Inspiration Information

It's awesome that Shuggie wrote everything, plays a ton of the instruments, and produced the whole album. There is a cool fusion of funk soul and jazz with psychedelic sounds mixed in. It is a cool psych soul record, a bit to chill for my liking though. I really liked a few songs but it never got really exciting.

What a beautiful album. This is what I imagine Stevie Wonder sounds like to people who like Stevie Wonder. I liked all of it, but looking at it today I realize my favourites were bonus tracks. "Aht Uh Mi Hed", "Strawberry Letter 23", and "Freedom Flight" are top of the list.

The first time I heard the title cut on this LP was on a French rare funk compilation in the early 90s. It was love at first listen,I wanted more, but finding the album was no picnic. I finally came across it a few years later in Rockford, Ilinois at the amazing Toad Hall. Two Victorian mansions stuffed with rare artifacts. $10 well spent. Other than finding the first Cymande record at a Salvation Army in New London, CT., Inspiration Inspiration is my most favored vinyl purchase of all time. Shuggie and I have a history. Nowadays, thanks to David Byrne you can hear this easy peasy, no digging necessary. Kinda amazing, but kinda sad. The joy of the hunt is real. Anyway, this is a spectacular record, probably a 4, but upgraded for personal reasons. Besides the absolutely sublime title cut, you have slippery funk, layers of electronic grooves that would make Stereolab proud, and Shuggie's sweet voice. A truly unique record.

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.

Funky fun.

Inspiration Information Aht Uh Mi Hed

C’était très sympathique ! J’ai pas pu écouter avec beaucoup d’attention, mais c’était bien funk, très instrumental, très entraînant, j’ai bien aimé !

really dope bite-sized soul. a couple of these songs are just electric. the instrumentals don't have the same staying power but they're still quite lovely. about half of the album i'd like to hear again. favorite song is Inspiration Information or Aht Uh Mi Hed. very strong 3

Lovely chilled stuff, perfect for a Sunday afternoon

It was ok, put it on the background.

Maybe on a different day, but this was very unremarkable

The title track is a banger

Oh this was so much fun. I have become a sucker for music like this. Nice listening to this early in the morning with a cup of coffee in my hand and looking out the window.

Pretty good.

This album is an astonishing masterpiece. Listened to it so many times in a row the stupid website got mad at me for not listening to something else. He's like the missing link in the Wonder > Mayfield > Gaye > Prince chain.

Very high 3

10/27 Not bad

Very funky, liked the jazzy interlude songs as well

Начал за здравие, закончил какими то рингтонами

Almost what I hoped for when I heard the first song, but didn’t quite hit the spot

really good! so smooth and chill and funky. Maybe it drags out a bit at the end, but you just have to go with the vibe and be chill

Hell yes! This is one of the rare gems on this list that I knew nothing about and it blew me away. I’m going to go out and buy some of Shuggie’s albums. 5/5 awesome soul, funk, dance jams.

This album is not my vibe, but it didn’t mean I didn’t respect it. It was very smooth and calming, just a little too musak/vibey for my personal tastes. I did enjoy some of the funky bass lines the song XL-30 and the retro 70s vibe a Sparkle City. I also liked the Stevie Wonder vibe of Things We Like to Do and the song the Special. There were some good elements that were reflective of the 70s R&B/funk scene. I don’t know if I needed two albums of this per se as there was no new grant broken here. That doesn’t mean it was a bad listen though.

Random thoughts: * This sounds like a made-up blaxploitation character. But Shuggie is the real deal. * I thought this sounded a bit like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Curtis Mayfield without the social justice messaging. * Which is pretty good praise considering those three musicians. * This was a good one to put on and chill. There wasn't a lot of active listening. However, I did play it multiple times. * Overall, solid listen and nice gem to discover via 1001.

Geee.. good album. You can appreciate the talent and the skill. The problem is that the arrangement doesn't seem to develop that initial grooves into something particularly memorable. There's no big rhythmic accent, melodic hook or change in intensity that gives it the punch I was looking for.

