As with so many contemporary songs, a really moving melody is often buried in the midst of an up-tempo, somewhat raucousy arrangement. In my opinion, such is the case with Everclear's "Otis Redding." A moving melody, nicely sung, but lost in all the audio commotion. So, to bring the melody out and treat it with the respect I thought it was due, I slowed down the tempo and placed it, via a single string guitar, front and center in my arrangement. To round things out, I passed the melody back and forth between the guitar and a trumpet ensemble, augmented by choir voices, a synth pad, and soft percussion in the background.
