Bluescentric Announces Launch Of New Product Lines Featuring Stax and Otis Redding

BLUESCENTRIC.COM ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW PRODUCT LINES

FOLLOWING OTIS REDDING ESTATE AND STAX RECORDS AGREEMENTS

New Additions Join Iconic Artists Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley And Others

Columbia, MO --- Bluescentric.com, the shop for Blues, Soul and Rock ‘n Roll, has announced new product lines following a recent agreement with the estate of Otis Redding, alongside deals with Stax, Concord, and Delmark Records.  These indelible, iconic brands join Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter and others as part of the Bluescentric family.  The expanded retail website now carries over 500 unique, officially licensed music and band t-shirts, apparel, gifts and accessories for musicians, music lovers and vinyl enthusiasts.  Since 2009, every item the company has delivered to the consumer has emanated out of the corporate headquarters in Missouri.

Bluescentric.com carries sizes small through 5XL in a variety of colors and vintage styles, big & tall, all weather, women’s and children’s options.  New arrivals include music-themed merch and gifts like vinyl record coasters, socks, neck ties, guitar spatulas, vinyl record totes, guitar pick punches, unique hats and more.  New product is continually being added for Christmas.  Every sale from officially licensed merch is paid directly to the artist estates.

CEO Magazine’s 2016 cover story on Bluescentric describes a music-filled company that “schedules business meetings at a local BBQ restaurant rather than a boardroom... going to festivals is part of market research, and considers a turntable and guitar picks as important as pen and paper.”  Chief Executive Officer Matt Marshall offers, “The company budget includes an expense account for vinyl records.  We’ve been excited to work with culture-changing artist estates and labels that represent hundreds of gold records, dozens of #1 hits, and some of the best music ever recorded.  The company’s mission statement is and always has been to connect music fans with authentic, quality merch in the digital age that actually benefits the estates in a meaningful way.”  

To keep the impact on the stage not the landfill, 100% of shipping packaging is recyclable. All orders are packed and signed off on by human hands, while customer service is second to none, available by phone and email.  Visit Bluescentric.com to discover the full line of merchandise which includes Otis Redding, Stax Records, Volt Records, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, SHAFT, Johnny Winter, Delmark Records, Junior Wells, and more here: www.bluescentric.com

Real Gone Music: Apollo Saturday Night/Saturday Night At The Uptown - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Apollo Saturday Night/Saturday Night At The Uptown, from Real Gone Records and it's a real R&B party. Originally released on Atlantic in 1964, these two original LP's are combined onto a single Cd. Opening Apollo Saturday Night with I Found A Love and Alabama Bound by the Falcons, this is scorching hot and real. Otis Redding takes the stage with Pain In My Heart and These Arms Of Mine and in classic style. His voice is unmistakable and his dynamics with the horns impeccable. Doris Troy swings with Misty and gets a hot groove on Say Yeah. Great sax (King Curtis) backing really pushes this track. Rufus Thomas is down with Rockin' Chair and Walking The Dog gets that funky groove going with trumpets, trombones and sax with a Watusi kick. The Coasters deliver T'Ain't Nothin' To Me with their typically classic humor and Speedo's Back In Town with that hot R&B feel. Ben E King's set includes Groovin', Don't Play That Song, and Stand By Me... a hard set to follow! Finale featuring various artists hits hard. Spectacular set!

 Starting the second LP, Saturday Night At The Uptown and an introduction by Jimmy Bishop. The Drifters open with Under The Boardwalk, On Broadway and There Goes My Baby. These guys have the crowd firmly in their hands. The recording quality isn't perfect but the performance is top notch. Patty & the Emblems does Mixed Up, Shook Up, Girl and the recording is very clear and well balanced with classic 60's style. The Vibrations perform My Girl Sloopy and The Watusi, both with a much more pop feel and a lot of spunk. Next up is Wilson Pickett with strong soul ballad, If You Need Me and the hip shaking I'm Gonna Cry. Patti LaBelle & Her Bluebelles lays down an angelic soul ballad, Down The Aisle.... very powerful! The Carltons offer up Can't You Hear The Beat with an Isley's enthusiasm and bright horns. Wrapping the release is Barbara Lynn with (O Baby) We Got A Good Thing Going, a cool R&B track with a great feel. Lynn sings with all of the confidence of a closer and this makes for a great track to sum up a super release.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Stax/Volt Records artist: Otis Redding - Lonely & Blue - New Release Review

