Inspiration Information

Easy listening but probably won't revisit

I enjoyed listening to it but a little forgettable.

this is the most 70s album of all time

Glad to have checked this artist out! Good stuff, although a bit outside what I usually listen to.

There’s no denying Shuggie Otis’ talent and musicianship - performing most of the instruments himself - and his songs are very pretty. But as an album, the focus seems to wander and meandering instrumentals with no real hook or draw lead to a disappointing record. Perhaps more collaboration would have seen Otis soar.

Lekkere soul-achtige muziek. Wat mij betreft mag het allemaal wel wat meer up-tempo op de vrijdag, maar ach, lekker voor op de achtergrond. ***

Funky & smooth & chill

He composed, played and produced on his own. Really nice (6/10) FT: Strawberry Letter 23, Pling!, Sweet Thang

Funky som f. Tittelsporet var gøy. Kanskje hakket mye pling plong på de siste låtene.

Hmmmmm. Ok album, but not overall remarkable/rememberable. Poor man’s Marvin Gaye. Smooth vocals, and some decent instrumental experimenting going on.

S'écoute bien, du bon soul. Plus un bon bruit de fond qu'un album qui a vraiment attiré mon attention

All right. Nice lo-fi vibes.

Mysigt!!

Jag gillade detta förvånandsvärt mycket. Även om det inte är exakt det här gitarrsounded jag är förtjust i så fanns det en asymmetri som jag uppskattade väldigt mycket.

Un secret amagat del r&b setenter d'un artista llargament oblidat. No és cap obra referencial a descubrir, però sí un bon tractat del génere, amb cançons especialment aconseguides com 'Aht Uh Mi Hed' o la que li dóna títol

Felt like a solidly good album. Not my favorite by a mile but it's smooth and calming. That's all you need for a Tuesday

has some nice songs on it but i don't get why its called psychedelic also some of the songs are basically elevator music so it evens out i guess

Side A has pretty good soul that takes the extra step with embellished arrangements to make the songs sound a bit better. Regardless, it never really stuck with me much. Side B gets adventurous with jazz and a particularly interesting electric organ solo over a programmed beat. This was more compelling that side A, I feel, but the whole record would need to grow on me.

Longest. Album. Ever?

Dos o tres veces sentí que el disco iba a empezar a despegar y ponerse bueno, pero nunca llego a todo. Interesante quizá, por el uso de la máquina análoga de percusiones, pero incluso tomando eso en cuenta la verdad no llega a llamar toda mi atención.

None of the songs particularly stood out, but I appreciate the musicianship and control over the album that the guy had from all angles. It was a pleasant discovery.

Decent soul album that has no real issues but fails so provoke more interest. great for the background

Its Ok. I don’t think I will get back to it.

The slow 70s where you can have a double album with not much content.

more funk. I'm here for it.a little too chill at times to get higher then a 3 but not that bad

Soft, sweet and funky. Funk guitar but not at a high tempo, very laid back. Singing is soulful and quiet.

Good grooves but lost impetus as it progresses - great 70s nyc vibe

It is a funk and soul album and was relatively short. It was alright but nothing memorable.

The good songs were fun but the rest were super boring.

Not bad but I got bore with the slow songs. Nice to hear some pretty crazy guitar parts though.

There’s a few gems and some tasty licks! A bit bloated and is unjustifiably lengthy. Highlights are the title track, Strawberry Letter 23, and Ice Cold Daydream. Sparkle City has some pretty great lyrics, the execution just didn’t do it for me though.

Kinda funky but nothing really grabbed my attention.

Packed with grooves, chill and funky. A few outstanding tracks. 3.5/5

Really want to give it 4 stars. Love the laid back and soulful grooves and Shuggie’s whole vibe. However, this album felt a little hollow to me, not much stood out, not much went on, just nice, chill funk groovin’. Hope more of his albums are on this list cause he deserves at least one 4 or 5.

If I could go back in time and experience how new this sounded when it was released, it may have had more impact

A bit too slow for me

Bueno. Distinto.

loffy???

Voice is sort of cute. Like Rainy Day best, methinks. But I still prefer having each track with lyrics for modern music. And off-pitch yelling of high notes is very much a no. 3 star at most.

 ⭐⭐ ⭐ ## General notes: Funky, soulful music. Wha guitars, staccato bass-lines, break-beats. Very chill relaxed voice and vibe. Lots of instrumental pieces and sections, lots of keyboards and drum machine too. A lot of times this album sounds like experiments and jams that doesn't seem to go anywhere. It has some great moments though. Both Pling! and Strawberry started boringly but managed to get interesting along the way. Other highlights include Sparkle City, Ice Cold Daydream and Happy House. ## Song by song - Inspiration Information: Good opener, very funky and lively but chill at the same time. - Island Letter: Laid back, relaxing vibes, tremolo guitar to the left, slow wha to the right, bass is almost reggae like, understated bolero percussion. - Sparkle City: Straight funk, starts instrumental. Cool song. - Aht Uh Mi Hed: The Bolero drum machine again, not a great song, not that bad either. - Happy House: Funky and jazzy. Really visionary in its structure, not your regular funk. Interesting find. - Rainy Day: Laid back again, blues guitar instrumental. - XL-30: The drum machine is back, now with all the samba. At least there's some real drums. The song evolution is jazzy and experimental. Another instrumental piece. - Pling!: The energetic onomatopoeic title will misguide you. This, again, is a slow laid back affair with electric pianos and drum machines. At a distance, like, across the street a sax is joining the jam. Good to fall asleep to, but not much else. Should have called this one Zzzz! - Not Available: Funk's back! Very guitar and bass oriented. Sadly, goes nowhere, one instrumental piece again. - Strawberry Letter 23: Some singing. This is supposed to be a hit song. I haven't ever listened to it before and I don't find it terribly interesting. Oh! Scratch that! There's a looping psychedelic guitar section at the end (complete with phased choruses) that's fresh and interesting! Sounds a little like Terry Riley. In all, that section elevated the whole song. That was cool. - Sweet Thang: Oh, the blues. All the right sounds are there. Westerny guitars, obstinate bass, a lonely hammond. A soulful voice. Goes nowhere though. - Ice Cold Daydream: What a start. Full of energy, wha guitars, frantic bass playing, turning into a really funky verse. Really nice descending bass-line. The hammond to the sides hammering like crazy. Wha guitar panned jam and electric solo are really interesting though short. - Freedom Flight: Hendrix meets Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" after a long night of partying. Miles Davis stop by and say hello too (though there's sadly no trumpet playing, but he's coming from recording "A Silent Way" and brought the whole band). You get the idea. A slow, airy jam constructed around a bass groove and an improvising guitar. Really nice.

