Album Review: Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love
- Written by Matt Jones
You’ve probably never heard of Shuggie Otis. Those less acquainted with soul music would be forgiven for thinking he was a Sesame Street character. Even soul geeks could be forgiven for thinking he was just the guy who originally produced the sweet but minor hit ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ (which became a worldwide hit for the Brothers Johnson in 1977). But this new release of Otis’ seminal album Inspiration Information alongside the unreleased Wings of Love, would have anyone feeling that those people shouldn't be forgiven. You’ve probably never heard of Shuggie Otis - but you definitely should have.
Although first released in 1974 and again in 2001, Inspiration Information gains new powers in this release by Epic/Legacy Records, appropriately. The title track is the first; the perfect opener this 2-CD biography of a recently deceased musician whose influence is yet to be fully appreciated. The song itself is bizarre, driven by a bassline which steals the job of the keyboard and high-pitched vocals which stop and start. This is soul which edges towards funk in a way that only Betty Davis was also capable of at the time. Rarely is a work deemed ‘pioneering’ without exaggeration, but songs such as ‘Sparkle City’ – which tricks the listener with the familiar sound of Marlena Shaw’s 1969 hit ‘California Soul’ and then splices in a funk break from nowhere – prove that there are notable exceptions. The phrase ‘funk and soul’ is now so idiomatic that one might be left unperturbed by such songs, were it not for the many other genre-crossing forays the album makes. ‘Aht Uh Mi Hed’ is a soulful construction on dub foundations, whilst ‘XL-30’ and ‘Pling!’ remind us that ’74 was also the year of Autobahn with instrumental, electronic compositions which could not be further from ‘Strawberry Letter 23’.
That album alone has been sampled by the likes of Digable Planets and Beyonce, but it is the previously unreleased Wings of Love which will lure true geeks toward this double release. Although recorded in Otis’ reclusive years after Inspiration Information, the album hardly sounds like the produce of an ascetic. ‘Special’ is the chilled-out disco funk of a happy hermit, whilst ‘Tryin’ to get close to you’ epitomises why Otis has been called “the link between Sly Stone and Prince”, developing Inspiration Information’s electronic interludes into fully-fledged synth-soul music. ‘Wings of Love’ itself is one of a few tracks on the second album which delve perhaps slightly too far into soulful cheese, but makes you realise that funk’s many bizarre sounds partly functioned as some sort of psychedelic cracker, taking the edge off of an over-matured cheese. Again, Wings of Love is full of surprises like it’s partner album. ‘Doin What’s Right’ adopts a highlife-afrobeat foundation which would have been relatively new at the time, closing track ‘Destination You!’ is feat of layering which again rivals Betty Davis, whilst ‘Black Belt Sheriff’ sees Otis stripped down to a man and a guitar: a manoeuvre highly unusual for a "psychedelic soul man". More diverse than Inspiration Information, Wings of Love really has something for everyone – which perhaps explains why it wasn't previously released as the stand-alone, unified entity that an album is supposed to be.
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love is not just a good double album, but an interesting one. Whilst it would be easy to interpret the third release of Inspiration Information as ‘milking it for all it’s worth’, the effort that Otis himself has put in to restoring and finally releasing Wings of Love alongside it defeats this logic. Together, the two albums present an interesting experiment in counterfactual history – what influences may ‘Wings of Love’ have had, had it been released at the time, like it’s inspiring counterpart? Of course, we’ll never know, but Inspiration Information/Wings of Love challenges the stereotype of the unproductive, creatively-stagnant recluse, leaving you excited about what else may be lurking in the shadows of former fame.
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love is out April 15 on Epic/Legacy and available from amazon and itunes.