Shuggie Otis Gets What's Coming To Him On Inspiration Information
Written: Mar 19 '02 (Updated Mar 20 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: Quality music.
Cons: I didn't own it until this year.
The Bottom Line: "Inspiration Information is a record for people that have heard a lot of music, maybe too much, and are looking for a new musical romance."--Steven Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
cletta1201's Full Review: Inspiration Information by Shuggie Otis
Sometimes, an album is so good that you wished you had owned for years. Inspiration Information is one of those albums. Conjuring up images of D’angelo, Prince and Lenny Kravitz - Shuggie Otis is one of those artists’ whose music has a timeless quality to it. This album was originally released in 1974, when no one was thinking bout Cletta1201 yet and still giving it a listen today it sounds just as contemporary and fresh.
Things you don’t know about Shuggie Otis.
1. He played guitar in his father, Johnny Otis’ band at the age of 6
2. He played on Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats
3. He was offered Mick Taylor' s job in the Rolling Stones
*Factoids courtesy of Mike Lipton at Launch.com*
This album makes me think of a bunch of teenagers in a basement, slow dancing for the first time. Matta75 squeezes Aerocat in a tight embrace; Madtheory and Gamblinfamily are on the couch making out. That’s what kind of music this is. In its first incarnation Inspiration Information didn’t even ripple the music pond, but many moons later it’s found a place in musical history where it belongs. If one were to be at all familiar with Shuggie Otis and his music – the song that would ring a bell would be Strawberry Letter 23 which was made famous by The Johnson Brothers as well as having been remade by Tevin Campbell some years ago under the direction of the purple rocker himself Prince. Not only did Shuggie write all of the songs, but he played all the instruments and did the drum machine programming. How’s that for talent?
Tracks:
1. Inspiration Information
2. Island Letter
3. Sparkle City
4. Aht Uh Mi Hed
5. Happy House
6. Rainy Day
7. XL-30
8. Pling!
9. Not Available
10. Strawberry Letter 23
11. Sweet Thang
12. Ice Cold Daydream
13. Freedom Flight
Strawberry Letter 23 has somewhat of a folksy feel to it, but still maintains it’s R&B integrity through Otis’ voice. I’ve never thought the lyrics made much sense, but I like this song nevertheless. ”hello my love I heard a kiss from you/ red magic satin playing here too/ all through the morning rain I gazed/ the sun doesn’t shine/ rainbows and waterfalls run through my mind/ in the garden I see/ west purple shower bells and tea/ orange birds and river cousins dressed in green…” If you know what it’s about, feel free to tell me.
The album’s title track is the perfect introduction to the album. Perhaps my favorite track on the album, the guitar is so key to this song. But even as key as it is, it doesn’t overpower the vocals and other elements of the song. Island Letter is another favorite. I like that it’s short on vocals and long on music. As the song winds down, you get to appreciate the music, the guitar, the snyth, even the drum machine. Also in regards to winding down, most of the songs err on the short side, 5 of them are under 3 minutes. You never feel like your really missing anything though.
Aht U Mi Hed is proof positive that Prince wanted to be Otis when he grew up. From the strange spelling to the song itself, this one gives me the Prince vibe more than any other song on the album. Only slightly annoying on this song is the drum machine, which is so blatantly a drum machine that you can’t ignore it. Rainy Day makes you reflect on 60’s and 70’s soul in a big way. More of an interlude than a song, with no lyrics you just listen to Shuggie make his guitar talk to you. Quite obviously a reflective love tribute, I could just as easily see this one being made into a full-fledged song today by any R&B singer.
We all have music that we love to listen to when we feel bad, when the weather’s dreary and you just wanna wallow around in your own self-pity and personal filth and Rainy Day is the perfect song to help you along in your pity party. It just feels like sadness and quiet time, and sometimes – you need that. Sweet Thang sounds to me an “interesting” blend of blues and R&B. By “interesting” I mean that there is also a country twang to it, you could imagine to old men sitting on a porch one in a rocking chair with a guitar and another on the steps with a harmonica, just jamming on a dusty summer afternoon. That’s just the feeling I get.
Ice Cold Daydream sounds like you might have heard it on the Brady Bunch. This one does have a more rock influence, kind of evocative of Jimmy Hendrix. The guitar riffs are bad @ss and the music is funky. Freedom Flight is the longest track on the album at 12:55. Although it’s not my favoritetrack, I think it is the culmination of all of Shuggie’s influences. A showcase of his talents and abilities as an artist. You owe it to yourself to check out this album, not one of my friends has heard it and not liked it and or tried to steal it.So do yourself a favor and go get this one today.
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