Pretty cool album. Not so sure about the instrumentals and the more R&B tracks, but the funk ones were excellent.

The version that I found on Spotify was the 2013 re-release, which included a bunch of extra tracks, but I will keep this vote limited to the origional first nine tracks ("Inspiration Information" through "Not Available"). Overall, I really liked the album, for what it was. It actually felt more like two sub-albums put together into one. The first four tracks are completely constructed compositions with vocals on top. The title track is the stand-out of them all, but I didn't think "Aht Uh Mi Hed" (read "That hurt me head" in a cockney lilt, I think) was far off. Then, starting with "Happy House", the album gives way to more experimental and funky tracks, which are entirely instrumental. Of that set, I particularly enjoyed "Happy House", "XL-30" and (to a lesser extent "Pling!". These tracks felt more like musical streams of conciousness, and I felt a connection of influence all the way to more current tracks by artist like Knxwledge. And then the (original) album wraps up with "Not Available", which I think is short for, "We had a song ready to record but the singer was Not Available". The song sounded ready to go, and it's just missing someone to sing along. That sort of sums up the album in general, I think, and the fact that there were two more releases with two sets of additional tracks added seems to support this. When it was released, despite 3 years of production, the album was still sitting as a work in progress. It has some gems, shows a lot of promising ideas, and who knows... maybe a couple more re-releases and it will feel complete.

This is the softest not-totally-instrumental music I've heard that I would still call funky. I wish I got the more interludey bits: It tickles my brain that Otis opted for so much material of that kind while using his voice as a lead instrument elsewhere.

Very funky and smooth - I liked the title track and Strawberry Letter 23 a lot, and Rainy Day was a lovely chill instrumental.

I was excited for this album but it underwhelmed. I had no idea who he was but read he was a hugely talented guitar player and could play multiple instruments. I can't really hear the guitar for all the other instruments. He also plays all the instruments (like I mentioned Grohl does for the Foo's first album) which is pretty cool. But the tempo is kinda dull, especially for the latter half of the album that is all instrumental (tracks 6-9). It sounds like a ho-hum lounge piece. The funk on the first 5 tracks is fine (and it comes back decently on track 9) but didn't blow me away. It feels like this album didn't age well. In the end, it wasn't awful just not what I expected.

Incredible musician but these songs are pretty boring. Definitely some bright spots (Sweet Thang and Strawberry Letter 23) but overall not really worth listening to, except maybe as some inoffensive background music.

maybe i've just been having an off day. week. whatever. it just seems like i haven't come across anything that's really grabbed me lately. this album, apart from the closing track, is really no exception - i remember the time (roughly) when it came out, and i don't miss it. that last track, though...that was actually really awesome.

This was interesting.

Better than I expected!

Dit is best ok, maar eigenlijk niet leuk of slecht genoeg om hier echt een mening over te hebben.

Dit kende ik totaal niet en heeft mij enorm positief verrast!

I actually really liked this. Good voice and cool instrumentation. Pretty funky.

Kolejny Otis do muzycznej kolekcji, dodatkowo jest to syn jednej z ikon hamerykanskiej czarnej muzyki, czyli Johnnyego Otisa, ktory zrobil odwrotnego Jacksona, czyli jako bialy czlek wybral zywot czarnego muzyka i jeszcze zdobyl przy tym aprobate czarnej spolecznosci, wiec pierwszy solowy numer jego syna jest synteza tego co gral papa z elektronika ktora juz pojawiala sie w muzyce lat 70s, inspiration information to jeden z tych albumow na ktorych czuc, ze bylo tworzone praktycznie przez jedna osobe, bo Shuggie Otis to nie tylko multiinstrumentalista, wokalista, ale takze producent tego materialu, wersja ktora sluchalem to reedycja z 2001, ktora zawiera 4 dodatkowe traki w tym strawberry letter 23, czyli najwiekszy komercyjny sukces Shuggiego Otisa, jako song nagrany przez the brothers johnson, ktory w shuggowej wersji jest takze hajlajtowym momentem plyty na rowni z otwierajacym inspiration information, oba te kawalki to funk z elementami soula, ktore mialy chartowac sie wysoko, co nadaje im brzmienie czegos co juz sie slyszalo, a moglo sie slyszec na samplach, bo z tego co widze, to nawet w popowych wydanach jak u byonce, outkastcie, czy digable planets, czy rjd2 sie przewijaja, co daje najlepszy certyfikat materialu, ale jak dla mnie strona liryczna takiej muzyki jest niesluchalna, albo w moim obecnym moodzie lub po ostatnim picku za swiezo w glowie slychac poezje na gitarkach, cale szczescie plyta jest podzielona na dwie czesci strona a zawiera inspiration information i inne kawalki wokalowe, natomiast od 6 traka do konca, nie liczac kawalkow ktore doszly w reedycji panuje instrumentalne brzmienie, z ktorego najbardziej przypadl mi do gustu pling!, w ktorym slychac wykorzystanie analogowej maszynki drumujacej, wiec ten kawalek znajdzie sie na instrumentalnej plejce, natomiast wspominany juz II i letter wedruja na funkowa polke w biblioteczce, dziwne ze jest to pierwszy i ostatni solowy album tego artysty, bo w reszcie dyskografii moge znalezc tylko pojedyczne kolaby, bo chocby sama pierwsza strona powinna byla sie dobrze sprzedac, jak w wypadku spektakularowego orakulara od mgmt

