Shuggie Otis
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
Epic
Producer: Shuggie Otis
Score: 9 out of 10
A child prodigy who cut his teeth playing for his pops, R&B impresario Johnnie Otis, Shuggie soon moved on to a Super Session with Al Kooper, laid down some sticky bass on Zappa’s “Peaches en Regalia,” and was tapped by Billy Preston to be a candidate for a pre-Ronnie Wood Rolling Stones. But Shuggie Otis insisted on being his own artist––and the result is some of the most creative psychedelic soul ever recorded. The first disc features his out of print (except for a short Luaka Bop run in 2001) third album, the last he recorded for Epic. Ironically, 40 years later they’re the ones reissuing it. The second disc is like his version of the Who’s Odds and Sods, consisting of unreleased songs he has collected from 1975 to 2001. – Daniel Siwek
