Digital Roundup: 6/3/2015

New this week in the Rhino Room at iTunes:

Otis Redding, The Complete Studio Albums Collection

Given his status as one of the greatest R&B singers of all time, if you’re a regular visitor to Rhino.com, then we’d be extremely surprised if you didn’t have at least an Otis Redding greatest-hits set somewhere within your collection. This is not a bad thing. That said, however, his contributions to the world of music are so substantial that many folks who’ve picked up a best-of by Redding have found themselves so smitten with his work that they’ve taken the next step and purchased one of his studio albums. If you’re at that stage in your membership in the Otis Appreciation Society, then here’s a thought: why not just cut to the chase and pick up The Complete Studio Albums Collection?

We’ll just say it: you absolutely cannot go wrong with this 10-album set, which includes Pain in My Heart (1964), The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965), Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965), The Soul Album (1966), Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966), King and Queen (his 1967 collaboration with Carla Thomas), The Dock of the Bay (1968), The Immortal Otis Redding (1968), Love Man (1969), and Tell the Truth (1970).

Yes, if you’re still getting your feet wet when it comes to ‘60s soul, it seems like it might be more of Mr. Redding that you really need, but if you asked 100 random rock critics to make a list of the R&B artists whose entire studio discographies are worth having in your collection, Otis Redding would definitely make the cut more often than not. We’re just trying to provide one-stop shopping for you.