Track Listing

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 Letters 23
11. Sweet Thang
12. Ice Cold Daydream
13. Freedom Flight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26554 in Music
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Inspiration Information, the brainchild of guitar prodigy Shuggie Otis, more than justifies the cult following garnered in the years since its (largely ignored) 1974 release. Son of R&B legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie was a late-'60s celebrity due to his Super Session duets with Al Kooper. Opting out of arena rock -- he reputedly refused an offer to join the Rolling Stones -- the 19-year-old Otis spent three years in the studio generating this one-man opus. His multitracked rhythms recall the laid-back funk of the Meters embroidered with psychedelic filigree, and his voice resembles Allan Toussaint's. But in every other regard, this is singular, sexy music, dislocated in time. Drum machines propel "Island Letter" and the beat-box-plus-organ stabs of "XL-30" predate England's Young Marble Giants by several years. Also featured are four bonus cuts from the artist's 1971 set Freedom Flight, including "Strawberry Letter 23," which was later a hit for the Brothers Johnson. Heard here in its original form (with a surprise prog-guitar coda), the song conveys the impression of "Good Vibrations" being played by a lone musician. Unbelievably wonderful. - Billboard

Amazon.com
Like Stevie Wonder and Allen Toussaint before him--and Prince and D'Angelo afterward--Shuggie Otis was a musical visionary whose early 1970s recordings showed he could do it all, writing, arranging, performing, and producing some of the decade's most satisfying, innovative, and, unfortunately, overlooked music. This reissue of his 1974 Inspiration Information album--a soulful song cycle that took three years to create and was worth every minute--ranges from early drum machine-driven experiments like "Xl-30" and "Aht Uh Mi Hed" (note the Sly Stone spelling influence) to Otis's most stunning pop confection ever, "Strawberry Letter 23." (The latter song, which ended up being a big hit for the Brothers Johnson, is one of four bonus tracks taken from Otis's 1971 Freedom Flight album). Otis, who once turned down an offer to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones, continues to perform around the Bay Area on his own and with his father, bandleader Johnny Otis. Hopefully, the long-awaited resurrection of this material will help bring him the attention he deserves. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews

An unbelievable cross-pollination of styles!
Hmmm. For once I agree completely with the Billboard review above.

This one floors me. Each song sounds like Shuggie is reinventing soul and rock and blues and funk- all at once. And he is. I can't believe how young he was whe he put this out. In his early 20's younger than I!!!!! It would be depressing if it weren't so damn good!!!! It's rare for me to find albums that I can put on and play in their entirety. VERY RARE! This is one of the handful. Despite the complexity of the arrangements, there is continuity. Despite the shuffling of styles and modes and aural textures- it's still hella funky and soulful overall (the drum patterns on the tital track- they way they start echoing and skittering towards the third verse- it never fails to make me tap my foot). Even the string sections are funky.

This album is like having a breezy, clear, azure-beyond-belief summer day siphoned into your CD player. It is the antithesis of boring, repetitive garbage that treacles out of car windows when I do errands. This is the antidote, or, I suppose, one of the better forms the antidote has taken. Everyone I have given this to as a present has in return bought a copy for someone else who 'gets it.'

Some minutiae: Many great artists have sampled this milestone, most notably, Digable Planets on Blowout Comb (one of the best hip hop albums of all time). And like the above said, The Brother's Johnson had some fame and appeal with their cover of Strawberry Letter 23 (a version of which I heard recently used as background music in a Special K with Strawberries commercial. Yuk.) The original is far better. This is an album that has to be heard to be believed.

Finally, The one negative reviewer likened this work to Shuggie being, "the Syd barrett of the blues." I'm sorry, but how is that a bad thing? I disagree with the comparison for a couple of reasons, but even so- how would it be bad to be the Syd Barrett of any musical genre?

And, post-finally,- a caveat... Now then- don't come to this expecting something bluesy, or at least straightforwardly bluesy. You will be let down if you heard some of Shuggie's early bluies albums and are looking for something in that vein- just as I picked up his blues albums looking for more of this vein. This isn't a blues album- it's an album entirely of its own. It is one of those wonders that defies you to categorize it.

Classic Shuggie Inspiration
I was fortunate enough to own the vinyl disc back in the 70's when Shuggie Otis was a teenage phenom playing with the likes of Al Kooper and touring with his father Johnny Otis'' blues band. A whole generation could have missed out on the music that literally inspired groups like the Neville Brothers, and Bob Marley and the Wailers. Shuggie's music was lost to a generation until the re -release of Inspiration Information. even to this day, 27 years after hearing the original release I find myself humming the tunes like Strawberry letter 23, which became a top 40 hit for the Brothers Johnson , and Freedom Flight. the album was ahead of it's time with it's message and delivery. It is bluesy, psychedelic, spiritual, and musically well performed. I can't wait to play this CD for my two teenage children. I know my aspiring musician kids will love the many layers of music Shuggie Otis offers on this classic album. I will enjoy taking this musical journey again and again. So will you.

The Burning Bush...
I went to a studio late one night. I walked in and my producer friend sat in front of his monitors; transfixed by the most inside out groove I'd ever heard in my life! I was infected instantly! I thought that it was one of his songs at first. I had to ask, is this you man? "No, Shuggie Otis". He slapped the CD into my hands and proceeded to give me a taste. One after another "Inspiration Information"..."Island Letter"..."Sparkle City"..."Aht Uh Mi Hed"..."Happy House"..."Rainy Day"..."XL- 30"... "Pling"...on and on and on...When he got to "Strawberry Letter", I freaked! I was listening to "the" cat who had actually created that abstract lyric to one of the most 'surrealacticoolisciousfunktified' old school love grooves that ever blessed the radios in the early 1970's. I took one look at the cover graphics and flipped because the graphics of this brother with this gigantic afro was so reminiscent of the very first Prince album titled, "For You". Talk about things that make you go,hmmmmm? So,I have Sly Stone-esque groove;Prince's album cover,The Brother's Johnson's sweet 70's love anthem revealed! I felt like Moses standing before that burning bush...I just got the word from the funk God and I'm coming down the mountain to tell everybody I can! Thank you Brother Shuggie and Luaka Bop Inc.