the Grammy Award-winning "Otis" by hip-hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West.^[10][11] Side one features mainly cover versions, including country standard "Tennessee Waltz" and The Beatles' "Day Tripper", the latter of which was praised for turning "into a swaggering stomper" as opposed to the original.^[6]

Side two is mainly composed of Redding songs, the exception being Chuck Willis' "You're Still My Baby" and "Love Have Mercy", co-written by David Porter and Hayes. The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul was released on October 15, 1966 on the Stax label and peaked at number 73 and at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and the R&B LP charts respectively.