Pain In My Heart
Like most R&B; albums of the early 1960s, Otis Redding's 1964 debut was a haphazard mixture of the artist's contemporary hits ("These Arms of Mine," "Pain in My Heart"), B-sides ("Something Is Worrying Me," "Hey Hey Baby"), and covers of popular hits of the day ("You Send Me," "Stand by Me"). Stylistically, Redding was still trying to find his feet; though he obviously had the voice and ability to pull off tender ballads like the title track, he hadn't yet given up on trying to scream like Little Richard ("Lucille"). Uneven as they may be, the tracks onPain in My Heartget over on the sheer soulfulness of Redding's singing. Worth the price of admission alone is the underrated "Security," which was the first in a string of great uptempo Redding originals.--Dan Epstein