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WOGGLES 'Ragged But Right' (CD) 

Ragged But Right, the Woggles´ seventh long-playing release, is a searing testament to indie/punk/ garage power. It comes wrapped in vintage rags, soaked in gasoline, and ignited with the firebrand energy that only honest sweat can create. It's a record that shakes a tambourine in one hand and a clenched fist in the other, with its middle finger extended defiantly at the pre-processed, instantly obsolete, ProTools-enhanced effluvia churned out by the remnants of the corporate music world.

Weight: 100.00 g

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In an era during which few new bands last past a second album, and Americans elect their so-called Idol on the basis of one warbled song per night, the Woggles have lasted more than 10 years as a garage band. Since Teendanceparty first set them in motion back in 1993, they've toured the globe relentlessly, pounding out furious sets night after night for appreciative audiences in Europe, Asia and the States.

Their newest release contains 15 powerful, road-tested original tunes that make up, in the opinion of Little Steven, guitarist of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, the best new album of the year. Recorded inside a former hot-rod detailing shop near Chapel Hill, N.C., Ragged But Right was produced by Guadalcanal Diary's Jeff "Flesh Hammer" Walls, with studio engineering by Rick Miller, the leader of Southern Culture on the Skids. These two guitar-gurus' love of aggressive six-string sounds is gloriously evident from the mighty opening snarl of George "Montague" Holton's overdriven axe, heralding the rousing call-to-arms of "People Come On." As soon as frontman Manfred "The Professor" Jones lets loose a feverish shout of "All right!" amid a tornado of Mysterians-style organ chords, the listener is instantly swept away atop fiery, sing-along choruses.

What follows is perhaps the most beautiful (and possibly the most commercial) song the Woggles have ever recorded. "Collector of Broken Hearts" is a graceful exercise in Byrdsian 12-string jangle adorned with fabulous harmonies, a rare solo composition by Woggles bassist Patrick "Buzz Hagstrom" O'Connor, whose album-closing "Night Crawls" is a bluesy rocker that wouldn't seem out of place on an early platter by the Small Faces, Creation, or the Who. O'Connor also co-wrote "Red Light, Green Light," a stop-start scorcher powered by his own colorful bass runs, which builds to a climax powerful enough to launch a space shuttle.

Other highlights include the screaming pedal-to-the-metal guitar workout of "Johnny Come Lately" and a sitar-flavored excursion into exotica called "Seventh Veil." Drummer Dan "Electro" Hall contributes four exceptional solo compositions, most notably "Walking My Dog," with its classic R&B Coasters-meet-Sam-and-Dave feel. Hall also co-wrote the disc's titanic title track, on which stomping, militaristic beats summon the marching cadence of a battle-tested Green Beret squad.

 
 

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