Here's a great album that I've admittedly forgotten about for a few years. Fitting, perhaps, as the album was famously neglected upon its release in 1974. When Luaka Bop reissued it in 2001 however, Inspriation Information was all the rage. And rightly so. I remember playing it often on my radio show when it was rereleased.
What's interesting about the album is that it doesn't sound 1974. It could easily have passed for an especially well executed neo soul album. 2001 was after all, the time of D'angelo's sophomore album (pre-flab, pre-arrest), Maxwell's third outing (what has that guy been up to in the last 6 years?) and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun. Especially once given the remaster treatment, Inspiration Information fits directly into this context. This is perhaps a testament to the album's 'lost classic' status. He's got a great voice, and the grooves here are simply delectable. I'll admit that this is the only Shuggie Otis album I've heard, but my recent rediscovery has compelled me to explore the rest of his catalog. If it's all this good, I've been missing out for far too long.
(link expired) This is sans bonus tracks. Buy the cd, ya cheap bastid!
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