Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

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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.

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!

The Troggs are rock 'n' roll immortals on the strength of one song, namely their only #1 hit single, "Wild Thing." This is, of course, the three-chord song that Jimi Hendrix was playing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival when he set his guitar on fire and what the Cleveland Indians play every thing "Wild Thing" Vaughn comes in to the game to pitch in "Major Leagues." With the Troggs we are talking proto-punk, and the only problem with "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best ofthe Troggs" is that we only have 11 total tracks here, which is barely enough to give you a taste of what the group really sounded like once you got beyond their signature song.

The problem with the Troggs is that once you get past "Wild Thing" most people will be hard pressed to name another song the group recorded and the best offerings here are certainly not similar to "Wild Thing" in sound. "Love Is All Around" is their second best song, the only other Troggs tune to crack the Top 5 in the U.S.A., and it is a flower power ballad, which is as far from caveman rock as you can get. "With a Girl Like You" and "I Can't Control Myself," are the best songs on the next tier, and the common denominator is that all three of these songs were written by lead singer and guitarist Reg Presley (Chip Taylor wrote "Wild Thing," originally recorded by a New York group called The Wild Ones). So the big irony with the Troggs is that their signature song is the musical exception to the group's sound. However, there is a commonality in terms of their lyrics, where Presley often manages to introduce an element of lust in the equation.

The Troggs were formed in Andover, England, and were always much more successful on that side of the Pond (the group rarely toured in the U.S.). However, by the 1970s they were on their way out, mainly because they were keeping things relatively simple at a time that progressive rock was sweeping the English music scene. This hits collection does give you a taste of what else they did, and although it is is missing their covers of "Good Vibrations" and R.E.M.'s "Nowhere Road" from the later years it does have "Night of the Long Grass," which makes this collection slightly better than their other main hits collection.

This is a good collection for beginners, but I wish it had more. I would buy a 6-Disc Troggs box set and probably enjoy every second of it. Of course, they're best known for "Wild Thing", but they had so much more to offer. Some of my favorites include "From Home", "With A Girl Like You", "I Can Only Give You Everything", "I Can't Control Myself", and "Too Much Of A Good Thing". It's nearly impossible to find anything but "Greatest Hits" collections from these guys. Even the original albums on vinyl are tough to find. Luckily I have a friend who used to own a record store that has tons of this type of stuff, but I'd love to own the real thing. I guess I'll have to hold out hope that Rhino or somebody like that reissues some of their albums. This CD, though, is a great deal for anyone just getting a taste of The Troggs, one of the best and most overlooked bands of the 60's.

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.

i have always had fond memories of this group and recently, while surfing, saw this item at a great price so i could not resist.

i have purchased many items from the: [20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection] and have been happy with all.

Truly awful. If you listen carefully, you realize that these guys knew exactly four chords and used them faithfully. Actually, that is remarkable in itself, in a way.

Bought this in a fit of nostalgia. As Peter DeVries said, "Nostalgia ain't what it used to be." And this proves it.

Buy something new. You'll play this once, and never again. It is a CD that is bound for Goodwill, since it's probable no one would buy it at the yard sale.

First off the Troggs are just another one of those little british invasion bands that had one hit single than another one and bassicly broke up. the only good song on here is wild thing but the tributes are better than the original song itself. Than all these bands pretended to be psychedellic and pretend to be an activist(song love is all around) trying too make a flower power song. IT dosent work. The troggs are just not that good of a band just download wild thing and be done with the troggs.
Cheap chintsy band...

the troggs arent that good of a band they only have really 2 good songs wild thing really only good song. dont buy troggs just download it off limewire really im not spendin 10 freiken bucks on it barely good dont buy not good download them off limewire please dont buy the troggs download of limewire for them!