Perfect Troggs Collection
Max R. Tomlinson | San Francisco, Ca United States | 04/05/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although they never reached the status of many of their peers, The Troggs were (and still are) one of the UK's great 60s pop groups-'pop' being the operative word. Their repertoire might have been limited, their playing might have been a little-uh-basic at times and god knows they did wear those tacky striped suits. More than a few of their numbers were definitely on the pop-cheesy side. But 'Wild Thing'-with it's classic ocarina solo? The Troggs are redeemed. This collection contains that garage classic and many others, some in glorious mono and sounding great, all done with gusto, taken from the original French EPs: With A Girl Like You (better than Wild Thing in my book: terrific 3-chord power pop with Reg Presley's nasal ba-ba-bas adding a cool vocal signature they would use on other songs), I Can't Control Myself (more lustful teen lyrics-another Troggs trademark), Night Of The Long Grass (surprisingly tough guitar riff with even MORE lustful teen lyrics), Give It To Me, Girl in Black (a little known rocker any retro band would give their left nut to write) and more. One or two numbers even showcase the boys' working class humor, such as the hard-to-find 'Yella In Me'. Skip past the lame, emasculated, over-produced pop crap on this disc (there's a few but it won't be hard to tell which ones they are) and secretly enjoy the syrupy 'Love Is All Around' with it's classic 1967 ultra-commercial summer-of-love sound and turn up the volume on the many straight-ahead, determined pop-rockers that gave this band their longevity despite their narrow pop image."
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1