Shortly after his breakthrough appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, Otis Redding began talking of making a record that would be to soul music what Sgt. Pepper's was to rock. Sadly, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was the only song he recorded for this project before his untimely death, and so The Dock of the Bay wound up being a mixed bag of non-LP singles and previously unreleased material. Of course, Redding was such an amazing singer that even a ragtag collection of his stuff is worth checking out, and this album certainly has its fair share of high points, including "Tramp," a sassy duet with Carla Thomas; the funky "Don't Mess with Cupid"; and the unbelievably poignant "Ole Man Trouble." --Dan Epstein