"Original Album Classics" by SHUGGIE OTIS (2012 Sony/Epic 3CD Mini Box Set Of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Pretty Music I Hear…"

Like most people I came across this superlative American guitarist in a roundabout way - via The Brothers Johnson and their huge Funk/Soul hit of 1977 "Strawberry Letter No. 23" (which Shuggie Otis wrote). That Otis original came off his lesser-seen "Freedom Flight" album from 1971.

This new 2012 mini box set from Sony is the first time that three of his fabulous (and rare) Seventies LPs have been brought together in one place - and at a more than reasonable price too.

It breaks down as follows - released Monday 9 January 2012 in the UK and Europe (17 January 2012 in the USA) - "Original Album Classics" by SHUGGIE OTIS is a 3CD mini box set on Sony/Epic 88691901782 (Barcode 886919017823) and contains the following three albums in single 5" card repro sleeves:

"Here Comes Shuggie Otis" - released February 1970 on Epic Records BN 26511 in the USA and April 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 63996 (36:21 minutes)

1. Oxford Gray

2. Jennie Lee

3. Bootie Cooler

4. Knowing (That You Want Him)

5. Funky Thithee

6. Shuggie's Boogie

7. Hurricane

8. Gospel Groove

9. Baby, I Needed You

"Freedom Flight" - released September 1971 in the USA on Epic Records E 30752 [produced by Johnny Otis - it had no UK release] (38:30 minutes)

1. Ice Cold Daydream

2. Strawberry Letter 23

3. Sweet Thang

4. Me And My Woman

5. Someone Always Singing

6. Purple

7. Freedom Flight

"Inspiration Information" - released March 1975 in the USA on Epic Records KE 33059 [it had no UK release] (32:27 minutes)

1. Inspiration / Information

2. Island Letter

3. Sparkle City

4. Aht Uh Mi Hed

5. Happy House

6. Rainy Day

7. XL-30

8. Pling!

9. Not Available

It doesn't say who remastered these albums or where, but the sound quality is wonderful (probably the 2001 versions). The debut is a little hissy in places as are the beat boxes used as percussion on the 3rd LP "Inspiration Information" (sounds like the back beat used on the Timmy Thomas classic "Why Can't We Live Together"), but other than that it all sounds so much better than other releases I have of the same material. The bass in particular is so sweet and by the time you get to the improved production qualities of the second and third LPs - the audio quality is great. And as with all of these "Original Classic Albums" 3/5 CD mini box sets, the lyrics and recording details are downloadable from Sony's website [...]

The music - releasing his US debut album in late 1969 at only 17 years of age - "Kooper Session - Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" made everyone sit up and take notice (see separate review). His follow up debut 'solo' album "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" (which is the first disc to be featured here) is the stuff of legend - the very definition of 'lost classic' and 'cool album you must hear before you die'. It opens with two different types of instrumental - "Oxford Gray" is very Sixties Fleetwood Mac with a clavinet thrown in while the fantastic soulful organ shuffle of "Bootie Cooler" regularly brings customers to our counter asking after the 'cool' tune that's playing. Then it changes again into Mamas & Papas sixties pop with "Knowing (That You Want Him)". Then another fantastically cool and funky instrumental - the not-so-subtly titled "Funky Thithee" which shows his great guitar chops against the backdrop of a chugging beat. He name-checks his blues heroes at the beginning of "Shuggie's Blues" as he just plays around - it then goes into an organ-shuffle and boogie - great stuff. The slow blues of "Gospel Groove" is another that brings the punters up to ask - who the Hell is this! It ends with Albert King type tracks "Baby, I Needed You" and "The Hawks". Listed at £35 for an original copy of the British vinyl (if you can find one) - you can hear why this gem is so sought after. The LP actually troubled the US album charts for 2 weeks in March 1970 at a lowly placing of 199.

