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Toby Keith
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Wood Brothers
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Shuggie Otis
Well, it only took the world about thirty years to come around and listen to Shuggie, so don’t expect to fall in love with this CD on first listen. Otis is the son of pioneer rock-and-roll artist Johnny Otis (c’mon, you remember "Willie and the Hand Jive," don’t you?), and he was a multi-instrumentalist songwriting talent who usually recorded most of his own parts.
The CD has an early 70’s homemade quality about it that might cause you to dismiss this prematurely, but hang with it, and you’ll be glad you did. To my ears, Otis’ songs sound like a cross between early Prince and even earlier Neville Brothers. They are self-indulgent in a typical mid-70’s way, but the arrangements reveal themselves in ways that you might miss if you aren’t an astute listener.
Inspiration Information is more reflective than funky, but it also contains Otis’ original version of his "Strawberry Letter 23," so let that provide a key and you’ll wonder why this guy was a secret for the past three decades.
Grade: 
 
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