Literally the only thing I know about Shuggie Otis is that he did the guitar solo on Mos Def's Blue Black Jack. Besides that, I know literally nothing about him. 01. Inspiration/Information So fuckin' pretty. Gorgeous vocals, with a sexy instrumental, and really pretty lyrics. 02. Island Letter Such delicate, yet beautiful vocals. Just a gorgeous song. 03. Sparkle City There's just *something* about this song I don't like. I think it sounds great, the vocals are snazzy, but there's just something... wrong. I don't know how to describe it. 04. Aht Uh Mi Hed For '74, this is really cool. I gotta put respect on it. It's not my favorite, but it's really cool. 05. Happy House Is really smooth, and is honestly a contender for favorite. 06. Rainy Day Isn't notable, but is really relaxing. Reminds me of library music in a good way. 07. XL-30 I swear the Discord notification came from here. I rewinded like twice. Anyways, I have a sense that this here is going to be an instrumental half, as the previous song was as well. This song was cool, but unremarkable. 08. Pling! This vibe has been done twice already; on the last two songs! I don't mind the relaxing jams, but it's already getting repetitive. This one in particular goes on way too long. 09. Not Available Is probably my favorite of the instrumentals sonically. That's it. The first half is great. Super enjoyable, with great vocals! But that second half is quite weak. None of them were *bad*, per say. But super unremarkable, forgettable and bland.

Just some light funky grooves and chill vibes. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Lock up a 23 year old alone in a home studio and see what they come up with. I bet your ass it won't be this.

third album release by shuggie otis, son of johnny otis, a man considered one of the godfathers of r&b music. shuggie sang, performed and produced most of the record itself, which took about three years to make in full. the long time he took really pissed off epic records, causing this album to be the last one he released on the label. the album has early uses of analog drum machines in '70s soul music. the album underperformed a bit when it came to objective sales, but got up decently well on billboard charts. many retrospective reviewers express positive words for the album, especially when it got rereleased on cd in 2001. talk about some real deep soul to heal the mind and body. you ever see the videos on social media of physics simulations in 3D software, like some ordinary object but it moves and bounces like jello? some of the beats kinda have that energy to it. the tracks that make usage of the drum machines i like a little more than the tracks that don't... it's good soul mind you, but some of it doesn't necessarily leap out at me. it's very discreet, very modest and hushed soul music... get a clear head and listen to it in the right mood and you'll be lulled right into the comfort of your chair or bed.

A fun and groovy album. Definitely easy listening you can have on in the background. Rating: 7/10 Favorite Song: Inspiration Information

kewl

2.5* Nooooooothing is going onnnnnnnn on this dawg.

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Special First point of order: The only version of the album available to me is the Inspiration Information / Wings Of Love compilation album, so I ended up listening to both albums twice, which amounts to 4 hours of music. Other than the title track, this seems quite obscure. One hit wonder territory. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, that's for certain. Its a bit funky, a bit psychedelic, pretty heavy on the soul. Honestly, no complaints, other than not being able to listen to just this album (sure, I could figure out where to stop and not listen to Wings of Love, but fuck it). And as a consequence of it being two albums, the length is long too, but those are both minor inconveniences. I was glad I listened, and despite the seeming obscurity, I think it's a good entry for the List.

"Inspiration Information" is as epic a banger as "Strawberry Letter 23" but neither of his albums are particularly essential. They are dreamy and groovy but innocuous outside the singles.

Lithe, loose and soulful, it takes over where Sly left off with There’s a Riot Going On, but without the narcotic hangover.

This artist was unknown to me, and I did not expect the proto-synthpop in this soul album. Fun listen!

Shugie's story is interesting and this is very interesting album. Kind of would like to like this more and maybe after few spins i will. Will add it to my playlist.

Excellent start and some cool sparks later during the album. Weak 3 star but still 3.

This started off nicely, but then never really went anywhere. The highlight was Strawberry Letter 23. I only just found out that it's originally a Shuggie Otis song. I'd always thought it was by the Brothers Johnson.

