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The
Shaggs
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Philosophy
Of The World
Third Word Records (Third
World 3001) - 1969
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
I make three categories
for the records I own.
The good ones, the bad
ones and… The Shaggs.
After all those years I
still don’t know
what to think about it. I
even came to doubt about
the story that goes along
with this album and
sometimes believe it’s
a hoax. It has been
supposedly recorded in
1969 by three sisters (Dorothy,
Betty and Helen Wiggins)
and produced by their
father. The first
surprise comes with the
cover. What is this? Are
they men with wigs? But
wait until the needle
hits the groove or
whatever you call it in
those digital times. The
Wiggins sisters can’t
play to save their live!
They don’t even know
how to tune their
instruments and the
drummer can’t keep a
steady beat for more than
2 bars. They seem to play
three different songs in
the same time in a parody
of the worst free jazz
you could ever hear. And
the lyrics are simply
dumb, but you don’t
even care about them
because their voices are
simply unbearable! But
somehow this record is
fascinating. Maybe it’s
their will to play
despite all this
handicaps, the testimony
of a father’s love
or something you can’t
put in words. It’s
so naïve you come to
think it’s
calculated. Finally, more
than music, you have the
feeling to own of piece
of conceptual art coming
straight from Fremont,
NH, or something like
that. Later Frank Zappa
would admit that “Philosophy
Of The World” is one
of his favourite records,
which is, after all,
logical. It’s the
kind of platter you
hardly play but you want
to own.
Fred "Virgil"
Turgis
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