Shuggie Otis
Inspiration Information / Wings of Love (Epic/Legacy)
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., Oct. 4, 2013
Shuggie Otis
Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love (Epic/Legacy)Best known for writing "Strawberry Letter 23," a hit for the Brothers Johnson in 1977, the reclusive Shuggie Otis surprised everyone with this 2-CD set: his final studio album, 1974's Inspiration Information expanded with four bonus tracks, plus Wings of Love, a planned follow-up featuring 14 tracks recorded between 1975 and 2000. Inspiration Information has been reissued before, and fans of blues great Johnny Otis' guitarist son might be familiar with its trippy brand of psychedelic rock and soul, sampled by OutKast, Beyonce, Digable Planets, and others. Wings of Love's first new music from Otis since the Seventies offers a time capsule of sound rivaling anything Prince has come up with at his most eccentric. The title track is an interstellar guitar epic, while "Fireball of Love" conjures Stevie Wonder backed by Jeff Beck. Aural adventurers, the mothership has landed. (7:30pm, Zilker Tent stage)
