While Otis Redding doesn't quite take R&B from A to Z on this wonderful 1966 album, he does serve up a pretty substantial sampler of soulful stylings from the pre-funk era. In just 35 minutes, The Dictionary of Soul takes you on a musical tour through gutbucket Southern soul ("I'm Sick Y'all," "Love Have Mercy"), lusty boogaloo ("Sweet Lorene"), chitlin' circuit blues ("Hawg For You"), country schmaltz transformed into an aching late-night lament ("Tennessee Waltz") and British Invasion given a Memphis makeover ("Day Tripper"). Not to mention three absolute Redding classics: the sorrowful-but-swinging "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)," the swoon-worthy "My Lover's Prayer" and the definitive version of "Try A Little Tenderness." "We've got to take the easy way out," Otis ad-libs on "Day Tripper," but he never gives anything less than 100 percent on this record, and his musical support team of Booker T. & the MGs and the Memphis Horns sound equally engaged. Released in October 1966 — eight months before his mainstream breakthrough at the Monterey Pop Festival, and just a little over a year before his untimely death — The Dictionary of Soul was the solo Redding studio album completed before his death. Though not as strong cut-for-cut… read more »