His 2nd solo LP "Freedom Flight" is the one that will interest Soul Boys who like their Blues and Rock with a slightly trippy even spacey feel. It has only 7 tracks because its title song is a 13-minute instrumental that sounds like Jazz meets Blues meets Mellow meets Santana - it's 'so' good. "Purple" is a very B.B. King number, while it gets a little Stax funky with the superb "Sweet Thang" which opens the album. "Me And My Woman" is a Gene Barge song once covered by Albert King - and of course there's the brilliant "Strawberry Letter 23" (lyrics above) that still sounds effortlessly cool to this day. In fact "Freedom Flight" was a huge leap forward from the first album and featured high-profile guests included Jazz fusionist George Duke, the drummer Aynsley Dunbar, his dad Johnny Otis and Wilton Felder of The Crusaders.

His 3rd solo LP "Inspiration Information" saw him take a leap into a Jazz/Soul unknown - and is beloved by rare groove aficionados everywhere (it's name-checked by Prince as a fave). It opens with the jaunty title track that sounds so catchy. "Sparkle City" uses a simple guitar flick as its basis for about half of its duration - it's a little Boz Scaggs meets the Average White Band - while "Happy House" is Todd Rundgren circa "Something/Anything?" with its spacey feel and layered vocals. The beautiful instrumental "Rainy Day" features a slow drum shuffle and strings - it sounds like some cool film outtake. It ends on "Not Available" - another superb guitar instrumental. Bluntly it's easy to hear why this album was reissued in 2001 on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and why it still turns up on reissue vinyl all the time in the West End of London - its just so bloody good and chockers with usable funky acid-jazz tunes.

Niggles - as I mentioned above - his first LP was "Kooper Session..." on Epic and combining that with the rare "Cuttin' Up" album by The Johnny Otis Show (which featured Shuggie) - this could have been a gobsmacking 5CD mini box set, but that would probably have been cost prohibitive. Other than that - like the dinky 3CD Fleetwood Mac box in this series - this is a peach of a release and finally makes music available to the masses that should be heard by the same.

To sum up - part Blues, part Soul, Rock, Acid House and Soulful - Shuggie Otis' music has always been hard to pigeonhole and all the better for it. It's even rumoured he has a long-awaited new album due this year (2012).  So - if you haven't heard his catalogue before, I urge you to take on a chance on this. It's a genuine voyage of discovery - especially if you like your Blues, R'n'B and Soul poison with a slightly spacey tint.

Fabarooney people. And even though it's only early January 2012 - this is already a 'reissue of the year' for me.

PS: see also separate reviews for two other CDs worth checking out - "Kooper Session: Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" and "Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues"...

"Shuggie’s Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues" [aka "Roots N' Blues" from 1994] by SHUGGIE OTIS (March 2009 SPV/Blue Label 'Expanded Edition' CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...We Had A Cooking Little Band...We Had A Lot Of Fun..."

Like most people I came across this superlative guitar player in a roundabout kind of a way – via The Brothers Johnson and their huge Funk/Soul hit of 1977 "Strawberry Letter No. 23" (which Otis wrote). I remember looking at the A&M Records label credit at the time on the BJ album and wondering - who the hell is the funky-sounding Shuggie Otis?

And while this mid-priced UK reissue doesn’t feature Shuggie’s 1971 original of "Strawberry Letter No. 23" (it’s on his 1971 "Freedom Flight" LP – see my review for the "Original Album Classics" 3CD Mini Box Set) – don't let that put you off for a nanosecond. "Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues" is a truly stunning CD compilation of his rare and desirable funky blues output in the early Seventies - a proper big daddy bargain at twice the price. There’s a lot to wade through - so let’s get to the jammy details…

UK released March 2009 - "Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues" by SHUGGIE OTIS on SPV Records/Blue Label SPV 306422 CD (Barcode 693723064222) is a reissue CD of a 1994 USA Columbia "Roots N' Blues" compilation. It uses the same front-cover artwork and name (though this time it’s in a card digipak rather than a jewel case) - but has had its original quota of 12-tracks bumped up by 2 - meaning that Tracks 13 and 14 here are Bonuses on this 'Extended Edition' reissue. It breaks down as follows (65:16 minutes)

