Love Man

Love Man is the third posthumous album by American soul recording artist Otis Redding.[2] It was released in June 1969 and featured songs Redding had recorded in 1967.[3] The album was produced by Steve Cropper,[4] and featured Booker T. and the M.G.'s.[2]

Love Man
Studio album by
Otis Redding
ReleasedJune 1969
Recorded1967
GenreMemphis soul[1]
Length31:30
LabelAtco
ProducerSteve Cropper
Otis Redding chronology
In Person at the Whisky a Go Go
(1968)		 Love Man
(1969)		 Historic Performances
(1970)

The album was a part of a series of posthumous releases by Atco Records after Redding's mainstream reputation skyrocketed in the wake of his 1967 death.[2] Love Man charted at number 46 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 on the R&B Albums.[5]

Songs

"Direct Me" has pop and gospel elements and a heavy tambourine-laden arrangement.[6] On "I'm a Changed Man", Redding employed scat singing.[2] The album's title track has a mid-tempo funk groove and lyrical references to the hippie culture that had begun to appreciate Redding at the time.[7] The song charted at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the R&B Singles.[5] "A Lover's Question" peaked at number 48 and number 20, respectively, and "Free Me" reached number 30 on the R&B Singles chart.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Robert ChristgauA[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]

In a contemporary review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice said that, although its "tender passages" are not on-par with Redding's best work, Love Man is his "best LP since Immortal."[8] Ed Leimbacher of Rolling Stone magazine wrote that the album has "several of his very strongest performances on record" and praised the "loose imagination and tight style" of the M.G.'s backing group. Leimbacher hailed Redding as a "musical genius" and called "Direct Me" "one of the best Memphis soul cuts of all time".[2]

In a review upon its 1992 reissue, Ira Robbins of Entertainment Weekly said that Love Man has "substantial songs soaked in instrumental spirit and topped off with Redding's emotion-packed vocals."[9] Q magazine wrote that it "showcases Redding at his up-tempo frantic and frenetic best".[10] By contrast, Allmusic's Mark Deming felt that the album is "flawed" because of material that is weaker than his previous albums, even though it has "Redding's indefatigable energy and conviction as a vocalist and the ever-indomitable groove of Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr., and the other members of the Stax Records studio crew."[3] Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic said that, apart from "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", the album's title track was "one of Otis Redding's finest and most commercial sides that he cut at the end of his brief career."[7]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm A Changed Man"Steve Cropper, Otis Redding, Louiella Cullipher2:19
2."(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher"Gary Jackson, Carl Smith3:06
3."That's a Good Idea"Otis Redding2:19
4."I'll Let Nothing Separate Us"Otis Redding2:54
5."Direct Me"Steve Cropper, Otis Redding2:19
6."Love Man"Otis Redding2:19
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Groovin' Time"Otis Redding, Steve Cropper2:49
8."Your Feeling is Mine"Otis Redding2:22
9."Got to Get Myself Together"Otis Redding2:28
10."Free Me"Otis Redding, Gene Lawson3:08
11."A Lover's Question"Brook Benton, Jimmy Williams2:55
12."Look at That Girl"Randall Stewart, Edward Morris2:37

Personnel

Credits adapted from Allmusic.[4]

Reissue
  • Ron Capone and Jim Stewart - engineer
  • Paul C. Acree Jr. - cover photo
  • Loring Eutemey - design
  • Yves Beauvais - producer
  • Steve Cropper - producer, remixing
  • Tom Dowd - remixing
  • Dan Hersch - remixing
  • Bill Inglot - remixing

Charts
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See also

References
  1. "The Complete Artist". Black Music & Jazz Review. 3: 17. 1980.
  2. Leimbacher, Ed (August 23, 1969). "Love Man". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  3. Deming, Mark. "Love Man - Otis Redding". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  4. "Love Man - Otis Redding : Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  5. "Love Man - Otis Redding : Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  6. Greenwald, Matthew. "Direct Me - Otis Redding". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  7. Greenwald, Matthew. "Love Man - Otis Redding : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". Allmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  8. Christgau, Robert (1969). "Consumer Guide (1)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  9. Robbins, Ira (July 10, 1992). "Love Man Review". Entertainment Weekly. New York (126): 60. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  10. "Review: Love Man". Q. London: 92. February 1993.
  11. Leimbacher, Ed (23 August 1969). "Love Man". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (40): 35. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  12. "Otis Redding: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  13. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  14. "Love Man - Otis Redding > Awards > AllMusic". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  15. "Otis Redding / Artist / Official Charts". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
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