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Uncle Vernon · 06-11-2013, 08:54 AM

I like Otis, but I'm going to take it a little easy with the praising here and share some of my thoughts. I have a friend that loves Otis, and at the time he was a soul artist that I hadn't heard much from. He showed me some of his stuff and I listened a lot to it, but I never really felt connected to the music in the way that I did when I listened to Sam Cooke or Aretha Franklin.

His voice is good, but I've never really felt it on a personal level. You how sometimes you can hear great singers but never really feel a connection to it? That's the way it is for me when it comes to Otis.

He's put out some GREAT songs and written many great ones too, but I sometimes feel that the songs tend to sound a little the same a lot. I don't know if it's the production or the arrangements, but many of the "mediocre" songs sound pretty much the same.

Otis Blue is the man's "essential listening" according to many, but personally I don't see what's so good about it. There are other soul and Rn'B albums that I hold much, much higher. But lets start with the positive things. "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a great song, and Otis does one of the best versions of it you'll hear. For me, it's the best song on the album.

There are a couple of other gems here too, but mostly it's just covers of famous songs that other artists have done better. "Shake", "Wonderful World" and especially "A Change Is Gonna Come" are much weaker than the originals. But then again, the only one who actually does justice to Cooke's original of "A Change Is Gonna Come" is Aretha Franklin's version which is more of a tribute than a cover. Speaking of her, "Respect" is a song on the album which she made her own. It's miles better than Otis' original.

Another thought - what's the obsession with covering a mediocre (at best) song like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"? And that goes for Aretha too. It's a boring song, and if I ever want to listen to it, I turn on the Rolling Stones.

So can anybody enlighten me - what's the hype around Otis Blue?

Sorry if I sound negative, because I truly have respect for Otis, and I like a lot of what he's done. But he's never really been good enough in my opinion to be one of my favorites in the genre.

06-11-2013, 08:54 AM	#24 (permalink)
Uncle Vernon Groupie Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 27	I like Otis, but I'm going to take it a little easy with the praising here and share some of my thoughts. I have a friend that loves Otis, and at the time he was a soul artist that I hadn't heard much from. He showed me some of his stuff and I listened a lot to it, but I never really felt connected to the music in the way that I did when I listened to Sam Cooke or Aretha Franklin. His voice is good, but I've never really felt it on a personal level. You how sometimes you can hear great singers but never really feel a connection to it? That's the way it is for me when it comes to Otis. He's put out some GREAT songs and written many great ones too, but I sometimes feel that the songs tend to sound a little the same a lot. I don't know if it's the production or the arrangements, but many of the "mediocre" songs sound pretty much the same. Otis Blue is the man's "essential listening" according to many, but personally I don't see what's so good about it. There are other soul and Rn'B albums that I hold much, much higher. But lets start with the positive things. "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a great song, and Otis does one of the best versions of it you'll hear. For me, it's the best song on the album. There are a couple of other gems here too, but mostly it's just covers of famous songs that other artists have done better. "Shake", "Wonderful World" and especially "A Change Is Gonna Come" are much weaker than the originals. But then again, the only one who actually does justice to Cooke's original of "A Change Is Gonna Come" is Aretha Franklin's version which is more of a tribute than a cover. Speaking of her, "Respect" is a song on the album which she made her own. It's miles better than Otis' original. Another thought - what's the obsession with covering a mediocre (at best) song like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"? And that goes for Aretha too. It's a boring song, and if I ever want to listen to it, I turn on the Rolling Stones. So can anybody enlighten me - what's the hype around Otis Blue? Sorry if I sound negative, because I truly have respect for Otis, and I like a lot of what he's done. But he's never really been good enough in my opinion to be one of my favorites in the genre.