Shaggs' Own Thing

Last updated
Shaggs' Own Thing
Shaggs' Own Thing.png
Compilation album by
Released1982
Recorded1975
Genre Pop, rock
Length30:34
Label
Producer Austin Wiggin Jr. (original sessions)
Compiler Terry Adams
The Shaggs chronology
Philosophy of the World
(1969)
Shaggs' Own Thing
(1982)
The Shaggs
(1988)

Shaggs' Own Thing is a 1982 compilation album by the American band the Shaggs, containing unreleased recordings made between 1969 and 1975. In 1988, Shaggs' Own Thing and the Shaggs' first album, Philosophy of the World , were remastered and rereleased by Rounder Records as the compilation The Shaggs.

Contents

History

The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965, at the insistence of their father, Austin Wiggin, who believed that his mother had predicted their rise to fame. In 1969, Austin paid for the Shaggs to record an album, Philosophy of the World , at Fleetwood Studios in Revere, Massachusetts. [1] Though it received no attention on release, during the 1970s it developed a cult following, notable for its lack of technical proficiency, with bizarre melodies and rhythms. [2]

In 1975, Austin took the Shaggs to Fleetwood Studios for another recording session. [3] [1] Though they had become more proficient through hundreds of hours of practice, the engineer wrote: "As the day progressed, I overcame my disappointment and started feeling sorry for this family paying $60 an hour for studio time to record — this?" [1] The recordings went unreleased. [3] Shortly after, Austin died of a heart attack and the Shaggs disbanded. [1]

In 1980, Terry Adams and Tom Ardolino of the American band NRBQ convinced the Shaggs sisters to reissue Philosophy of the World under their record label, Rounder Records. [4] Shaggs' Own Thing, featuring material recorded in the 1975 session, was curated by Adams and Ardolino and released in 1982. [5] In 1988, Philosophy of the World and Shaggs' Own Thing were remastered and rereleased by Rounder Records as the compilation The Shaggs. [6]

Content

Shaggs' Own Thing contains previously unreleased recordings made between 1969 and 1975. It includes contributions from the Shaggs' father Austin Jr., their younger sister Rachel, and their brother Robert. It also includes several covers of popular songs of the early 1970s, in addition to new original songs and a re-recording of "My Pal Foot Foot" from Philosophy of the World. [6]

Reception

Shaggs' Own Thing was noted for greater stylistic variety and a higher level of musicianship compared to Philosophy of the World. [7] The title track is a duet between Austin and his eldest son, Robert. Pitchfork described it as "particularly disturbing" and unintentionally Oedipal, noting that Austin sings of catching another man, his son, "doin' it" with "his girl". [6]

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You're Somethin' Special to Me"Dorothy Wiggin2:03
2."Wheels" (The String-A-Longs cover)
  • Jimmy Torres
  • Richard Stephens
1:18
3."Paper Roses" (Anita Bryant/Marie Osmond cover)3:48
4."Shaggs' Own Thing (Musical Version)"
  • Dorothy Wiggin
2:05
5."Painful Memories"Betty Wiggin3:54
6."Gimme Dat Ding" (The Pipkins cover; recorded live at Fremont Town Hall, Fremont, N.H.)1:18
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."My Cutie"Dorothy Wiggin2:14
8."Yesterday Once More" (the Carpenters cover)3:23
9."My Pal Foot Foot"Dorothy Wiggin3:04
10."I Love" (Tom T. Hall cover)
  • Tom T. Hall
2:18
11."Shaggs' Own Thing (Vocal Version)"
  • Dorothy Wiggin
  • Austin Wiggin Jr.
3:54

Personnel

&

2020 reissue

Related Research Articles

Outsider music is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses. The term was popularized in the 1990s by journalist and WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shaggs</span> American rock band

The Shaggs were an American rock band formed in Fremont, New Hampshire, in 1965. They comprised the sisters Dorothy "Dot" Wiggin, Betty Wiggin, Helen Wiggin (drums) and, later, Rachel Wiggin. Their music has been described as both among the worst of all time and a work of unintentional brilliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NRBQ</span> American rock band

NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re-formed in 1967. The quartet is known for its live performances, containing a high degree of spontaneity and levity, and blending rock, pop, jazz, blues and Tin Pan Alley styles. Its membership comprises the quartet of pianist Adams, bassist Casey McDonough, guitarist Scott Ligon, and drummer John Perrin. Some of the members in the band's long history are singer, writer and bassist Joey Spampinato, guitarists Al Anderson and Johnny Spampinato; drummers Tom Staley and Tom Ardolino; and vocalist Frank Gadler.

Irwin Chusid is a journalist, music historian, radio personality, record producer, and self-described "landmark preservationist". His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history that I know don't belong there and salvage them." Those "things" have included such previously overlooked but now-celebrated icons as composer/bandleader/electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott, Space Age Pop avatar Esquivel, illustrator/fine artist Jim Flora, various outsider musicians, and The Langley Schools Music Project. Chusid calls himself "a connoisseur of marginalia," while admitting he's "a terrible barometer of popular taste."

<i>The Langley Schools Music Project</i> 2001 live album by The Langley Schools Music Project

The Langley Schools Music Project is a collection of recordings of children's choruses singing pop hits by the likes of the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, and David Bowie. Originally recorded in 1976–77, they were found and rereleased 25 years later and became a cult hit and a successful example of outsider music. It was rereleased on vinyl March 9, 2018, by Bar/None Records.