#506 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ Revisit? ❌ I like my soul, but it seems Shuggie was already doing new things on this one and not following the traditional path. While I don't might drum machines and such, this is seems to be missing on the groovy swagger dept quite a bit, it feels almost like it's got more south american vibes that what I generally expect from soul. Anyway, it's not bad, but not the kind of soul I love and like to listen to. I feel like 2 is way too low but three is not what I think of the music either.

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.

Shuggie, I was not aware. So I enjoyed most of this album, it was fun and kinda funky. It is an album that I want to listen to more before I make any real decision about. It's interesting, but enough of it isn't, you know? So I'm going to listen more now...

There was some gooood stuff on this

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

Artiste inconnu. Quelques bons grooves, mais l’album manque d’énergie. Je me suis ennuyé assez rapidement malgré sa courte durée. Aucune envie de l’écouter de nouveau. =>2/5

kind of rambling but good for vibes

It would probably get a .5 more I just don’t think it was a 4 star album

Strawberry Letter is a great track and the stand out. Really like Inspiration Information also however many of the tracks start well with a groove but just peter out and get a bit too laid back.

Solid. Cross between supermarket background music and a '70s porn soundtrack, with a couple of lively vocal numbers. It's very 70s, funky and jazzy. You know what that athletic winking couple in the freezer isle are listening to. Gains a star for Strawberry Letter 23. Never know what that tune was called or who wrote it, but different versions of it have been an ear worm over the years.

i'm between a 3 and a 4 on this...it's good, groovy, and some of the instrumentals are also very relaxing.

The vocals have an “almost but not quite Bill Withers,“ sound that is fairly likable. And that offsets the discovery that this guy seems to have also composed the hours worth of hold music I have been subjected to in my lifetime.

Very pleasant Soul and Blues, for the most part. Commendable that he did it all by himself; but perhaps it could have been better with the inspiration of other band members.

Fell asleep to it. It's pretty much exactly what I expected, nothing amazing but nothing bad about it either.

Completely forgettable

Decent Soul/Funk album, not really much to say about it, there's other much better stuff in this style but still very groovy

Ahead of its time. Still a bit boring.

Nothing dreadful here but nothing mind blowing. Lovely background music if anything

Stellar

This is so damn nice. So nice. Lets do a 5

God wat funkt dit weer. Nog nooit van deze artiest gehoord maar dit is wel een vibe hoor! Zang is prettig, instrumentaal is het ontzettend psychedelisch, maar wel gewoon vet gedaan. De bas is heel vet en ook de muziek... Ik stel me voor dat toen dit uitkwam iedereen spontaan aan de LSD ging om het goed te kunnen waarderen. Dit is wel echt precies waar ik de 1001 lijst voor doe; artiesten waar ik nooit van heb gehoord, anders niet had gevonden maar die ik wel echt heel vet vind. De blend van soul, jazz en psych werkt ontzettend goed en doet me bij vlagen denken aan Michael Kiwanuka! Merk dat de tweede helft meer de psych kant op gaat en dat ik die toch iets minder vet vind. Word voor mij dan toch al snel een hoop gepiel zonder dat het ergens heen gaat zeg maar. Maar alles bij elkaar? Lekker album, ben erg positief verrast en ik wil wel wat meer Shuggie Otis luisteren! FAVO: Inspiration Information, Sparkle City, Aht Uh mi hed, Rainy Day, Freedom Flight

Je to celkom fajn, zaujímavé, stojí ešte za jedno vypočutie.

Really lovely easy listening. Didn't feel like any of the songs particularly grabbed me but enjoyed regardless.

Interesting with a mix of easy listening soul and ambient

A chill sound for chill people.

groovy!

? c

..

I honestly don't have much to say about this one. It's some nice soul, albeit less interesting than a lot of other stuff I've heard. I like how a lot of the songs have some weird sounds on them. "Sparkle City" is an example of how funky you can get while still being laid-back. "XL-30" has got some cool organs, and it's in 7/4. The problem I have with this album is that it feels pretty repetitive. I feel like there could've been more movement in the songs. Not to mention the second side, which is almost entirely slower instrumentals. I haven't done too much research on Shuggie Otis, but I can tell that the talent is there. Maybe he'll have a different album that I'd like. But this one just isn't it. It's alright. ----- #0014 Heard on: 30 Sep. 2026 Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (172 / 334) Favorite track: Sparkle City Least favorite track: Pling!

