The Troggs - Night Of The Long Grass (1970)

Reg Presley and Ronnie Bond were childhood friends, and in the early 1960's formed an R&B band in their home town of Andover. In 1964, drummer Bond and singer Presley were joined by Pete Staples on bass and Chris Britton on guitar, and shortened their band's name from The Troglodytes to The Troggs. They were signed by The Kinks' manager Larry Page, and recorded on Page's Page One Records, although Page leased them to CBS for the debut single 'Lost Girl'. Their most famous hit was with 1966's 'Wild Thing', which was written by Chip Taylor, and with the help of television exposure on 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' it reached number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the United States. They also had a number of other hits, including another Chip Taylor song 'With A Girl Like You', and Reg Presley originals 'I Can't Control Myself', and 'Love Is All Around'. By 1968 the band's popularity had completely waned, and the following year Pete Staples was replaced by former Plastic Penny bassist Tony Murray. In 1974, after a spell on Pye Records, the band attempted to re-create their 60's successes by re-signing with Larry Page's Penny Farthing Records, but their cover version of the Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations' failed to chart. After a couple of albums on the French label New Rose in the 1980's, the band recorded the 'Athens Andover' album in 1991, which was an 11-song collaboration between themselves and three members of R.E.M., recorded in the American band's hometown of Athens, Georgia. It was released in 1992 to some acclaim, but rather than pursue this new direction they attempted to capitalise on it by recording two new versions of 'Wild Thing', one with with actor Oliver Reed and snooker player Alex Higgins which failed to chart, and another with Wolf from the TV show 'Gladiators', which reached number 69 in the UK Singles Chart. It was a rather undignified end to the career of a band who had pioneered British R&B, and who recorded one of the most influential songs in music history, and so to remember them at their peak here is a collection of rare singles and b-sides from their most successful period between 1966 and 1970.

Track listing
    
01 The Yella In Me (b-side of 'Lost Girl' 1966)
02 I Can't Control Myself (single 1966)
03 Gonna Make You (b-side of 'I Can't Control Myself')
04 Any Way That You Want Me (single 1966)
05 66-5-4-3-2-1 (b-side of 'Any Way That You Want Me')
06 Give It To Me (single 1967)
07 Night Of The Long Grass (single 1967)
08 Girl In Black (b-side of 'Night Of The Long Grass')
09 Evil Woman (single 1969)
10 That's What You Get Girl (German single 1969)
11 I Don't Know Why (b-side of 'That's What You Get Girl')
12 Easy Loving (single 1970)
13 Lover (single 1970)
14 Come Now (b-side of 'Lover')
15 The Raver (single 1970)