Inspiration Information

Favorite track(s): Inspiration/Information, Island Letter, Sparkle City, Aht Uh Mi Head, Pling!,

The dude played bass on a Frank Zappa album at 15 fucking years old. Of course he can write good music.

Super funky. Truly enjoyed this and would like more of it in my life.

kewl

I don't think I recognize this artist or any of these tracks by name. So I'm going into this blind.

This isn't bad, and from time to time is quite interesting. But it feels like it's missing something to make it good or great. In addition, the album starts off stronger than it finishes, leaving me feeling more blah about it. I think I'll be kind and give it a 4, but that's just rounding error.

Frustrating….

Has moments where you think it’s going to take off and then just never does.

Ends up feeling bland. Can see why this didn’t go anywhere when released.

2

This is pretty amazing funk and RnB. It sounds incredibly bright, and playful and unique breezy for the first half, before hitting us with some more somber instrumentals in the second. I don't know if I'm entirely sold by the structure, but the good here is great, and the first side of this is some of my favorite music in the genre. The best song here in my opinion is probably Aht Uh Mi Hed, with with unique, echo-y, and nimble drums, incredible vocals, and a unique sourness that creeps in. It makes me feel like I'm at a Salvador Dali themed discotheque. But like I said, side A is pretty sick generally, and side B maybe just needs some time, but it's not really that it's bad, just less substantial to me. This is as great for deep listening as it is for a breezy drive regardless, and it should be celebrated.

a few jams on this

I had not heard of this 70s singer songwriter before. This was lovely, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder and like him Otis was a multi-instrumentalist playing most of the insturments on this album. Sounding folky, proggy, soulful and everything in between and is so relaxing.

Chillige Tunes, chilliger Dude

I don't know what this album is in terms of genre or purpose, but I can tell you I like it.

I'll probably put this in my library

⭐⭐⭐.75

No es malo, just kinda boring por momentos.

You can just about hear the influence on Prince with the whole prodigy solo effort playing all the instruments thing. Although, I think it makes this feel a little bit restrained at times.

Very good, and the 2013 edition is even better

This review isn't very difficult: at first, I wasn't sure what “psychedelic soul” or “psychedelic funk” was supposed to be, but it actually turns out to be self-explanatory: “Inspiration Information” by Shuggie Otis is a largely entertaining album, with most songs starting out soulful/funky and then transitioning to varying degrees into… well, psychedelic improvisations (or planned escapades - it’s hard to say for sure). It’s a great listen, but of course, the parts that give the album its name don’t really stick in your head.
Shuggie Otis finds himself in a bit of a bind here, because it’s unlikely that either the funk/soul community or fans of extended improvisation will feel completely satisfied by it. Still, I actually like it. It’s not absolutely amazing, but it’s nice in a positive way.

I love the 1001 Albums Generator website for albums like this: I’d honestly never heard of Shuggie Otis before, let alone knew of the existence of his third (and, for a long time, final) album, "Inspiration Information". Wikipedia describes the style as “progressive soul”, and indeed, it’s fantastic music that combines the groove and accessibility of soul with the complexity of progressive rock. I can well imagine why the album went largely unnoticed in 1974: it simply didn’t fit the stereotype of black music and was far too sophisticated for the pop-oriented R&B crowd. But it’s also immediately obvious why the multi-instrumentalist Otis had such an immense influence on the young Prince, who was to make a name for himself a few years later with a similar concept (and much more commercial tracks). The comparison with Stevie Wonder (who was working on the masterpiece "Songs in the Key of Life" at the time) isn’t too far-fetched either, but of course, he didn't have neither the resources nor the experience of Stevie Wonder. It would have been very interesting to see what else Otis might have produced after this album, but instead he largely withdrew from the stage (and the studio) as a solo artist and produced music only for his own collection. Some of this material was eventually released many decades later following its rediscovery. It was too late for a global career, but the album impressively demonstrates a singular talent that was lost in the grind of the record industry.

Parliament on prosaic. Funk soul jazz at a laid back pace .

Wow! This is such a wild album. It truly answers the (unasked?) question "What if someone produced an entire soul album on their Grandma's home organ?" I know that sounds like an insult, but it's not. This album SMOKES. Strong on the soul and the funk. A little psychedelia thrown in there too. This just throws off great vibes.

It was iight, I quite liked Aht Uh Mi Hed but a lot of the rest of it all blended into one

3

I went into this only knowing Strawberry Letter 23, but I love the rest of it. It's a really forward thinking sound - I can see why it was sampled by several more modern artists. Or do I have that backwards? Maybe I just likening because it has similar vibes to modern music I like. Either way, it's a great album to me. Not completely perfect, as some of the songs are a bit forgettable. The last 4 songs are some of my favourites, but they are bonus tracks. So maybe I should discount them from my rating.

oficialmente o album da metade do desafio hein

começou bem, mas me perdeu um pouco na segunda metade. mas não eh ruim nao, eh bem bacana e tem potencial!