 The first album was singled out for praise by music critics; apart from the "Rolling Stone" listing at number 74, "NME" ranked it 35th on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time".Music critic Robert Christgau said that "Otis Blue" was "the first great album by one of soul's few reliable long-form artists", and that Redding's "original LPs were among the most intelligently conceived black albums of the '60s".In 2002, the city of Macon honored its native son by unveiling a memorial statue () in the city's Gateway Park.