чета залупа невыносимая, инструменталы ещё там куда ни шло, какой-то чилл, но вокалист когда выступает - аж крота бахнуть хочется. на трояк как-то тащат только песни про клубничное письмо и та, шо за ней идёт. но все равно это кал какой-то хиппарский

Чем больше фанка предлагает список, тем более ограниченным я себя чувствую. Ибо хейт целых жанров обычно считал маркером музыкальной некомпетентности. Поэтому пока остановлюсь для себя на том, что репрезентативные треки в жанре есть, но я их не слышал. Но с этим альбомом попроще. Почему-то в уши мне сразу бросился фанк, но первым жанром указан соул. А это уже нормальная тема по большей части. В итоге треки, от которых не веет фанком, воспринимаются весьма неплохо, хоть и не цепляют: Aht Uh Mi Hed, Rainy Day, Pling!, Not Available. А от которых веет, отвращают: Inspiration Information, Sparkle City, Happy House. А, вот почему бросился, заглавный трек ведь околофанковый. А ещё есть невнятное экспериментальное душилово под названием XL-30, не одобряем. И снова тот случай, когда хочется поставить ровно среднюю оценку, без перевеса вниз или вверх: 2,5. Ну да ладно, в этот раз натяну тройбан.

This was pretty good

Let’s just start with the fact that this guy’s name is Shuggie Otis. That’s pretty much my whole review. Part funky, part mellow, all smooth. All Shuggie.

Up next: Snatch and the Poontangs

65. Passe-me ao PBX, por favor. Sim, rápido, estou no quarto 302, e está aqui alguém que, não interessa, passe rápido! Beep beep beep. A sua chamada está em espera. Por favor aguarde. Your call is on hold. Please hold the line. PBX hotel Lavinia, boa noite. Estou. Estou sim, boa noite. Estou. Sim. Boa noite. Então com licença. Boop. MotA: Aht Uh Mi Hed "We had a rainy day"

Strawberry Letter 23, Sweet Thang, Ice Cold Daydream, and Freedom Flight were tacked onto the end of the album on spotify. Those four aren't actually part of the album. It's a good record and put me in a good mood. if the last four tracks were actually a part of the record i'd have given it a 4/5

Groovy, funky, easy to listen to.

So far the album reminds me of Hall and Oates. It's not terrible but not something I would not listen to often if at all.

Unmemorable (is that a word?) Decent vibe, but nothing stands out on first listen.

A really interesting and varied album. Some great tracks on here and will definitely go back to it

Layered with sweet and sour sounds. The re release I listened to on Spotify included some non original tracks, which while excellent don't help the flow.

Some standout songs, nice and chill, but overall nothing stood out to me. Maybe 1 or 2 songs I'd come back to.

It was okay. Nice background music. Chill

Unmemorable (is that a word?) Decent vibe, but nothing stands out on first listen.

Great soul r+b album, groovy

A really interesting and varied album. Some great tracks on here and will definitely go back to it

Chill and smooth. I'd definitely give it another listen if the mood hit me.

A really pleasant surprise, great voice and guitar work and pretty inventive and different in parts for what it is

Not bad, but there's yet to be any soul on this list that even comes close to isaac hayes

OK Funky tracks and mellow vibes with early drum machine.

Nice vibe

Really chilled and some nice instrumentation, but at times it is so chilled it's actually a bit boring. Although it was cool to discover the the "Ms Jackson" connection. 5.5/10

Really liked the first half of this album, but seemed to fall away a bit as it became more and more chilled. Would like to listen to some different stuff of his.

Fine overall? Nothing really stood out, but I would be fine if this came on a shuffle every so often. Really enjoyed Happy House, but it was over almost as soon as it started

This guy is nice to hear. Good and inspired musician.

Ni fu ni fa

Kinda funky, kinda chill.

alright but long

Not too crazy about all the songs but some of them were cool

Interesting.

Next6

Not really my style and but another good intro to another genre of music

A nice, mellow album that would be a good listen even

3.5

Good vibes. Some fun funk guitar. Wasn’t obsessed but liked a few songs

Great soul.and funk. 👍

funky

Nach dem ersten Durchhören: nett. Kam nicht dazu, die Platte 2 mal durchzuhören. Gute 3 Sterne, vielleicht 4.

Pretty good. Sounds like it looks

Definitely got better towards the end, but it felt a little slow at the start. I forgot it was on at some points. The last few songs were solid though.

Twas ok to work to

Egentlig et gort album, men lidt mærkelig og stressede nogle steder. Svæver mellem 3 og 4 stjerner

nära en fyra men det var lite för långt och inte riktigt tillräckligt svängigt

Very pleasant.

I totally forgot Strawberry Letter 23 was a thing!