<i>Pinback</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Pinback

Pinback is the debut album by the indie rock band Pinback. There are at least two different versions of the album. The first version was released by Ace Fu Records on October 12, 1999. Another was released that same year in Europe by Cutty Shark Records. In the latter version two new tracks were added and the track ordering was also modified. Both "Versailles" and 'Byzantine" would later appear on the compilation, "Nautical Antiques".

<i>(guitar, vocal)</i> 1976 compilation album by Richard Thompson

(guitar, vocal) is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver (1975).

<i>Bare Trees</i> 1972 studio album by Fleetwood Mac

Bare Trees is the sixth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1972. It was their last album to feature Danny Kirwan, who was fired during the album's supporting tour. The album peaked at number 70 on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 3 June 1972.

"Second Hand News" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham. The song was first performed by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac as the opening track of their 1977 album Rumours.

<i>Philosophy of the World</i> 1969 studio album by the Shaggs

Philosophy of the World is the only studio album by the American band the Shaggs, released in 1969.

<i>Its Our Thing</i> 1969 studio album by The Isley Brothers

It's Our Thing is the sixth album released by The Isley Brothers on their own T-Neck Records imprint in April 1969. Fully emancipated from three and a half years in Motown Records and encouraged by their international success in the United Kingdom, the Isleys composed this album in the style of Sly & the Family Stone/James Brown funk that was dominating the music industry at the time but with their own flair as explained in their smash "It's Your Thing". Other hits off the album though it didn't chart included "I Know Who You Been Socking It To" and "Give the Women What They Want". This album was also the Isleys' first Top 40 record reaching #22 on the pop albums chart. Curiously, despite its importance in the career of the seminal group, this album was not released in CD format until 2008. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set "The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983". Although not featured on the album's cover, It's Our Thing marks the first Isley Brothers album to feature Ernie Isley on bass guitar.

<i>Total Terror</i> 1986 demo album by Front Line Assembly

Total Terror is the second of two self-released cassette tapes by industrial music band Front Line Assembly. At this point, Bill Leeb was the band's only dedicated member, with some help from Rhys Fulber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleetwood Mac discography</span>

The discography of British-American band Fleetwood Mac consists of 18 studio albums, 10 live albums, 23 compilation albums, one extended play and 62 singles. The band also has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

The Mommyheads are an indie pop band who played from around 1987 through 1998, disbanded for a decade, and then reformed in 2008. Starting in New York City as the brainchild of singer Adam Cohen, the band produced a string of quirky and highly inventive releases on various independent labels, most notably Simple Machines. Their music has been compared to XTC and 80s King Crimson. They relocated to San Francisco in 1990. The band signed to Geffen Records in 1997, producing a single album for the label before breaking up in 1998. Jon Pareles from the NY Times wrote that their Geffen LP had "perfectly balanced melodies". They reunited to record a new CD in 2008 and have been active ever since.

<i>The Best of Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac</i> 2002 greatest hits album by Fleetwood Mac

The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a compilation album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac released in November 2002 and focusing on the Peter Green years. The album serves as a digitally remastered replacement for the band's Greatest Hits, with the remastering and cover art taken from the 1999 box set The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967–1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neutral Milk Hotel discography</span>

The discography of Neutral Milk Hotel, a Ruston, Louisiana-based indie rock group, consists of two studio albums, two singles, two extended plays, two compilation albums, and three demos.

Jesse Krakow is an American musician, bassist, producer, and composer based in New York City.

<i>Early Live Recordings</i> Compilation live album by Ariel Pink

Early Live Recordings is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter and musician Ariel Pink. It was released on December 17, 2013, through Human Ear Music record label. The album features Pink's early live recordings in the late 1990s and early 2000s under the aliases "Gorilla" and "Appleasians".

The Dot Wiggin Band is an American band fronted by Dot Wiggin of the 1960s outsider music band the Shaggs. They released their debut album, Ready! Get! Go! in 2013 on Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles.

<i>Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham</i> 2018 greatest hits album by Lindsey Buckingham

Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham is a compilation album released by American musician and former Fleetwood Mac vocalist-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, released on October 5, 2018. The album draws from all six of Buckingham's studio records, spanning from 1981's Law and Order to 2011's Seeds We Sow. "Hunger" and "Ride This Road" were previously unreleased songs recorded in 2012. The most recent addition of the set is "Sleeping Around the Corner", from the 2017 duet album Lindsey Buckingham Christine McVie. Alternate editions of the set include an abridged single-disc version and a deluxe six-LP deluxe vinyl set.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Orlean, Susan (1999-09-22). "Meet the Shaggs". The New Yorker . Condé Nast . Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  2. Zoladz, Lindsay (2013-09-06). "The philosophy of the Shaggs". Pitchfork . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  3. 1 2 Chusid
  4. Sullivan, James (15 July 2020). "Even if their album was the all-time worst, the Shaggs still have plenty of fans". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  5. Bachner, Susan. "Shaggs' Own Thing review". AllMusic .
  6. 1 2 3 Moore, David (23 August 2004). "The Shaggs: The Shaggs". Pitchfork . Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  7. Bachner, Susan. "Shaggs' Own Thing review". AllMusic .

References