{"title":"The Shaggs","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Shaggs were formed in Fremont, New Hampshire in 1965 by sisters Dorothy \"Dot\" Wiggin (vocals\/lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals\/rhythm guitar), and Helen Wiggin (drums) at the encouragement and insistence of their parents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1969, they recorded and released their debut full-length album, Philosophy of the World on Third World Records. They were joined by their sister Rachel Wiggin on bass for the song, \"That Little Sports Car.\" Despite defying their parents' expectations of stardom, The Shaggs disappeared without a trace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1975, the sisters entered the studio again but faced obstacles due to the death of their father\/manager. This resulted in years of being unpublished and eventually led to the group's dissolution. However, years after their break-up, their debut album was rediscovered and celebrated as an example of art brut\/outsider music.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"shaggs-own-thing","title":"Shaggs Own Thing","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen The Shaggs’ Philosophy Of The World came out in 1969, some people couldn’t or wouldn’t understand it. But many musicians, including Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain, cited the Shaggs as a major influence. Heck, Zappa exclaimed they were “better than the Beatles!” NRBQ’s Terry Adams and Keith Spring were such fans, and after reissuing \u003ci\u003ePhilosophy \u003c\/i\u003ein 1980 on their own Red Rooster label, Adams began work on a collection of recordings the Wiggin sisters had made in the years following their debut. The result was \u003ci\u003eShaggs’ Own Thing\u003c\/i\u003e – a beguiling follow-up that reveals a more developed and mature sound while still retaining all of their homespun uniqueness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The songs were better and they were recorded better, so it naturally made a better album,” Dot Wiggin said shortly after the original release of \u003ci\u003eShaggs’ Own Thing\u003c\/i\u003e in 1982. It’s a “natural, organic extension” of the utterly original sound that The Shaggs had created, intentionally or not, with \u003ci\u003ePhilosophy Of The World\u003c\/i\u003e, as John DeAngelis writes in the new liner notes. While Dot Wiggins originals like \u003ci\u003eYou’re Somethin’ Special To Me\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMy Cutie\u003c\/i\u003e, and covers of classic songs like \u003ci\u003eYesterday Once More\u003c\/i\u003e reveal a maturity not displayed on the debut, the two versions of \u003ci\u003eShaggs’ Own Thing\u003c\/i\u003e and the revisiting of \u003ci\u003eMy Pal Foot Foot\u003c\/i\u003e show that The Shaggs lost none of their pure and honest charm over the years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRemastered from the original tapes with liner notes by John DeAngelis, this reissue includes the bonus track \u003ci\u003eLove at First Sight,\u003c\/i\u003e first issued on the 1988 Red Rooster \/ Rounder Shaggs CD and appears on LP for the first time, plus three additional tracks on CD: \u003ci\u003eSweet Maria\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Missouri Waltz,\u003c\/i\u003e first released by Light In The Attic as a limited-edition Record Store Day 45 in 2016, and the previously unreleased cover of the classic surf instrumental \u003ci\u003eWipe Out.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Light in the Attic","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50426615038283,"sku":"1095559","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Red | LP","offer_id":50426615431499,"sku":"1098671","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50426614645067,"sku":"1095558","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/6b82d08c-0026-4f02-9fc2-3b43cd1a037e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726814471"},{"product_id":"philosophy-of-the-world","title":"Philosophy Of The World","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1968, three sisters from Fremont, New Hampshire strapped on their instruments and declared themselves The Shaggs. At that moment begun a peculiar tale that would last far beyond the group’s five-year run. Dot, Betty and Helen (and occasionally Rachel, the fourth sister) played in the group on the insistence of their father, Austin Wiggin Jr., who was convinced they were going to be big. Years earlier, Austin’s mother gave him a palm reading, predicting that her son would marry a strawberry blonde woman, that he would have two sons after his mother died, and that his daughters would form a popular music outfit. The first two became reality, so Austin was certain the third would follow suit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith pure confidence and his mother’s bold prediction, Austin decided that his daughters would forgo attending the local high school in favor of home schooling interspersed with a strict regiment of instrumental and vocal practice, along with jumping jacks and sit-ups. Soon after The Shaggs would enter Fleetwood Recording studios in Revere, Massachusetts to record their sole album, \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy Of The World\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection of garage rock tunes that balanced charm and discordance in equal measure. Austin would spend most of his savings not only on the session but also on the manufacturing costs to press up 1,000 copies of the album (900 of which mysteriously vanished upon completion).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy Of The World\u003c\/em\u003e… simple truths are revealed through the pen of sister Dot, the songwriter of the band. The rich people want what the poor people got, just as the poor people want what the rich people got. Your parents love you. There is happiness in nearness and sadness in the farness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album failed to fulfill Austin’s expectations of rock stardom, though the group remained together until their father’s death, performing frequently at the Fremont town hall and a local nursing home, no further albums were released. That might have been the end of it, until rock band NRBQ discovered a copy at a Massachusetts radio station and re-released it in 1980. Rolling Stone’s reviewer at the time described it as the most stunningly awful wonderful record I’ve heard in ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNearly 50 years later, the album ranks among the most polarizing LPs of all time. Some said it was the worst thing ever made. Others felt it was one of the great long players of the 20th century. Frank Zappa famously dubbed the band better than The Beatles, while Kurt Cobain placed the album at #5 on his list of Top 50 favourite albums. Original copies of the album fetch for $10,000.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDecades later and one could argue that maybe Austin was right all along. We’re all here, still enthralled by the purity of The Shaggs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Light in the Attic","offers":[{"title":"LP - Yellow Smoke","offer_id":56818789318987,"sku":"R5568-2177","price":43.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/LITA15112.jpg?v=1773759615"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_daa5038a_thumbnail_4096_0c2001b6-0e12-4612-9dca-bbc279f000df.jpg?v=1726814429","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/the-shaggs.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}