Siistiä musaa, joku etäisesti tuttu biisikin löyty

Pleasant, lounge, lightly funky vibes. Good sitting-in-the-sun music. I liked the instrumentals. Favorite tracks: "Rainy Day", "XL 30", "Island Letter"

With a name like Shuggie, this should be better than it is.

I can't believe this is from the 70s. Definitely not my jam but I have to respect it.

Alright. Nothing special.

Skillful but not exciting at all.

surprised I kinda liked this? 2.75 1974 pop album

Groovy, nice instrumentals. Not enough substance for me to love it though. A few enjoyable songs, but a lot of meh. Favorite: inspiration information or magic

Aldri hørt om og i allefall aldri hørt på før. Ligner vel litt på noe vi allerede har hørt på, i allefall på starten med så sklir det litt ut i ting som nesten høres litt sånn fruityloop demo aktig ut og da mister fyren meg, eller det blir feil å si for han vant meg aldri over. Håper på en godbit snart. To av fem.

Nur im Hintergrund gehört

Meh

Seems like it’s going somewhere then doesn’t. Kind of a let down. There’s clearly talent here.

Cool

Not much of interest here. The vocal songs are a bit more lively and hold your imagination, but the instrumental tracks really do wander off into floaty jazzy nothingness.

Wasn’t a big fan of this

Decent

Not bad blues jazz one for the background but it had something in places

Pretty mediocre early ‘70s soft rock. Second instrumental half has some okay jazziness on it but the production lacks the muscle to make it memorable.

This did not do it for me at all.

My pulse rate hovered around 35 bpm for this entire album. Cool that he played almost all the instruments. That's about it.

So boring that I forgot that I was listening to it while it was playing (more than once)

How would you describe this ? Smooth a little funky but quite boring

Nothing wowed me

found it really hard to focus on this album, can’t remember a single thing about it

I thought I'd never heard a Shuggie Otis song until Strawberry Letter 23 came on and I got Jackie Brown flashbacks. Shuggie should have let Quincy Jones produce that in the first place!

Totally washed over me I’m afraid

There is nothing really wrong with this music. Just heard it before and better. Guess I got bored.

ничего особенного

616/1001 2026.05.18 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

I think the hype got a bit bigger than the sound with this one. Shuggie is interesting, but he can’t hold a candle to Stevie or Marvin.

Feels VERY 70s

Pleasant to listen to but not a lot of stand outs.

Ugh, it was okay, not unpleasant or anything but nothing really caught my attention for some reason. Maybe one day i’ll give it another try, because I do usually like something like that.

This was fine, too long though

The tracks with vocals are pretty OK, the instrumentals grate on me, especially the ones where the electric organ is the main sound. The final track was a bit like Fleetwood Mac's Albatross, which was cool.

Funky what I call pre disco, disco beats. Not really my thing, or thang. Not awful by any means. 2.25. No decimals, so 2 it is.

I don’t really have much to say about this other than it was good and I liked it. It didn’t blow me away, but it was a good album. I guess I don’t really know what to make of Shuggie Otis. Was he trying to be a prominent guitar figure, an R&B singer, or just an another funk musician? I guess he sort of combines those things but not in a way where any of them stand out.

My enjoyment of this album may have been hindered by the fact that I listened to it on my commute to work, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I don't know what it is about this week. I have just been extraordinarily tired on my drive to work the last few days. I regret to inform Mr. Shuggie Otis that I heard his (admittedly cute) album under these circumstances. But I found it just a bit too soft for me. Soft like a cold pillow. A pillow I could rest my head on and close my eyes. I just wanted to drift into slumberland and drive my car into a ditch.

2.5

Very boring 70s soul. 2.5 stars

Bland and boring. Just not for me.

Didn't listen to it all the way. I'm not into funk or 70s music too much, and this was not remarkable enough for me to care.

Preferred the songs with vocals to instrumental only but not for me

Syntes egentligt, at det var lidt kedeligt. Noget af det godt, noget af det henslæbt og langtrukkent med lidt for meget plingeling og antal minutter 2.6

Meh... Lo puse mientras hacía otras cosas y no llamo mi atención. De fondo mientras juego a la play funciona, pero no lo escucharía de nuevo.

3/10

TOO LONG!!!

Track 1 is a banger. Unfortunately the rest of the album is a bit nothingy

Shuggie seems like a really talented guy, but this album just didn’t hold my attention. After enough sustained wah from the guitar and organ my brain just kind of zones out. Maybe I’d consider giving it another listen down the road to reevaluate, but for now it goes on the not too impressive or aligned with my tastes pile.

I found this really dull, almost lift music-esque in the main. Way too peripheral with little to anchor the songs or to solicit your attention, aside from the odd funky/groovy guitar lick here and there. The songs with vocals were mildly more engaging, but in the same way as giving plain tofu a slight modicum of flavour by grinding a bit of salt over it.

Unremarkable. It just is & doesn’t strike me one way or the other.

Nice 70's groove, but what makes it worthy of the Top 1001? There are a few tracks with sizeable listener counts (title track at 51M and "Aht Uh Mi Hed" at 23M) but overall it's relatively overlooked since 1974. I liked the title track, it's nice background music but it wasn't a headturner that made me wonder how I missed it growing up. "Sparkle City", "Island Letter", "Rainy Day", "XL-30", "Pling!" were all so boring I've already forgotten them. These songs just wandered, nothing great, nothing bad. Boring and incomplete is how I'd sum this up. No radio hits, no songs I know from a modern cover, just cutting room floor tracks that got slapped onto vinyl in the 70's. LAME CHOICE. 2 stars

This didn’t even register as anything.

