Otis Redding helped define soul music in 1966 with Complete And Unbelievable… The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul. The album, which peaked at #5 on the U.S. R&B charts, was once praised by critic Jon Landau as: “The finest record ever to come out of Memphis and certainly the best example of modern soul ever recorded.”

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark recording, Rhino will release a two-disc deluxe edition that includes stereo and mono mixes of the album — remastered from Ian Sefchick’s vinyl masters — plus eight rare bonus tracks. Complete And Unbelievable… The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul (50th Anniversary Edition) will be available on CD October 7th.

The same day, Rhino will also release The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul as a double-LP set featuring both mono and stereo versions of the album, the latter of which has been out-of-print for decades. Both LPs will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl for superior audio quality. The set comes with a bonus 7” reissue of the single Try A Little Tenderness b/w I’m Sick Y’all.

Redding recorded his fifth studio album, The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul, in the summer of 1966 at Stax Studios in Memphis. Together with Booker T. & the M.G.’s, pianist Isaac Hayes and the Memphis Horns, Redding recorded 12 songs for the album, including the all-time classics Try A Little Tenderness and Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song).

The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul has been expanded on CD with eight rare bonus tracks, including several studio outtakes in mono like Trick Or Treat and Loving By The Pound. Also featured is a hair-raising, nearly-seven-minute version of Try A Little Tenderness that was recorded live in 1967 during the Stax/Volt Revue’s European tour.

Sadly, The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul was to be the last studio album released during the beloved singer-songwriter’s lifetime. Just weeks after its release, Redding lost his life in a plane crash while flying to a show in Wisconsin.