![]() ![]() I noticed the difference after only seven weeks. ![]() “I've been on The Juicy Life Program for over a year now and it's almost surreal how good I'm feeling because of it.Ooh Carla, ooh Otis, indeed.įollow the Stax Classics playlist for more essential Stax. Worth buying for “Tramp” alone, yet packed with easy-rolling soulful wonders, King & Queen wears its crown lightly. But don’t go thinking this is karaoke: here are two of the greatest soul singers of their generation, backed by a mixture of MGs and Bar-Kays. And “Ooh Carla, Ooh Otis” closes the show with a spot of chunky boogie the same crowd would surely enjoy. Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” sounds like something they’d perform in a bar on a Sunday afternoon. “Are You Lonely For Me Baby” takes Bert Berns’ ballad and injects a spunky dose of Southern sass into it. Just listen to the tenderly swinging “Let Me Be Good To You,” which loosely resembles Carla’s smash hit “B-A-B-Y” with an added dose of blues, or the sock-it-to-you cover of Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston’s “It Takes Two” this is music nobody appears over-concerned about, and is all the better for it. Hence King & Queen sounds like a more natural Otis, one who is singing for fun, a quality the album has in abundance. He sounds cheerful, like he’s not trying to sing the shorts off the listener. Perhaps because the album isn’t going to be entirely his responsibility, or because the project was sold to him as primarily an entertaining affair by Stax boss Jim Stewart. Otis appears more relaxed than usual on King & Queen. The record was massive in 60s discotheques and inspired many covers, including The Mohawks’ celebrated “Champ.” Further hits emerged from the King & Queen sessions, which took less than a week to complete, in the shape of “Knock On Wood” and “Lovey Dovey” the whole album consisted of cover versions, with the exception of the closing “Ooh Carla, Ooh Otis.” But that’s alright, as Otis said in “Tramp.” Nothing wrong with these songs, or the performances. Otis, no stranger to overalls, is perfect in the role as the butt of Carla’s rebukes. The major hit was “Tramp,” which grew from Lowell Fulson’s funky raw blues to an entertaining girl-versus-boy argument in Otis and Carla’s hands. The two singers contrast beautifully: Otis is all guttural, a growling bear-like alpha male, and Carla sensual and sophisticated (she was studying for her English Masters at the time). King & Queen, the last studio album Otis completed before his death, in December 1967, is an underrated record, perhaps because it was lighthearted in tone and was soon overshadowed by Otis’ sensational appearances with the Stax-Volt Tour in Europe, at Monterey Pop, and his tragic sudden passing. But could they have complemented the great Otis Redding quite as well as Thomas? Understood his every nuance, and batted back his loving words and jibes quite so powerfully? In this instance, Thomas ruled. While Carla was undoubtedly Stax’s leading lady, any number of other artists could have claimed that title when it came to the wider world of soul. While you might be hard-pushed to justify Carla Thomas’ billing as the Queen Of Soul on King & Queen, you wouldn’t find a lot of quibbling over the regal title being bestowed upon Otis Redding in 1967.
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