THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: ISAAC, OTIS AND JAMES

I'm actually on vacation this week (or, "stay-cation" in the parlance of the times), but I will be doing the OutQ show. Larry and the crew were on vacation last week, and I don't want to miss two shows in two weeks.

So, this week, I'll be talking about the late, great Isaac Hayes and his body of work - not just as a solo artist, but the stuff he wrote for Sam & Dave. Also, the newly released James Brown DVD box set: I Got The Feelin': James Brown In The '60s. And finally, the deluxe reissue of Otis Redding's classic 1965 album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. It is one of the greatest albums of all time, no doubt. The reissue is cool, but a bit audiophiley: not everyone cares to have both the stereo and mono mixes. But there is some cool live stuff included as well. I do wish more people knew how great, and how influential, Otis Redding was. Listen to one of his albums and then see Bruce Springsteen in concert, it'll all make sense.

Speaking of Bruce, I may also talk about his concert: I'm going to see him again tomorrow night in Hershey, PA. Yes, I saw him three times this summer (read about it here, here and here) but my wife didn't because she was in Africa. I may also talk about last weeks' Rancid concert, which was pretty great too.