Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
by Shuggie Otis
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. AllMusic
    Apr 15, 2013
    70
    That quarter-century span should be a tip-off that this is not a lean, coherent, purposeful album, but rather a collection of every listenable thing Otis completed over the course of 25 years, and in that sense, it's pretty good.
  2. American Songwriter
    Apr 17, 2013
    70
    A few highlights such as the soaring, dramatic title track are spread over an expansive 70 minute playing time. But there isn’t much you’ll revel in as timeless art criminally neglected to the dustbins of R&B obscurity.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2013
    89
    Aural adventurers, the mothership has landed.
  5. Blurt Magazine
    May 6, 2013
    80
    As exhibit A in a case made that Shuggie Otis is an overlooked talent, Inspiration Information + Wings of Love present powerful evidence.
  6. Consequence
    May 10, 2013
    70
    Thanks to the commercial success of the new class of R&B singers like The Weeknd and Frank Ocean, Otis’ sultry R&B has found a market in 2013.
  7. Mojo
    Apr 15, 2013
    80
    It cannot have been a paucity of good songs, strong playing or contemporary production values that was the problem, the 13 hitherto unheard tracks on Wings of Love stunningly illustrate. [May 2013, p.102]
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  8. Pitchfork
    Apr 16, 2013
    88
    If it doesn’t quite show the knack for experimentation and variety hinted at via Inspiration, Wings is a quietly amazing document of Otis’ doggged determination over the quarter century between leaving the business and the first Inspiration reissue.
  9. PopMatters
    Apr 19, 2013
    100
    Newcomers are strongly advised to absorb and understand Inspiration Information (and the two albums that preceded it) before passing judgment on the new stuff. That said, for anyone fearing the worst, they exceed any reasonable expectations.
  10. Q Magazine
    May 13, 2013
    80
    His originality peaked in '74, but for groovy, tuneful pizazz, Wings Of Love takes it even higher. [Jun 2013, p.115]
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  11. Record Collector
    Jun 4, 2013
    80
    Inevitably, it’s a time capsule, rather than a new album proper, though the best moments make you wonder what might have been.
  12. Rolling Stone
    May 8, 2013
    80
    This reissue pairs his metaphysically funky 1974 masterpiece, Inspiration Information, with a similarly spacey unreleased LP cut between 1975 and 2000 that positions this multi-instrumentalist as a missing link between Sly, Jimi, Stevie, Prince and Frank Ocean.
  13. The Independent (UK)
    Apr 15, 2013
    100
    Inspiration Information [is] repackaged with an extra disc of pieces recorded since then, which show his abilities undiminished by age.
  14. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Apr 15, 2013
    80
    It's close to the best of all music I know.... A second CD of later, unreleased material with some genuine gold among the dross.
  15. The Quietus
    Apr 26, 2013
    90
    Outsider soul from a true original.
  16. Under The Radar
    Apr 15, 2013
    80
    Shuggie devotees will be pleased, and Shuggie neophytes get to dive in deep on their first plunge. [Mar-Apr 2013, p. 104]
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. jimmypowder
    Apr 16, 2013
    10
    No one has the Kahunas to make albums like this anymore with heavy doses of experimental
    funk,soul with multiple instrumental layering .    No one has the Kahunas to make albums like this anymore with heavy doses of experimental
    funk,soul with multiple instrumental layering .

    The best album of the year thus far.    … Full Review »
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