I just received the new release, Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding which is due to be released tomorrow. This is a really cool album of tracks recorded by Redding but not assembled as a greatest hits nor a reissue. The packaging is authentic 60's style and even has the wear mark from years of vinyl sitting on the shelf (and an inner sleeve)!! This may be the best Otis Redding album ever! Yes...album. Concord is releasing this not only on CD but on blue vinyl!! The release opens with I Love You More Than Words Can Say, a really hot soul track. Redding really shows where it's at. Gone Again, a track which has just a pinch of country blended into the soul is great and trimmed with trumpets. Free Me, has cool guitar arpeggiation under the melody with keys and accent horns, but of course the focus is Redding's phrasing. Open The Door, another track with just a pinch of country (somebody's gonna ask where, but it's there) has the strength of the oldest James Brown cuts and that's a strong statement. A Waste Of Time, a great soul track with the warm sound of horns behind is a very strong track. These Arms of Mine is of course a big hit and a killer track. Get this. It's my least favorite track on this recording. Yes...it's that strong. I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) is about as classic Otis as you get and of course Redding's sliding note is the highlight of the track. This is icing on the cake. This album isn't about greatest hits. this album is about great soul singing. Everybody Makes A Mistake has a strong gospel feel and is sung from deep inside. Possibly one of the best tracks on this great release. Little Ol' Me, another track with a more of the country flavor is a nice change, keeping you in the deep soul feel but lightening up a little allowing Redding to just work his voice. I've Got Dreams To Remember, another classic is very strong and rounds out the side but again, some of the lesser known tracks are the highlight of this recording. Send Me Some Lovin' has the classic R&B piano rhythm and intro of a bit more guitar on this track allowing Redding to lay back and paint his voice on the track rather than carrying it. This is an interesting alternate on his prime talent. My Lover's Prayer is a really hot soul track and a nice conclusion of this really deep soul recording. If you have every Redding release, you might look at this as the best of the best. If you don't have  Redding CD...this is the one to buy! Not the greatest hits... that it's not. But this may be the best set of Redding recordings every assembled on one disc. It's really a nice set.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Otis Redding "LP" coming on Stax

 LONELY & BLUE: THE DEEPEST SOUL OF OTIS REDDING,
DUE OUT MARCH 5 ON STAX RECORDS,
COLLECTS SOUL LEGEND’S POIGNANT BALLADS
Available on CD and blue vinyl, packaging evokes the look and feel
of a late ’60s Stax/Volt album
that Redding might have released at the height of his career

LOS ANGELES, Calif.  — Otis Redding’s Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding could pass for a title Stax/Volt might have released in the late ’60s. The look of the album reflects Stax’s design themes of the era. But in fact it’s a collection that never existed, until now, that homes in on one mood and one theme —heartbreaking, yearning ballads — of which Redding had many. The album will be released as a CD and blue vinyl LP on March 5, 2013 on Stax Records through Concord Music Group.
Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding contains the hits (“I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “These Arms of Mine,” “My Lover’s Prayer,” “Free Me”) alongside many lesser-known songs (“Gone Again,” “Open the Door,” “Waste of Time,” “Everybody Makes a Mistake,” to name a few).  They’re all included in this compilation because they share the tangled theme of sorrow.
According to compilation producer David Gorman, “Given how nobody delivered a gut-wrenching sad song like Otis, I always felt he should have made an album you could put on late at night and settle into with a glass of something strong. The mood and the subject of every song is the same — Otis, heartbroken, and begging for love. I tried to find the saddest most potently heartbreaking songs he ever sang, with no regard for chart position or notoriety.  There are a few hits on the album, but they’re there because they fit the mood, not because we wanted to include the hits.”
For instance, an alternate version of “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember” features lyrics that are darker and tell a more personal story than the better-known hit version. Little-known tracks like “Gone Again” and “A Waste of Time” are given the same weight as “I’ve Been Loving You too Long.” The motif of love is even subtly addressed in the sequencing, the album closing with “Send Me Some Lovin’” and “My Lover’s Prayer.”
The concept of Lonely & Blue: The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding plays out in the packaging as well, which was intentionally designed by Gorman to look as if Redding actually did put this album out at the height of his career.  The typography, color palette, and layout are all meant to adhere to the Stax/Volt LP designs of the time. This extends to the liner notes, which are written in the present tense and credited to a fictitious DJ so that they read as if they were written while Redding was alive at his peak.
“The goal,” explains Gorman, “was to create the best album Otis never made and ‘reissue’ it in 2013 rather than do another hits compilation. We hope this album will reframe him as something more than an oldies radio staple and become his Night Beat (a classic 1963 Sam Cooke LP) — the album that exists as a starting point for people wondering why so many consider Otis Redding the greatest soul singer of all time.”

Track Listing:1.  I Love You More Than Words Can Say
2.  Gone Again
3.  Free Me
4.  Open the Door [Skeleton Key Version]
5.  A Waste of Time
6.  These Arms of Mine
7.  I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)
8.  Everybody Makes a Mistake
9.  Little Ol’ Me
10. I’ve Got Dreams to Remember [Rougher Dreams]
11. Send Me Some Lovin’
12. My Lover’s Prayer
http://www.otisredding.com

I've Been Loving You Too Long - Otis Redding

Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in Dawson and later moved to Macon, he began touring with blues guitarist Johnny Jenkins and served as the lead singer in the band Otis Redding and The Pinetoppers. He signed a contract with record label Stax Records and released his debut album Pain in My Heart in 1964. This album produced several successful singles, including "These Arms of Mine".

Although he was not very successful among white audiences in the United States, the opposite was true in Europe. His performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 was one of his last big concerts until his death in a plane crash at the age of 26. One month later, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released, which sold about 4 million copies worldwide and would be his biggest hit. Redding is seen to be one of the major figures in soul/R&B and this eventually resulted in the honorific nickname "King of Soul", a title also given to American musicians James Brown and Sam Cooke
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