Some good tracks on here but a bit overindulgent at 27 songs and 1 hour 55 min runtime. Probably could've put together a really solid 45 min album instead of this meandering mess

Deeply average, I've heard Strawberry Letter 23 before, but it's all a bit forgettable.

Meh

Did not enjoy to my surprise.

Album started strong, and there a few other really good songs on here. Cool groove with a mellow funk feel. Yacht funk. I may have made up a new genre and I dig it. Regrettably there is a down side to the album, the misses are rather poor. Okay, I'm being kind because I really did like the good on the album. I'll do it again. The misses are terrible. Long, directionless, no soul and a muddy feel to the music. Those I most certainly did not dig. I think two is slightly harsh for this album, but I can't do three. 2.8

starts off quite interesting, but gets a bit boring later on

Es wirkt es stellenweise wie ein überambitioniertes Klangexperiment, das sich in seiner eigenen Trägheit verliert. Der Groove, der eigentlich das Rückgrat des Funk und Soul jener Ära bildet, bleibt hier seltsam blutleer. Statt mitreißender Rhythmen und pulsierender Energie gibt es schleppende Beats, die eher einschläfern als mitreißen.

No strong feelings for or against, it was nice background music but I didn’t connect to it at all I found it easy to tune out of. Really cool that he played most of the instruments himself!

There's a lot to like here if this mild groove is your thing. But I would have appreciated something a bit less bland.

What do you get when mix a little very light disco, some easy listening, a touch of subpar jazz and pipe it in lot an elevator? Answer… listen to this album.

Not for me.

Seriously? More techno jazz funk without any words? And it's not even innovative? How many more of these can there be???

Huske kje, va sikkert greit

This sounds good. Some of the tracks are classics. But it could have benefited from Quincy Jones’s hand to harmonize the album — this sounds like a bunch of different songs played back-to-back, not a cohesive coherent unit. Some of the pieces needed a stronger hand to add some discipline— many of the pieces sound experimental. I think Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes do a better job bringing off the overall sound (“light funk”? “Psychedelic Improvisational R&B”?) it’s a 2 — enjoyable, with some classics in the 2nd half, but not strong as an album.

This is very relaxing and soothing. I felt like I was stoned by the end of it. If you were hoping to be productive at all today then I'd advise you not to listen to his album.

Fine

Need to check this one out again but wasn't super impressed. The instrumental tracks at the end kind of remind me of what The Weather Channel played in the early 00's.

Admittedly, this just didn't do a whole lot for me. I found it a bit boring and lackluster. The moment I felt that the music was going to swell and something interesting was going to happen, it just didn't. I don't think this was bad by any stretch, but it was a bit boring for me personally.

Alright, coolest of good ones, a few shit ones. Lots of samples taken from this is imagine 2/5

Mellow jazzy/funk album - but without real drive. He's talented - playing all/most of the instruments and producing the album. It's interesting, but bland. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a Best Songs Aht Uh Mi Hed Strawberry Letter 23

Wasn't really vibing with this but it shifted to weird spacey electro funk towards the end and I liked it more.

Not bad, just not good either.

I don't really care for Shuggie Otis' music. It should be something I really like on paper, being an excellent blend of all sorts of genres I enjoy. The playing is smooth and well performed. I just don't really care for it. It's a bit too philly Soul at times and it's a bit light on hooks or other earworms. Wish I liked it more but alas. My favorite moments were Freedom Flight and Sweet Thang, but either one wasn't part of the original album itself.

Eh

not my cup of tea

Not my thing. But I listened

With a name like Shuggie Otis, I expected this album to be more fun. If nothing else, there were some relaxing moments. Favorite Track: "Inspiration Information".

Strawberry Letter 23

Short and sweet, but there's nothing particularly "inspirational" about it.

Very pleasant background music if you want to concentrate on someone or something else. Not offensive but not memorable either.

This is soulful musicianship for sure, but the vocals are reedy and the lyrics schlocky.

Inoffensive and low-key, but ventured into boring way too frequently. Felt like a string of musical ideas that never really evolve or develop, but solid enough on first pass to be palatable

1. Inspiration Information - 6 Lyrically it's completely random but instrumentally it's absolutely brilliant. The guitars and synthesizers give this a very Jimi Hendrix-mixed-with-disco vibe that's surprisingly very enjoyable. Guitar solo in the bridge is simple but fun. 2. Island Letter - 3 Slower track but very stale. The lyrics make it sound like it was a struggle to write something within the rhyming scheme for some of the lines. Instrumentally it's okay but not anything phenomenal and the part without lyrics starting half way through the song is very repetitive and light it could lull you to sleep. 3. Sparkle City - 6 Decent song. Lyrics are fun but that bass guitar is what you come for and it doesn't disappoint. Short bursts of the other instruments help provide a little more character to the track but the bass guitar is what leads it and is the most enjoyable part of the track. The way the vocals slide up and down pitches is really excellent as well. 4. Aht Uh Mi Hed - 8 This is a fun track. Lyrically solid, the sound of the vocals leads the song well but the sound of the intro before those vocals are introduced is awesoem and sets the tone for the entire song. The tone change into the bridge is also very enjoyable as is the introduction of the acoustic guitar at that point. Overall a fun track. 5. Happy House - 5 90s vibe a little bit with this track but it's very quick and the instruments aren't given enough of a freedom to explore the 82 seconds. Lyrically it's okay. Not anything fantastic. 6. Rainy Day - 4 Standard coffee house background music. 7. XL-30 - 3 Mario stage background music at parts, church organ filler at others this is just album filler. Pretty dull track. 8. Pling! - 1 Standard coffee house background music but unlike Rainy Day, not an enjoyable version of it. 9. Not Available - 3 The song builds so well for almost the entire opening minute into what felt like was going to be a fun track with an enjoyable sound. Then it just hard stops and a second later starts with a completely different sound that feels like you've had money snatched out of your hand. Ruined the entire enjoyment in the track practically. Average Rating: 4.33 Adjusted to 5 Point Scale: 2.17 Rounded Down: 2 Stars

Too psychodelic and random for my tastes.

