Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Cover: Otis Redding, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"



As originally rendered by the Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction" is the ideal rock song: the relationship between Keith Richards' opening riff and Mick Jagger's chorus is the idealized singer-guitarist relationship in rock music. They are symbiotic.

With the guitars transformed to horns on Otis Redding's version, the weight shifts a lot further in the direction of the singer, which is what marks the soul version against the rock version. On an Otis Redding record, your only job is to make sure Otis comes through loud and clear, not that he needs too much help. The horns are more of an accent, to bounce the song along as he bebops and scats his way through the end of the song.

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