Music / Freedom Flight

Hello, my love, I heard a kiss from you

I'd like to be your friend
Always find you in the crowd
There's always someone singing
Where only whispering is allowed

- "Someone's Always Singing"

Freedom Flight is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Shuggie Otis.

After playing for his father's band and releasing his debut record a year prior, Otis had become increasingly infatuated with the sounds of contemporaries such as Love, Sly and the Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix. He would record most of Freedom Flight by himself playing guitar, bass, organ, drums and other instruments with production once again handled by his father, legendary R&B producer, Johnny Otis.

Released in 1971, it was noted for its psychedelic soul sound, it blurred the lines between psychedelic jamming, orchestral pop, funked-out blues, and included Shuggie's biggest hit in the form of "Strawberry Letter 23", which would become a platinum hit for the Brothers Johnson.

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Ice Cold Daydream" (2:27)
2. "Strawberry Letter 23" (3:57)
3. "Sweet Thang" (4:05)
4. "Me and My Woman" (4:15)
5. "Someone's Always Singing" (3:22)

Side B

1. "Purple" (7:05)
2. "Freedom Flight" (12:48)

---

Me and my tropes, we don't get along

• Album Title Drop: On "Strawberry Letter 23":
  Stained window, yellow candy screen
  See speakers of kite
  With velvet roses diggin' freedom flight
• But Now I Must Go: The subject of "Somebody's Always Singing":
  Now if I wanna fly away
  Or if I wanna stay
  I just wanna be myself
  And live from day to day
  So go on and sing your song
  We'll meet another time
  I'll remember your song
  So please remember mine
• Break Up Song: "Ice Cold Daydream" is this combined with Nightmare Sequence as the singer has a bad team in which his lover sumps him out of the blue:
  You say that I'm a boy and we should part
  So you can go and make a brand new start
  You laughed at me and then I almost cried
  You hurt my heart so bad I had to hide

  My mind's at ease now that I know you're on my side
  That ice-cold daydream took me for an ugly ride
• Chorus-Only Song / Title-Only Chorus: "Sweet Thang"
• Covered Up: Although "Strawberry Letter 23" was a minor hit for Shuggie, it would be an even bigger one for the Brothers Johnson and later Tevin Campbell. Both versions becoming much better known than Shuggie's original.
• Epic Rocking: Confined to Side B, which is comprised of two jam pieces which each go over six minutes.
• Instrumentals: "Purple" and "Freedom Flight"
• Longest Song Goes Last: "Freedom Flight" is the album's final track and the longest at twelve minutes and forty-eight seconds.
• The Masochism Tango: "Me and My Woman"
• Sequel Song: Subverted. Although a name like "Strawberry Letter 23" implies 22 other love songs prior to it. It is instead the number of letters Shuggie and his lover have transmitted with each other. The song itself, being the 23rd.
• Silly Love Songs: "Strawberry Letter 23", which was written for his girlfriend at the time.
• Title Track: "Freedom Flight", again

---