Happy House was excellent, super groovy, but unfortunately everything else fell flat against that track. Enjoyed the instrumental only tracks towards the end more than I did the beginning. Likely won’t revisit.

It was okay

Sparkle City was cool but otherwise not really my thing

J - 2/5 Best Track - "Inspiration Information"

Didn't enjoy this at all really. It starts well but fades into the background quickly

This was fine. Nothing special.

The album starts well and funky but then with further progression loses tension for me. (Rated the original release) 2,5

4/10 - it was fine

Psykadeliskt? Fast liksom instrumentalt. (Halvsov genom hälften av albumet)

Huh, for as influential a record as this is not much is hitting for me. It's impressive being a one-man band and all and his virtuosity (instrumental, less so vocally) is admirable but a lot of musicians are admirable. Have to revisit.

Soundtrack to a Ralph Bakshincartoon porno.

Скучно и неинтересно

I had never heard of this singer. I really liked the more upbeat songs. I was very hopeful after the first song but there was a major dip in the middle of the album.

pretty boring and meandering

It was ok playing in the background.

Sounds okay, but its pretty boring.

Calm music to wake up to. It promises to swing today

I had never heard of this guy before. His music is so adult contemporary, so light it just floats away into nothingness as if it had never even been there. What it's doing on this list, I'll never know.

I feel like a bit of a villain rating this so lowly, but it doesn’t do much for me. It’s a vibey, smooth listen that’ll go down well with company round your house on a weekend. But it reach out of the speakers and grab me. There isn’t a particular element that I lean into and get obsessed with. It’s just totally fine.

Good jazz/rock guitarist.

I respect this album a lot. Dig the sound. Only a handful of memorable tracks, however.

iets te laidback voor mij...

Casi me quedo dormido, y eso que lo escuche parado. A ver, el tema de cierre me gustó, y ya, no hay virtuosismo que me haga apreciar este género. Nota: 2.5

Overpromising and underdelivering ('elevator music') psychedelic soul.

Canción destacada: Aht Uh Mi Hed

Meh, me gustó la primera canción

2.5 — listened on an airplane stressed out and It felt like I kept waiting for it to get to the good part

Mi sono piaciute le strumentali, ma a livello di sound un po’ sempre la stessa roba

It has its moments. Strong finish with 'Destination You!' I would say overall 2.5/5.

Started it out. I just thought it was a disco album couple of different tunes there. Music is definitely of that era.

I respect that this exists, and the influence it provided, but damn this shit was boring.

Är ingen funkare tyvärr :-(

OK I guess? Not sure why it's on the list. Shuggie Otis is a good name for a singer though, and Aht Uh Mi Hed is a good name for a song.

Who the fuck is Shuggie Otis? Never heard of 'im. This album is what I might expect to hear if I was tied up in a hotel lobby for 55 mins and 54 seconds. Background music. Kinda mello jazzy funk fusion. Some tracks too long. Some tracks ironically too short! Some tracks fade out in weird places. Some tracks just a fucking mess. I really needed to be doing something else when this is on because it struggled to hold my attention. Not awful but I can live without it. I know now why I’ve never heard of Shuggie Otis. Not quite bad enough for a 1 though. 1½

Super chill album. Too much so. Forgot it was on. But a second run through got my attention. Groovy.

Not a great one in my opinion. Should not be on the list

nice chill kind of proto-ambient album but i’m not really connecting with it all that much.

Ihan kiva. Vähän liian chill instrumentaaleissa mulle, mutta mukavan kuuloista, sellaista mitä vois soittaa levykaupassa keskipäivällä. Strawberry letter 23 oli megasymppis, herätti huomion, muut biisit ei.

It's a great lazy Sunday morning album but on the whole it's just too long and has too much filler for me. Probably worth a relisten sometime in the future in the hope that I am mistaken.

A little too laid back for me.

This was another artist that I've never heard of previously. I'm not sure what exactly what I was expecting, but it seems pretty straightforward. It's funky and it's soulful, but honestly I didn't find it to be particularly attention-catching. I genuinely struggled to pay attention to this album, it felt like the whole thing was buildup to some crescendo that never actually happened. I appreciate the vibes, I appreciate the musicality and the talent that went into making it, but I just really wanted something more than this album could give. I really found myself bored by this record. It's not bad by any means, there's no objective negative qualities, it just really failed to strike a chord with me. 2*

Listenable and reasonably chilling.

Not my type of music at all, in my opinion a little bit boring.

Oh dear. The massive over-production fails to disguise the lack of actual songs. It's just fluff. Strawberry Letter 23 is the only track with anything approaching a memorable hook or melody.

very long, groovy sound most times. not bad

I just read that he turned down the Rolling Stones, Bowie and Stevie Wonder. Bet he regrets that! I'm sure he's very talented but this does nothing for me.

Hints of something that never really develops into anything

Boring as shit. Could not tell when one song ended and another began.

Je ne connaissais pas , pas vraiment séduit . Un peu fatigant à mon gout

Rating after listening to the album 4 days ago. I don't remember disliking anything, but to be honest I only vaguely remember the album cover and that's it.

Generic soul. I guess it's fine. Not what I would search out. But generally inoffensive. Can't say that is the picture of things I need to listen to before I die though.

