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From the Vault...
12/21/2014
#1443 |
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info
The Shaggs
"Philosophy Of The World"
© RCA Victor Records
Year of Release: 1999
Rating:
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track listing
Philosophy Of The World
That Little Sports Car
Who Are Parents
My Pal Foot Foot
My Companion
I'm So Happy
When You're Near
Things I Wonder
Sweet Thing
It's Halloween
Why Do I Feel
What Should I Do
We Have A Savior
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The Shaggs
"Philosophy Of The World"
This is one of those bands, where as you listen, you're saying, "ok, I really want to start a band, but I don't know how to play or even sing. Can
I/We get away with it.." Was this the case of the Wiggin Sisters, that would become The Shaggs? The songs that would be released on this CD as Philosophy
Of The World were originally recorded in 1969. Somehow, I believe the Wiggin Sisters would create not only something that would be considered "awful"
to many, but it would be something created very special and magical. There is a word for this: Cult. The Shaggs would become a cult following, in a
positive state, for those who would experience this particular band.
I discovered The Shaggs, back in the early 1980s, when Chicago radio DJs Steve Dahl and Garry Meier played The Shaggs song, "It's Halloween."
Now this would make sense: A "strange" song such as this would easily fit the Halloween season. As I was a huge fan of another radio DJ favorite,
Dr. Demento, I do believe it was him that played another Shaggs track, "My Pal Foot Foot" on his programs. And I'm sure Steve & Garry played this
one too.
Despite how "awful" all of the songs were, there was something magical about it. Maybe they were ahead of their time, but there wasn't any "band"
that would just record whatever seemed "fit." I think the drummer (Helen Wiggin) and guitarists (Dorothy ["Dot]" and Betty Wiggin) just went ahead and
played whatever came naturally. The vocalist (Dorothy Wiggin) wasn't really singing either, but they all told stories, if you just tried to stretch your
ears to listen and try to understand what was being sung.
The liner notes says it all:
The Shaggs are real, pure, unaffected by outside influences. Their music is different, it is theirs alone. They believe in it, live it, It
is part of them and they are a part of it. Of all contemporary acts in the world today, perhaps only the Shaggs do what others would like to do, and that
is perform only what they believe in, what they feel, not what others think the Shaggs should feel.
The Shaggs love you, and love to perform for you. You may love their music or you may not, but whatever you feel, at last you know you can listen to
artists who are real. They will not change their music or style to meet the whims of a frustrated world. You should appreciate this because you know
they are pure what more can you ask?
Betty, Helen and Dorothy Wiggin are the Shaggs. They are sisters and members of a large family where mutual respect and love for each other is an
unbelievable high. They study and practice together, encouraged and helped by those around them. Betty, Helen and Dorothy live in a small town in New
Hampshire, in an atmosphere which has encouraged them to develop their music unaffected by outside influences. They are happy people and love what they are
doing. They do it because they love it.Liner notes as they appeared on first release of Philosophy of the World
The Shaggs are a touchstone of unpretentiousness. Their music is earnest, 100% authentic, and refreshingly guileless. It is not a product of major label
fetishism, or self-conscious indie-rock trendiness. Philosophy of the World has earned the Wiggin sisters a reputation as the legendary -- if
unwitting -- Godmothers of Outsider Music. Hacked-at chords, missed downbeats, out-of-socket transitions, blown accents, and accidental convergences abound.
And yet -- it all works! The Shaggs' innocent, lost-chord explorations prompt a reconsideration of the realtionship between ability, technique, and
originality.
The Shaggs were three sisters from the remote, culturally dis-connected backwater of Fremont, NH. Dorothy, Helen and Betty Wiggin, encouraged by their
father, Austin Wiggin Jr., formed a band featuring two guitars and drums. In 1969, they recorded Philosophy of the World, a monument of "aboriginal
rock" released on the fly-by-night Third World label.
Frank Zappa, in a 1970s Playboy poll, named Philosophy... his third all-time favorite album -- at a time when no one had heard of it.
When the band NRBQ reissued Philosophy... on LP in 1980, their keyboardist Terry Adams (who co-produced this CD reissue) compared the Shaggs to early
Ornette Coleman; their music "has its own structure, its own inner logic," he attested. Byron Coley, in New York Rocker, detected the Shaggs "a new
rock & roll language, using the sophistication of Appalachian folk music and Dot Wiggin's brand of teen angst as ground zero."
