Inspiration. It's something heartfelt, it comes from the soul. Above all else, it's a gift.
Vision. It's learning to see not only within oneself to find what you're looking for, but also outside oneself as well.
Shuggie Otis truly had the gifts of inspiration & vision down pat, at a time when being visionary was a honor reserved to the select few who knew how to take their music to new heights - Hendrix & Coltrane just to name two prime examples. The young, exuberant prodigy that he was, Otis was about pushing the envelope, defying labels, being his own man as a musical artist. At a time when record companies saw you as an R&B musician, a folk musician, a rock singer, & nothing else, Shuggie used his musical knowhow to tell them otherwise. Following his heart, following his own lead, the man would craft a genuinely expansive masterpiece (& an oft-overlooked one in many circles), Inspiration Information.
Released in 1974, Inspiration Information sounds like a more upbeat, sunnier version of Sly & The Family Stone's 1971 classic of woozy, narcotic bliss, There's A Riot Goin' On, and in certain aspects it is. Almost three years in the making, this album was the culmination of Shuggie's hard work & relentless singleness of purpose, a song cycle which sounded far ahead of its time in more ways than one. It wasn't just soul. Nor was it straight-up rhythm 'n' blues or even funk. Honestly, it was a blurring of the three above genres into something refreshingly beautiful & unique, yet positively genuine in scope. He played virtually all the instruments himself (organ, electric piano, guitar, drums, bass, drum machine), serving as a precursor to like-minded folks such as Prince (who performed primarily all by his lonesome on many of his early releases).
Musicians were his biggest fans, beyond a doubt. Stereolab multi-instrumentalist Tim Gane remarked concerning this album, "...Inspiration Information is almost like a new style of music that could've developed but never did...That's the problem. It never developed past this record." Even to this day, I can agree with Gane; his observations surrounding this record are still right on. In the musical climate of 1974, Inspiration Information sounded too futuristic, too startingly unique for some: the end result of an artist spending too much time to create a masterpiece, whereas the record company wanted a product right then & there (& with that, a speedy return from their investment). Though his masterwork met with indifference & his record label (Epic) dropped him after all was said & done, Otis made music that sounds equally fresh in the present day as much as it did 35 years ago.
What more can be said about Inspiration Information? This is revolutionary, groundbreaking music. As time has shown, this effort foretold other developments which would take place in the realms of popular music: DIY-style recording, post-rock, organic computer music, electronica. Take note that Inspiration Information sounds ahead of its time & it sure sounded like nothing else which was released back in 1974. Trying to place a label on this music, even now, is impossible, much less attempting to find a name for it.
From the herky-jerky rhythms of the title track, the way in which "Island Letter" morphs from a ballad into funky jamming, or how "Aht Uh Mi Hed" (drum machine & all) could be seen as a sunnier counterpart to any track on There's A Riot Goin' On...we've only touched on the album's first side, but the warmth & heartfelt intimacy is there, right down to Shuggie's own soulful vocals.
Side two, which consists of 80% instrumentals, goes to show why Inspiration Information is so fresh & innovative 35 years down the line. Whether it's the jazzy melancholy of "Rainy Day," the proto-techno drum machine showcase "XL-30", the slow ambient jam which is "Pling!" or the angular reggae/funk of "Not Available," Shuggie demonstrated his strengths not solely as a songwriter but also as an arranger, knowing what instrumentation to throw into the mix as well as when & where to put it in, like a painter with his vast assortment of paints, checking which colors to use/which ones could work effectively. Whereas the music of the day was cluttered up, Otis places strong emphasis on giving his instruments space, room to breathe easily, proof that he was in tune with the credo "Less is more."
Inspiration Information took multiple listens for me to wholly embrace, but I love it with a passion, now more than ever. It's not just R & B. Not just soul. Not just funk. To tell you the truth, it's all of the above & so much more, a work of art which defies categorization. And most of all, it's music with inspiration & vision, the two greatest gifts Shuggie Otis was graced with.