Mostly pretty boring

This album was all over the place, it was like they just threw a bunch of demos together and called it an album. The music wasn’t bad, it wasn’t all that great either.

I've never heard of Shuggie Otis before, but this sounds like an interesting album, and it should make for some good Saturday afternoon listening while my kids nap. Well, this album would be more suited for my nap than my kids' naptime. Reading about this album, I was impressed Shuggie's resumé, and the fact that he did so much of the work that went into this album (I love that fact about the first Foo Fighters' album as well. I guess Dave Grohl had more time for quality music when he wasn't busy impregnating women half his age). But while the concept is great, the execution just wasn't that interesting to me. Shuggie clearly knows how to craft good musical arrangements, but musically, this album just didn't go anywhere interesting or unique. I kept waiting to hear something new and exciting, but this album felt like it could have just faded into obscurity amongst all the other soft rock that was being put out in the seventies. Only one song really stood out to me, "Aht Uh Mi Hed," because it was the only song where Shuggie did something unique. I loved the bass and rhythm forward sound, and things were rounded out nicely by some sparse guitar playing, some nice organ sounds, and some really great woodwinds and horns. The atmosphere of this song felt dense and dark, even with the flute and horns. This album wasn't bad, but I found it pretty bland, and it's not the sort of things I'd seek out again.

I read "psychedelic soul" and was expecting a wild trip. What I got was more of a comfortable afternoon nap. The best tracks are 'Inspiration Information' and 'Strawberry Letter 23' - the latter of which was not included in the original release. Oh well.

It started of as a soulful trip with psychedelic vibes, but soon turned into a great occasion for me to practice my napping skills. Nothing is particularly bad - just boring.

can't even recall how it sounds

Not offensive. I'm really not sure what makes it essential listening though. I kinda like it, but I wouldn't tell my friends. There's a lot better from this genre and era, that were more impactful. Was Shuggie ground breaking? Or inspirational? I don't care enough to drive any deeper. Two decent but forgettable stars.

It didn't do much for me. Fine overall, but never really hooked me.

Soul que começa envolvente e acaba ficando arrastado e enfadonho.

Funky, mellow … meandering. Not memorable for me.

STANDOUTS: n/a OVERALL: 2/5

Not really my thing.

Pretty chilled put but not exciting

It was ok at first, but didnt really care for it

Man...this is really depressing to say, but this flirts aggressively with being elevator music. Chill funk is really hard to pull off, and unfortunately it hasn't been pulled off here

It was definitely interesting background music, but definitely not something I’d put on again. 2.4

Not really my kind of music.

I noticed one of the reviews said "its like listening to pink floyd without the drugs". Tbh, i think i need drugs to truly enjoy this. Pretty boring. Not great. Rating 2/5

Not for me. Some people will probably love it and find it ground breaking, I found it dull.

Not for me.

Ugh, I was so disappointed by this. I read his Wikipedia page first and I thought it was going to be funky and soulful. It wasn’t

Pretty poor, sounded like an older version of Jamiroquai, but without any hooks. As the album progressed, it got duller and duller, so I pulled the plug once I got into the bonus tracks.

This album sounds vaguely pleasant, I suppose. The problem was it lacked almost every quality I hope to hear in music. No clever lyrics, no interesting melodies, the album was just generally boring.

I didn’t love this album, or even like it. On the other hand I dudn’t hate it, or even dislike it. This was simply boring. Lite Jazz meets drum machine, it seemed like something I’d hear in a tourist bar on some 2nd tier Caribbean island. 2/5

The music was ok but nothing special. Probably won't ever listen again

Experimental, smooth jazz

This album was boring, even by this list's standards. The second half of the album just dragged on forever, and the first half wasn't very exciting or had much substance at all. Maybe it's an important album? But it's not apparent from listening to it.

Easy to listen to, but ultimately it’s 70s porn music

rainy day

Toch best een beetje een saai jazzy soul album. Je moet het van de drumcomputer en elektrische toetsen hebben lees ik. Vernieuwend toen, schijnt. Dan krijg je namen als 'XL-30' en 'Pling!'. Luister XL-30 en je hoort dat er nog een hele ontwikkeling nodig was op dit gebied. Tot je ineens de hit voorbij hoort komen. Smaakt inderdaad als een gezoete aardbei. Maar zit veel beter in elkaar dan alles wat we hiervoor op dit album hoorden. Ook het volgende nummer 'Sweet Thang' klinkt ok. Wat rustig en jazzy. Dan nog even 'Ice Cold Daydream' doorkomen. En dan een goed uitgewerkt (maar ook weer heel rustig) instrumentaal nummer. Dat met 13 minuten toch wel weer veel te lang duurt. In die tijd duik ik wiki op. Wat blijkt. Die laatste 4 nummers waarvan ik het wel waard vind om wat over te schrijven, zijn juist de bonus nummers, toegevoegd toen er een cd van werd gemaakt. Deze nummers stonden allemaal al op een eerder album uit 1971. Hoe krijgt de 1001 het voor elkaar? Altijd de meest verschrikkelijke debut-albums voorschotelen en dan juist nu kiezen voor de mislukte experimenten boven het staande eerdere werk. Zelf had ik deze artiest helemaal weggelaten denk ik. Als die laatste nummers er eigenlijk niet bij horen, is het toch een harde 2 sterren.

Sounds like music you'd hear in a lift, not terrible but very forgettable

A pretty underwhelming third album by Shuggie Otis. Full of extremely slow psychedelic soul and R&B there was no Inspiration Information to be found anywhere throughout. Truly one to put right to the back of the shelf in my opinion. Best: Inspiration Information Worst: Freedom Flight

It's decent I guess, but much like 90+% of jazz, it shouls be relegated to being just background music and nothing more.

