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Shaggs, The - Shagg's Own Thing [YELLOW/MAROON SWIRL vinyl] – New LP
Shaggs, The - Shagg's Own Thing [YELLOW/MAROON SWIRL vinyl] – New LP
Light In The Attic Records

Shaggs, The - Shagg's Own Thing [YELLOW/MAROON SWIRL vinyl] – New LP

$ 29.00 $ 0.00


2020 issue. 

Quirky and charming garage pop, sounding like the 1960s and early 1970s, and clearly influential to the decades that followed, sounding like it must have influenced so many quirky indie pop outfits of the past 50 years, or influenced the bands that influenced other bands that weren't even aware of the Shaggs.  When they go into spoken word on "Painful Memories," the Shangri-Las influence comes through, but mostly this is their own thing, recalling those obscure vinyl treasures you find at thrift stores, these recordings apparently recorded in 1969 - 1973 circa, includes a version of the Carpenters 1973 "Yesterday Once More."   

  • Bass – Rachel Wiggin
  • Drums – Helen Wiggin
  • Guitar, Vocals – Betty Wiggin, Dot Wiggin*


(NotE: The version of "Wipe Out" is only on the CD)  

When 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 Philosophy in 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 Shaggs’ Own Thing – a beguiling follow-up that reveals a more developed and mature sound while still retaining all of their homespun uniqueness.

“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 Shaggs’ Own Thing in 1982. It’s a “natural, organic extension” of the utterly original sound that The Shaggs had created, intentionally or not, with Philosophy Of The World, as John DeAngelis writes in the new liner notes. While Dot Wiggins originals like “You’re Somethin’ Special To Me” and “My Cutie,” and covers of classic songs like “Yesterday Once More” reveal a maturity not displayed on the debut, the two versions of “Shaggs’ Own Thing” and the revisiting of “My Pal Foot Foot” show that The Shaggs lost none of their pure and honest charm over the years.

Remastered from the original tapes with liner notes by John DeAngelis, this reissue includes the bonus track “Love at First Sight,” first issued on the 1988 Red Rooster/Rounder Shaggs CD and appears on LP for the first time, plus three additional tracks on CD: “Sweet Maria” and “The Missouri Waltz,” 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 “Wipe Out.” 


released July 17, 2020
In 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, who was convinced they were going to be big.

“The Shaggs are like castaways on their own musical island” – Bonnie Raitt
“The Shaggs convince me that they’re the real thing when they sing” – Jonathan Richman
“They bring my mind to a complete halt” – Carla Bley

When 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 Philosophy in 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 Shaggs’ Own Thing – a beguiling follow-up that reveals a more developed and mature sound while still retaining all of their homespun uniqueness.

“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 Shaggs’ Own Thing in 1982. It’s a “natural, organic extension” of the utterly original sound that The Shaggs had created, intentionally or not, with Philosophy Of The World, as John DeAngelis writes in the new liner notes. While Dot Wiggins originals like “You’re Somethin’ Special To Me” and “My Cutie,” and covers of classic songs like “Yesterday Once More” reveal a maturity not displayed on the debut, the two versions of “Shaggs’ Own Thing” and the revisiting of “My Pal Foot Foot” show that The Shaggs lost none of their pure and honest charm over the years.

Remastered from the original tapes with liner notes by John DeAngelis, this reissue includes the bonus track “Love at First Sight,” first issued on the 1988 Red Rooster/Rounder Shaggs CD and appears on LP for the first time.

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