After a year which brought their biggest achievement and their biggest heartache, The Woggles have proven they are truly built to last. Following the completion of their incredible album Ragged But Right, the band tragically lost their guitarist and dear friend George Montague Hilton III. In a move to press on, they recruited longtime producer Jeff Walls (formerly of Hillbilly Frankenstein) to take over the guitar duties. This EP is the first effort for the band since "The Flesh Hammer" took over.
It might seem to be playing it safe by releasing an EP of covers, but The Woggles always know it's better to take a risk and do things differently. Here we have two sides in contrast, one "rock" and the other "soul," featuring covers of Spirit's I Got A Line On You and the Animals' It's My Life on side one, with Sam & Dave's Soul Sister, Brown Sugar and Bobby Marchan/Wayne Cochran's Get Down With It rounding out side two.
The rock side kicks in with the Spirit cover, and they burn it up in full garage-rock mode, with Mr. Walls sharing the vocal duties. It's sloppy, unpolished, and downright beautiful. It's My Life is a little tighter and truer to the original, although that down-n-dirty garage feel is still more than present.
Side two is where the true risk is taken. How many white rock bands have the nerve to cover Sam & Dave? Especially a true soul clapper like Soul Sister/Brown Sugar? Needless to say, it doesn't quite live up to the original version, but they make one fine attempt, and we won't hold it against them. The boys get credit for trying the impossible. Get Down With It fares much better, as it stomps and stammers with soulful bliss, giving the song more than enough edge to blow out the speakers at full volume. By far, this is the best cut on the single.
Need I say more? As this is another limited edition platter from these guys, you'd best head on over and reserve your copy today. Don't say I didn't warn ya.