Starts off like some early-mid 90s movie music for a sex scene, then about track 5 swaps to post coital music Average

Started off thinking i was going to like it a lot, but lost interest pretty quickly. Seemed like unfinished at times.

I remember this album cover from somewhere, but can't remember it. Well it's a different genre from rock at least. First song, vibey, expected from funky genre. It's very chill, good background music. There is different sound in each ear, also some instrument in my right ear, and beat is in the left one. It included jazz, so not as bad as I expected. Second song, elevator vibes. This is so slow compared to the last song. He sings in a background vocals way. Main part in the song is the instruments, and paying close attention will make one discover new sounds in each 10 seconds(idk). I like that it's smooth and easy listening. There are different things going on, now it's piano in the left ear and some weird sounds in the left one, while the beat is in the middle. Long outro, but not boring. Third song, oh, it's already ear changing sounds. After two minute intro, the lyrics came in. It's monotonous, but it has a vibe I enjoy. Not as bad if you get it. Fourth song, lyrics are early. The name is weird. Slight diversity between the ears. It's getting to sound similar, but I guess that's the point. Nothing unique. Fifth song, it's a faster. There is weird pause of the best and star-like sound Starting, it was an interlude I think. Sixth song, this has an old jazz vibe. Was quite slow and less interesting, basically no lyrics?! Umm he has a Voice right, should use it. Same with the seventh song, he doesn't sing, it's weird ai sounds. I mean it is something but not I would listen to because I wanted to. 8th song, it started so good what happened. It's like lofi(idk). It's relaxing plus fun, I almost fell asleep. Outro was a littlee different. 9th song started differently, upbeat and stuff. Oh now it's upbeat info the winning minute back 10th song, finally he sings, before that there was different style i think. It's different with the Christmas sounds going now especially. He stopped singing and made me fall asleep again(almost). 11th song, again instrumental, I was rating this 3 starts, now that's a stretch. Just background voices were heard, not Something I wanted. 12th song, it's good, uplifting, and a little interesting. The lyrics are not much, but now it's rocky guitar, didn't expect that from this album. 13th song, 12 minutes?! For a literal elevator music, a good quality one I guess. The progression is fun, it's jazzy vibes now. Guitar is still playing. Obviously some weird noises. Why is this album a must listen I don't get it, I mean it was interesting and stuff, but not that much. Imma quickly say that, it was much worse than I expected, why does he not sing, I mean at least the instrumental could have been better. It came down from 3 to 2 star album, that 2 stars is because of the first few songs that actually had something, at least lyrics. It's chill and I get it, but this kind of songs ask for something, than just making it same and boring.

Made for some pretty good background music, but not much else I'm afraid. 2.5

Blind album and artist. Gives off vibes for sure and mellows me out, but these aren't my vibes and it ain't my flow.

There were a couple good tracks in this, but most of it bored me. I also feel like the tone was inconsistent. Favorite track was not available

It's easy listening, its kind of groovy, its smooth, cool, and has a hint of the 60's abotu it. It also has a hint of 'elevator' musak about it. This isn't really my bag, it's inooffensive and, whilst it does play with soe dissonant harmonies here and there, relatively uneventful.

Smooth & mellow & kinda sat in the background like elevator music.

just not feeling it at all

I'm sure for the right crowd this is great but just didn't hit it off for me. Wouldn't even say I have a best song, it's all just very mediocre (not terrible though).

I felt like every track almost pulled me in, with the feeling that by the end songs would finally be grabbing me enough and I'd be enjoying myself, but then halfway through it felt like the album gave up and became relatively boring instrumentals. Nothing bad, but we went from smooth vocals and neat progressions to what many would consider elevator music, and it left a sour taste in my mouth, even if I did enjoy the intial run of tracks on side A. Perhaps I could turn to enjoy side a enough to bump the score up a bit on this album, but as it stands I just leave feeling a tad ripped off, and not much else.

Not horrible, not great. Slightly tone-deaf, generic funk/R&B. Not sure there are any tracks on here that stand out to me.

Known Before: Standouts: 11. Sweet Thang 4.5

Boring but inoffensive. Soft 2.5

Loose laid back funk with a jazzy feel and a tropical psych vibe. Busy rhythms with drums, bongos and more percussion doing polyrhythmic stuff and a tight bass sound high in the mix linking that to the array of textural instruments: acoustic guitars, flutes, strings and horns and cheesy keyboards. There's odd fill/noodle but no leads/solos really - like pure background jazz bordering elevator music. The singing is a bit tuneless and flat. Pleasant but dull overall, great for the pre-show music at your next coffeeshop poetry open mic. Favorites: sweet thang, Island letter, strawberry 23

Could be background music at a party.

funky

Rollo. Soniditos.

Hier haben die Absoluten Beginner ihren Beat fürs "Liebeslied" her! Das Album ist anfangs noch recht rockig mit Blues- und Funkanleihen. Später wird's dann rein instrumental in eine jazzige Ambientrichtung. Nicht meins.

Those Casio drum loops kill the vibe completely. Padding out the tracklist with 4 songs off his last album is lazy as hell too.

Inoffensive, but not exactly exciting either

Too long

No thanks

kinda boring

Groovy as fuck but kinda forgettable

Strawberry letter 23’s a banger but could live without the reat

Most recognizable song is 'Strawberry Letter 23', which was later made famous with the Brothers Johnson release; this later version was used in two different Tarantino movies.

Glemt allerede

Pleasant, but boring.