Vision. It's learning to see not only within oneself to find what you're looking for, but also outside oneself as well.
Shuggie Otis truly had the gifts of inspiration & vision down pat, at a time when being visionary was a honor reserved to the select few who knew how to take their music to new heights - Hendrix & Coltrane just to name two prime examples. The young, exuberant prodigy that he was, Otis was about pushing the envelope, defying labels, being his own man as a musical artist. At a time when record companies saw you as an R&B musician, a folk musician, a rock singer, & nothing else, Shuggie used his musical knowhow to tell them otherwise. Following his heart, following his own lead, the man would craft a genuinely expansive masterpiece (& an oft-overlooked one in many circles), Inspiration Information.
Released in 1974, Inspiration Information sounds like a more upbeat, sunnier version of Sly & The Family Stone's 1971 classic of woozy, narcotic bliss, There's A Riot Goin' On, and in certain aspects it is. Almost three years in the making, this album was the culmination of Shuggie's hard work & relentless singleness of purpose, a song cycle which sounded far ahead of its time in more ways than one. It wasn't just soul. Nor was it straight-up rhythm 'n' blues or even funk. Honestly, it was a blurring of the three above genres into something refreshingly beautiful & unique, yet positively genuine in scope. He played virtually all the instruments himself (organ, electric piano, guitar, drums, bass, drum machine), serving as a precursor to like-minded folks such as Prince (who performed primarily all by his lonesome on many of his early releases).
Musicians were his biggest fans, beyond a doubt. Stereolab multi-instrumentalist Tim Gane remarked concerning this album, "...Inspiration Information is almost like a new style of music that could've developed but never did...That's the problem. It never developed past this record." Even to this day, I can agree with Gane; his observations surrounding this record are still right on. In the musical climate of 1974, Inspiration Information sounded too futuristic, too startingly unique for some: the end result of an artist spending too much time to create a masterpiece, whereas the record company wanted a product right then & there (& with that, a speedy return from their investment). Though his masterwork met with indifference & his record label (Epic) dropped him after all was said & done, Otis made music that sounds equally fresh in the present day as much as it did 35 years ago.
What more can be said about Inspiration Information? This is revolutionary, groundbreaking music. As time has shown, this effort foretold other developments which would take place in the realms of popular music: DIY-style recording, post-rock, organic computer music, electronica. Take note that Inspiration Information sounds ahead of its time & it sure sounded like nothing else which was released back in 1974. Trying to place a label on this music, even now, is impossible, much less attempting to find a name for it.
From the herky-jerky rhythms of the title track, the way in which "Island Letter" morphs from a ballad into funky jamming, or how "Aht Uh Mi Hed" (drum machine & all) could be seen as a sunnier counterpart to any track on There's A Riot Goin' On...we've only touched on the album's first side, but the warmth & heartfelt intimacy is there, right down to Shuggie's own soulful vocals.
Side two, which consists of 80% instrumentals, goes to show why Inspiration Information is so fresh & innovative 35 years down the line. Whether it's the jazzy melancholy of "Rainy Day," the proto-techno drum machine showcase "XL-30", the slow ambient jam which is "Pling!" or the angular reggae/funk of "Not Available," Shuggie demonstrated his strengths not solely as a songwriter but also as an arranger, knowing what instrumentation to throw into the mix as well as when & where to put it in, like a painter with his vast assortment of paints, checking which colors to use/which ones could work effectively. Whereas the music of the day was cluttered up, Otis places strong emphasis on giving his instruments space, room to breathe easily, proof that he was in tune with the credo "Less is more."
Inspiration Information took multiple listens for me to wholly embrace, but I love it with a passion, now more than ever. It's not just R & B. Not just soul. Not just funk. To tell you the truth, it's all of the above & so much more, a work of art which defies categorization. And most of all, it's music with inspiration & vision, the two greatest gifts Shuggie Otis was graced with.
No comments:
Post a Comment