Otis Redding

When Otis Redding hit L.A.’s Whisky for four nights in 1966, the 24-year-old Georgia kid was still, as Carla Thomas once sang, “pure country,” addressing the crowd as “ladies and gentlemans.” This disc is a notch less exciting than his 1967 Monterey Pop set, but it captures him in an achingly intimate setting: He sounds like he’s singing “These Arms of Mine” two feet away from you. Sunset boosts the original In Person at the Whisky a Go Go by 18 tracks, with new songs (“Chained and Bound”), new versions (of his testifying cover of the Stones’ “Satisfaction”) and a stretched-out “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.” Crucial soul listening.