This album ended just in time. Kinda a boring. To quote my 7 year old daughter, “they say you must hear before you die, but I don’t think you need to hear it.”

It is a decent album but with several weaker songs. 3 stars or C.

Reminds me a lot of bill withers. In a good way.

Bring on the groove and funk, im here for it. First heard of Shuggie from the Zappa album and learned how talented he was from a young age. To put together as much of this album singlehandedly is impressive. The energy here settles in around that very laid back easy going afternoon. Some of the tracks can get pretty experimental in the back half which loses me but not too much.

Kinda cool. Relaxing sometimes, funky and fun other times. Not too bad.

анимефные игры

Pleasant but not transformative. Should grooves be this low-energy? 2.5?

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I’d already previously loved strawberry letter 23 and maybe a couple of other singles but this was an excellent album I’m glad I’ve got to spend some time with.

Nice groove album

Never heard of this before. Lived it and will listen again.

Wua-u-wa-u. Super 70s, it's fun to listen to with nice variety. Has a couple of songs that grabbed my attention but overall not that memorable.

Very cool, VERY 70s. Will probably come back to this!

- At times I could not tell when this record was made. I'm surprised that he hasn't thrived in this age of cut and paste mashups .... Very good, enjoyable listen. -

J'y retrouve plein style qui ont influencé les artistes ultérieurs. Bien en musique de fond.

3.56

Very nice. Mellow funky. Blissed out. Really good.

Pleasant enough

Love the soft vocals and the bass. Quite dreamy but still so much groove. Great sound.

An old school combo of R&B and some funk. Felt like elevator music at times, which I do not intend as an insult.

A very good friend gave me this album. It's an album I go back to every once in a while. I like the Stevie Wonder vibe and funk groove. I generally like the album. But yet something doesn't work for me. It's like the uncanny valley, it just sounds off. Lacks being genuine, if that makes sense. It rubs me like Beck where he rips so many styles I enjoy and does it so well, but it just feels like the styles ripped off and not something built into something new and his own? Too good to be a 2, but can't get me to 4. Wonderfully recorded, though. Props on the production quality.

Great guitar, truly amazing.

That tone is so funky but in a good way. It feels like the output was sent straight through a wah pedal and im not complaining. I loved how he had a few riffs in between songs and all the riffs sounded like they were meant for that particular song. However, I just don’t like how the album dragged on. I think that apart from strawberry letter 23 and the title track there was really no standout part of the album and it’s wasn’t really that cohesive. It does feel like he put his all his thoughts and skills into the album though so I’ll give him that. Fav song: Inspiration Information

I was expecting to hear Hendrix style vocals over some MC5 beats. Instead I’m hearing something between The Bee Gees and Supertramp. This isn’t horrible but it just doesn’t have staying power with me. It’s too mellow for what the music is trying to represent. It could be the tired sounding vocals or the lightweight lyrics. Whatever it is, it’s ok but not great.

This album has range. Sometimes I was delightfully surprised by what flowed through my headphones, such as the twang on Sweet Thang. I've never listened to an album, including other funk albums, that had this type of sound. 4/5

This album has potential, but in the end it's a flirt that never quite lives up to how cool it very easily could be. Every song starts out sounding incredibly cool and interesting. However, around the halfway point you discovery - yet again to your dismay - that it has nothing else to say or do to keep you engaged with it. 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

Nice finding!

This is a pleasant listen. The music is really well crafted, layered and complex and the singing is really good.

Very good music, and a good voice to go with it. A good listen in the background. Strawberry Letter 23 is a classic.

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.

This is a great discovery - smooth, chilled out soul. 5/5

Enjoyable 70’s soul with a little bit of psychedelic influence (like Small Faces). Shuggie’s voice doesn’t have the same power as, say, Sly, but the music always grooves and the band is pretty tight. 4.5 stars