The Shaggs originally formed around 1967, with the three eldest sisters. A younger sister, Rachel, later played bass onstage. Dot now lives in Epping,
NH. In a 1998 interview, she talked about the album's creation. "Our father's big dream was to make the record, have us be popular, and eventually go on
tour," she explained. At the time, Austin worked full-time at the Exeter Cotton Mill, a nearby textile factory. The family was dirt-poor -- except in
the dream department. Austin bought the girls their instruments, and paid for their lessons. "He was something of a disiplinarian," Dot concedes. "He
was stubborn and temperamental. He directed. We obeyed. Or did our best." The name "Shaggs," devised by their father, referred to both shaggy dogs
and the then-popular shag haircut.
The girls' familiarity with pop music consisted entirely of what they heard on the radio; they never attended an actual concert. "Our father didn't
believe in them," Dot explained. "Not for us to go to, anyway." Their biggest influences were Herman's Hermits, Ricky Nelson, and the Monkees.
In March, 1969, Austin booked time at Fleetwood Studios, in Revere, MA. As Austin later reportedly boasted to the recording engineer, he wanted to
"get my girls while they're hot!" The sisters piled in a van with mom, dad and brother Robert, and drove a few hours south. Dot wasn't certain they were
good enough yet to record. No matter. "Dad was paying for it," she sighed.
When the girls had recorded a dozen titles, all written by Dot, a fellow named Charlie Dreyer hooked up with Austin and offered to press and distribute
the record, probably at Austin's expense. It would be released on a label called Third World, whose roster consisted of the Shaggs -- and no one else.
The liner notes were remarkably prescient:
The Shaggs are real, pure, unaffected by outside influences. Their music is different, it is theirs alone. They believe in it, live it, It is part of
them and they are a part of it. Of all contemporary acts in the world today, perhaps only the Shaggs do what others would like to do, and that is perform
only what they believe in, what they feel, not what others think the Shaggs should feel.
The Shaggs love you, and love to perform for you. You may love their music or you may not, but whatever you feel, at last you know you can listen to
artists who are real. They will not change their music or style to meet the whims of a frustrated world.
One thousand copies were manfactured on Third World.
Nine hundred of those records disappeared. And so did Dreyer.
"He left the face of the earth," shrugged Dot. "My father couldn't get in touch with him at all. He tried telephone calls, but no one knew where he
was. I have no idea if he's even alive." Of the 100 remaining copies, some were sent to radio stations. WBCN, a major commercial rock outlet in Boston,
got a copy -- and reportedly played it. But Dot says there were "no reviews that I know of."
Around the time they recorded Philosophy, the sisters -- expanded to a quartet with Rachel -- began a residency at Fremont Town Hall, regulary
playing a Saturday night dance party. Austin Wiggin died in 1975, after which the group disbanded and his daughters never played together again.
The original Philosophy... was reissued on 12" vinyl in 1980 on Red Rooster/Rounder. A follow-up, Shaggs' Own Thing, was compiled out of
later -- and somewhat more proficient -- recordings. A 1988 Rounder CD coupled both albums, although the Philosophy tracks were remixed and
resequenced, and two previously unreleased tracked were included; the CD did not depict the original album art.
The tributes didn't wane; the 1996 alternative rock compendium, Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-A-Rama, compiled by Scott Schinder for Rolling Stone
Press, contains three references to the Shaggs -- each written by a different journalist, each of which assign Philosophy of the World historical
magnitude. It is third-listed (chronologically) among "The 100 Most Influential Alternative Released of All Time," trailing The MC5's Kick Out the
Jams and Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica; it is #3 among "The Greatest Garage Recordings of the Twentieth Century," rating higher than
albums by Pussy Galore and the Velvet Underground; and it is third-listed (again, chronologically) among "The Fifty Most Significant Indie Records."
