The true test of the worthiness of a live album is when the listener says to him or herself, “I wish I’d have been at that show.” This is such a recording. Recorded in 1966 at the legendary Whiskey a Go-Go, several of these tracks were available on LP back in the days of vinyl. However, this is the first time the entire amazing three live sets recorded over Easter weekend have been made available.

There’s a lot of up-tempo material: “Security,” “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Respect”—this was recorded a year before Aretha’s cover—“Satisfaction” and, even “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.” But it’s the ballads that are most gripping. Nobody could “worry” a song quite like the Big O. “These Arms of Mine,” “Chained and Bound” and especially “Just One More Day” and “Good to Me” are soul balladry at its apex. Redding truly sings from his heart.

Redding was backed by his road band at the Whiskey, so there’s a more energetic, less meticulous feel to the songs here than on his studio recordings when Booker T & the MGs and the Memphis Horns provided the accompaniment. There are four versions of “Satisfaction,” which is redundant, but there’s a plethora of jaw-dropping material here. This is 1960s soul music at its best. One listen and you’ll wish you’d been at the Whiskey, too.