1. 12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues

2. Shuggie's Boogie

3. Gospel Groove

4. The Hawks

5. Me And My Woman

6. I Can Stand To See You Die

7. I Got The Walkin' Blues

8. Purple

9. Cold Shot

10. Sweet Thang

11. Bootie Cooler

12. Shuggie's Old Time Slide Boogie

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Shuggie's Shuffle

14. Oxford Gray

Tracks 1, 12 and 13 are from the AL KOOPER LP "Kooper Session – Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" released January 1970 in the USA on Columbia Records CS 9951 and in the UK on CBS Records S 63797

Tracks 2, 3, 4, 11 and 14 are from Shuggie Otis' debut solo album "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" released February 1970 on Columbia BN 26511 in the USA and in the UK on CBS Records S 63996

Tracks 6 and 7 are from the JOHNNY OTIS LP (credited as The Johnny Otis Show) "Cuttin' Up" released 1970 in the USA on Epic Records BN 26524. "I Can Stand To See You Die" features Shuggie Otis on Guitar, Bass, Harmonica, Organ and Piano with SUGARCANE HARRIS on solo Lead Vocals. "I Got Walkin' Blues" has the same instrumentation but features duet vocals between Johnny Otis and Sugarcane Harris.

Tracks 5, 8 and 10 are from Shuggie’s 2nd solo LP "Freedom Flight" released September 1971 in the USA on Epic Records KE 30572 [produced by Johnny Otis]

Track 9 is an October 1970 recording featuring Johnny & Shuggie Otis and had remained unreleased until the 1994 "Roots N' Blues" CD compilation

Originally mastered for Columbia by Roger Lomax at Ro-Lo Studios in the USA, the sound quality is uniformly excellent and at times 'so' sweet. But it’s the material that blows you away. His debut "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" is the very definition of lost classic and 'cool album' you must hear before you die.

Musically it’s a little instrumental B.B. King ("Purple") meets trippy Albert King on Stax ("Sweet Thang") meets the straight-up blues workout ("12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues") – it’s hugely impressive stuff and strangely diverse too. The fantastic soulful organ shuffle of "Bootie Cooler" – an instrumental I regularly put on a 70’s Fest CD - always brings customers to the counter asking after the 'cool' tune that’s playing. The false 78" crackle put on "Shuggie’s Old Time Slide Boogie" by Al Kooper in 1970 now sounds a tad gimmicky (even if the old-time National Steel blues guitar feel of the track is great), but it’s quickly sorted out by the organ-guitar driven "Shuggie’s Shuffle" – great stuff.

His 'talking about his influences and past' song "Shuggie's Boogie" (lyrics above) features him name-checking every great Blues player and then imitating their licks for about two minutes before the band kicks in. The track sung by Sugarcane Harris “I Can Stand To See You Die” and the unreleased instrumental cover of “Cold Shot” are more indicative of the Fifties/Sixties Rhythm'n'Blues stuff he would play with his Dad in the mid to late Seventies. Those tracks were issued by Johnny Otis on his own US label and featured huge R'n'B and Blues stars of old (that period is covered extensively on another superb CD called "In Session" from 2002 on the Goldenlane label). "Gospel Groove" sounds like Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac on a churchy tip – a slow-paced Blues groove with organ – 'so' good. And we should make special mention of Otis' incredibly accomplished guitar playing throughout which completely belied his 20 to 21 year’s old age when it was all recorded.

"Shuggie’s Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays The Blues" is the kind of superlative little reissue that might pass you by – don’t let it. It’s a genuine voyage of discovery for lovers of Seventies Blues – especially those who like their particular poison with a slightly soulful tint. 

Recommended like a preacher feeling the groove on a Sunday morning...