Pain In My Heart

Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, Pain In My Heart is the first LP from Otis Redding, recorded across various sessions between 1962 and 1964 and issued by Stax Records in January 1964.

It is a great one and, honestly, a must-have for anyone into classic deep soul. Redding was around 22 here, sounding a little more restrained than he would on later albums, and the record leans quite heavily on covers. Even so, this is far from a sugary pop set.

Stax was a soul label through and through, and nobody was trying to turn Redding into a mainstream pop singer. He may not cut loose quite as fully as he would a couple of years later, but that hoarse, gritty, powerful voice is already unmistakable, and the arrangements are all tough soul.