Otis Redding - Pain In My Heart (Rhino Reserve)

Pain In My Heart is where Otis Redding's story begins, his 1964 debut album, reissued here as part of the Rhino Reserve series.

Before he became the voice of Southern soul, Redding was a young singer from Macon, Georgia, who turned some spare studio time at Stax into "These Arms Of Mine." That song is here, and the rest of the album, cut in Memphis, shows a raw talent already testing how far he could stretch a ballad and how hard he could hit an up-tempo stomper.

The title track is pure slow-burn devotion, Redding leaning on every syllable until it aches. "Security" crackles with horn-driven urgency, "That's What My Heart Needs" leans into gospel-soaked pleading, and his take on "Stand By Me" shows how easily he could make a familiar song entirely his own. Backed by the Memphis musicians who would come to define the Stax sound, he sounds hungry and completely sure of himself.

It is a record that hints at everything to come, from the stage fire of his later years to the gentle genius of his biggest hits.

For soul collectors, an Otis debut in the Rhino Reserve line belongs right at the front of the crate, ready for the next evening that calls for something with real feeling.