Search - Troggs :: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

British Invasion beyond the two U.S. hits

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 03/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Troggs may be familiar for their garage rock anthem, "Wild Thing," and their post-Summer-of-love 1968 flower-power hit "Love is All Around," but there is more to be heard in between - something that Oldies radio's tight playlists doesn't reveal to modern-day listeners.Mercury's eleven track collection provides several of the missing pieces, starting with the band's five UK-only chart hits. These include the stellar "With a Girl Like You," the Chip Taylor penned "Any Way That You Want Me," and the superb bubblegum-pop "Give it to Me." Also included are the Louie Louie styled rocker "I Want You" and the original ballads "Little Girl" and "You Can Cry if You Want To."Though they never achieved the fame of contemporaries like The Kinks, The Troggs certainly had more to offer than a pair of hits would lead you to believe. This collection takes in the obvious highpoints, which is probably enough for those just wanting to get beyond the shorthand of Oldies radio. All tracks in gloriously punchy AM-ready mono!"

British garage rock

Stephen Cabral | New England | 08/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Troggs were a British garage rock back that also had its fair share of bubblegum tunes and ballads. Of course, they're best known for their garage rock anthem "Wild Thing" which knocked Tommy James' "Hanky Panky" off the top of the Billboard Top 40 chart. It was written by an American, Chip Taylor who also had a huge hit with "Angel of the Morning."



The Troggs also had one other huge hit, the ballad "Love Is All Around" which peaked at #2. I've heard this song a million times but I never realized it was them. The rest of this 11 song collection is a mixed bag with the strongest cuts being the very catchy "With A Girl Like You", "I Want You" which sounds like "Wild Thing" meets "Louie Louie" and "I Can't Control Myself". This song was banned on many American radio stations as being too orgasmic. You mustn't ever be too orgasmic.

"

All Four North American Charters Are Here

Brian E. Harmon | 11/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Troggs, who started out in the U.K. in 1964 as The Troglodytes, were easily one of the most unusual groups among the many that made up the British Invasion and, in terms of commercial sales in this part of the world, one of the least least successful. The quartet from Andover, England consisted of lead singer Reg Ball (who changed his name to Reg Presley), guitarist Chris Britton, bassist Pete Staples, and drummer Ronnie "Bond" Bullis, who passed away at age 51 on November 13, 1992.



They are, essentially, remembered for one song, Wild Thing which, written by American Chip Taylor (who, perhaps incongruously, also wrote Angel Of Te Morning), was first released in the U.K. in the spring of 1966 by Fontana where it went to # 2 b/w From Home. That summer, With A Girl Like You became their second U.K. hit when it went all the way to # 1 b/w I Want You. In North America, however, it was decided to combine the two A-sides for the Atco release (it was also released here by Fontana as well), and here Wild Thing became a # 1 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in July while the flip reached # 29.



That fall, I Can't Control Myself did well in the U.K., reaching # 2 for the Page One label, but over here the best it could do was a # 43 b/w Gonna Make You Mine. And that would be it in North America for well over a year, although Any Way That You Want Me would become a # 8 in the U.K. b/w 6-5-4-3-2-1 in December, followed in 1967 by Give It To Me (# 12 b/w You're Lyin' in February), Night Of The Long Grass (# 17 b/w Girl In Black in May), Hi Hi Hazel (# 42 b/w As I Ride By in July), and Love Is All Around (# 5 b/w When Will The Rain Come in October).



While none of the first three were released in North America, that last was issued on the Fontana label here early in 1968, and it climbed to # 7 Hot 100 in March/April. But that would be it for good over here as the music was changing drastically and they simply could not keep pace. It was much the same in the U.K. where their last hit also appeared in early 1968 with Little Girl reaching # 37 b/w Maybe The Madman.



But for Reg Presley their brief success (they would go on releasing singles and albums in the U.K. with no chart success into the 1970's) had garnered him sufficient funds with which to pursue his real passion - investigating crop circles and UFO's! In fact, several years ago he published a book titled Wild Things They Don't Tell Us.



This release warrants 4 stars simply because all four of their North American hits are here (it would have been assigned 5 by me had they included those two missing B-sides), and, in addition to the excellent sound reproduction, you get three pages of background notes written by noted music writer/historian Bill DeYoung."