Reintroducing Shuggie Otis

Shuggie Otis: Oxford Gray and Jennie Lee
From: Here Comes Shuggie Otis [Epic, 1970]

Anyone who's been following my meandering posts for a while will know of my utter worship of Shuggie Otis's Inspiration Information album. One of my personal favourite albums of all time, I'm also a big fan of his earlier Freedom Flight album which got an awareness boost when it was featured on the rerelease of Inspiration Information a couple of years ago.

However, what seems more slept on or dismissed as a straight blues album is Shuggie's second (his first was the very bluesy Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis, in 1969) solo release Here Comes Shuggie Otis. Let me warn you now, people who ignore this album are doing themselves a big disfavour.

While less experimental and psychedelic than Freedom Flight and Inspiration Information the album does start to display the individual route that Shuggie would take with his future releases featuring some great funk and moments of genuine beauty, particularly in the first half before Shuggie settles into a more blues orientated structure. The album is also helped by having reliably great production from Shuggie's dad Johnny Otis Jr., highlighting the delicacy of Shuggie's melodies and playing.

Shuggie kicks off the album in fine style with the extended instrumental funk of Oxford Gray, playing with the listener's expectations as the music increases and decreases in tempo, meaty percussion making way for calming strings before the track kicks off once again.

Jennie Lee is a personal favourite of mine, a love song which shares similar qualities of genuine tenderness and beauty with Otis' greatest tracks from his following two albums and once again underlines the amazing talent that he brought to the table. Listen to this and try and remember that the man was only 17 at the time of recording. Amazing.