Several generations of music lovers and radio programmers have grown up without knowing about the Shaggs. It should be an essential part of their music
education. That an album which escaped public notice upon its release 30 years ago continues to inspire and delight, should give hope to others who may be
ahead of -- or simply, apart from -- their time.IRWIN CHUSID
Truer words: "Godmothers of Outsider Music. Hacked-at chords, missed downbeats, out-of-socket transitions, blown accents, and accidental convergences
abound. And yet -- it all works! The Shaggs' innocent, lost-chord explorations prompt a reconsideration of the realtionship between ability, technique,
and originality." Yes, they truly were different, and unique. The description of hacked-at chords, missed downbeats, etc. really does describe what others
could not even think of words to put together to associate with how the Shaggs' music sounded like.
The Wiggin sisters really had to thank their father, Austin Wiggin, Jr. When he was young, his mother had received a palmreading, which predicted that
"he would marry a strawberry blonde woman, that he would have two sons. After his mother would pass away, his daughters would form a popular music group."
The first two predictions proved accurate. So Mr. Wiggin was on a mission to make the third prediction come true. He took his daughters out from school,
bought them musical instruments, and paid for them to have music and vocal lessons. The Wiggin sisters were on their way to become a music group. Now to
become a "popular" music group? This was the mission. In researching, there were six children. Of the two sons, Robert was mentioned, as he, along with
their sister Rachel, (and even Mr. Wiggin himself) were bandmembers of the Shaggs. Also in researching, Mr. Wiggin was a very controlling person. All
of the Wiggin sisters married, and this was possibly done so that they could get away from their father. One story was told how when sister Helen married,
she never did tell her father. And when she did, he went to find her husband with a shotgun. Local authorities were notified. For more info,
click here
I give this album only 2 stars for the musical sound quality. Yes, it's bad, but then again, it is unique and different. Therefore, 3 stars for its
originality.
Dr. Demento was the person to make the Shaggs more noticed, likewise Frank Zappa (it was Zappa who was a guest on the Doctor's show, as he introduced
the audience to the Shaggs music). Or maybe it was Steve Dahl, for Chicagoans. As someone like myself, who enjoys ALL kinds of music -- whether it
be good or bad -- The Shaggs would get my attention. So it was obvious, as I would always frequent the music stores, looking at possibly every source of
music there was, discovering the fact that there was a CD of the Shaggs' music, it just had to be taken home.
Not everyone is familiar with The Shaggs. But for those who do remember, "It's Halloween" and "My Pal Foot Foot" would probably serve the
memory bells for those in the 1980s, when The Shaggs' music was reissued, and "discovered" or "re-discovered" my those who just happened to encounter their
listening experience.
The Shaggs would be recognized by many in the decades that followed. A tribute album, Better Than The Beatles was released in 2001. In 2003, a
stage musical was developed. In May 2011, a BBC Radio 4 documentary was produced. In the 2012 film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a mix tape was
was part of the film, with music by the Shaggs.
Helen Wiggin died in 2006. She was survived by her two sons. The widow of Austin Wiggin, Jr., Annie Wiggin, died in 2005.
In September 2013, Dot Wiggin would release an album entitled Ready! Get! Go!
on the independent record label Alternative Tentacles, founded by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys. The album, which was released in October 2013,
contained new recordings of previously unrecorded Shaggs songs as well as new songs Wiggin wrote with her band. Her website is
DotWigginBand.com.
Sometimes playing in a "bad" band cand make yourselves "popular." Somewhere, Austin Wiggin is looking down, and admiring that there are music fans
who did appreciate his daughters' unique music and be able to play the Shaggs' music on their playlists. Everything in Mr. Wiggin's mother's palmreading
became true. HIs daughers did form a music group. His daughers were popular; maybe not a household name in the music industry, but to some, yes, they
were popular.
Again, the Shaggs is not for everyone, but listening to them today, it's just a different world of music they were trying to accomplish. Some would
call them a Novelty act, or "hauntingly bad." Others would smile, and say they were "uniquely gifted." They may not get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
but in someone's Hall they are. The Shaggs -- Dorothy, Helen and Betty (and sometimes Rachel) are part of Popular Music. It's just for those who did
remember them, and how they achieved their "popularity" to those who enjoyed them.
© WSVNRadio.net. All rights reserved.
Review or any portion may not be reproduced
without written permission. Cover art is the
intellectual property of
RCA Victor Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
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