SHUGGIE OTIS Vinyl & CDs

Review: ** REPRESS ALERT ** Two luscious soul/folk/psychedelic funk crossover jams from American singer-songwriter Shuggie Otis are reissued and remastered 45 years after their first release for Record Store Day 2019. Equal parts groovy, dreamy, organically introspective and futuristic, "Inspiration Information" is the document of a young man who owns his inspired vision completely. We are particularly loving "Aht Uh Mi Hed" on the flip where filtered keyboard sounds blend with effortlessly graceful strings during the middle dream sequence of the track.

Review: A year shy of its 40th anniversary, Inspiration Information enjoys a reissue and it's still as sparkly and soul-laden as it was in 1974. Ranging from the guitar-twanging smoky blues funk of "Rainy Day" to the sultry, strutting title track, it's largely regarded as Otis's most comprehensive work of that time. According to legend it took him three years to create... 39 years later and it still sounds as good as this? We'd say that's time well spent!