The All-TIME 100 Albums: Blue by Joni Mitchell

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

92 of 101

By Alan Light Published: November 13, 2006

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ALBUM: Otis Blue

YEAR RELEASED: 1965 LABEL: Atlantic ARTIST: Otis Redding

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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Otis Redding never made a bad album. Hell, Otis Redding never cut a bad song. But most of the LPs released in his tragically short career were, in the manner of the times, patched and cobbled together. Otis Blue is the Big O's one album that most plays like an album. The songs are strong throughout, anchored by three Sam Cooke covers and Redding's versions of classics from "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" to "My Girl," climaxing in his own soul-stirrer "I've Been Loving You Too Long." The Stax house band — Booker T and the MGs, augmented by Isaac Hayes and the Mar-Key horns — crackles, and Redding's voice was never better. Which is truly saying something.