The Shaggs are the kind of band that you hear about only if they have an interesting life story. In the case of Dot and Betty, the Wiggins sisters, it's having a father who was a sweet variation of the Jackson family's dad. Like Mr. Jackson, Austin Wiggins encouraged his kids to get into the business. He rushed them into making a record, and had visions of a sweet financial payoff from their "hot" sound. There was also some very strict parenting and a heavy evangelical thing going on, but these sides almost distort the payoff you get when hearing the Shaggs. Listen to the fractured, Oriental-sounding pop on the Shaggs' Philosophy of the World, and it's simply beautiful to imagine the father going gaga over it. Blinded by parental love and a Homer Simpson-like lack of common sense, he saw his girls as "better than the Beatles". While it was Frank Zappa, not Austin, who was actually quoted as saying such, it's Austin who sincerely seemed to believe it, and whose passion for his daughters' talents makes this tribute possible. His exuberance and faith in their songs adds an important layer of additional pleasure to otherwise primitive, not-too-keen-about-learning-more-than-one-chord pop that has been done just as well by many of the bands that came after the Shaggs.

This tribute album is special because the covers from Ida, Optiganally Yours, R. Stevie Moore and practically every other band here -- especially the Plastic Mastery -- make an argument that Dot Wiggins is more than just a lead guitarist and songwriter with an interesting story; she also wrotefantastic pop songs. They object to my contention that, without their biography, the Shaggs are no more special than any other garage bands, or any of the hundreds of bands who send CD-Rs to Splendid every year. In fact, after violinist Ida Pearle's finest moment yet, during the first minute of Ida's cover of "Philosophy of the World", you'll wonder whether the Kronos Quartet should have also become involved. The Shaggs were so lyrically direct ("The rich people want what the poor people got / And the poor people want what the rich people got") and attuned to their own rhythmic pulses that any group -- punk, choral group, polka act, or ska act -- can take the honesty at the core of each Shaggs song, and fit it within their individual aims.

These mostly excellent covers also reinforce Terry Adams' claim that Shaggs songs were like early Ornette Coleman, with their "own inner logic". The way they pronounce "Cutie" ("see-you-tee") seems a perversely difficult slice of pointlessness that only makes rhymes harder, but there's a magic to it that Mongrell's "My Cutie" update leaves intact. Mostly, their "inner logic" creates a new sort of "logic" for the artists involved; R. Stevie Moore, who's written thousands of his own, brilliant songs, must not have exhausted the possibilities of pop, since he and the Olsiewicz-Chusid Ensemble sound completely new under the Shaggs' crazy spell. He has now something for the lo-fi, avant-garde carnival scenesters.

While the bands paying tribute on Better than the Beatles share much of the Shaggs' lack of fame, they do not share their lack of playing ability. By favoring more competent musicians, the tribute does not further separate the Shaggs' work from the mainstream, but opens up possibilities for artists like Of Montreal and even Elvis Costello to dig into. As for the individual covers, the only one I'm sore with is from the Bettie Serveert spinoff band, Bauer. This otherwise recommended Dutch duo makes "We Have a Savior" super-ironic in ways that the Shaggs original does not convey. Musically, it's undeniably improved, but their wink-wink attitude when dealing with faith is three winks in the wrong direction. The Shaggs sang the song like they meant it, because they did mean it, and it makes me wish that the compilers had let Jetenderpaul take a crack at the song instead.

I own the Shaggs' Philosophy Of the World (RCA rerelease), but missed out when Rhino released The Shaggs' Own Thing. Contrary to the words of a writer on one of their unofficial fan sites, I'd frankly love to hear it, as the covers of their more recent material give "Shaggs' Own Thing" a whiff of "Monster Mash" in its beat, and "Painful Memories/Wheels" a smattering of grade-A Pavement. It leads me to think that the Shaggs became quite a stellar rock band, worthy of interest with or without their history or legendary status, and I'd like to acquaint myself with that version of them. I never had previously sought out the later, less "historically essential" recordings because, until this tribute, I can't say I cared much about the group. The tribute, however, has made me reevaluate not only the Shaggs' Philosophy, but all the primitive, thrown-from-horseback submissions that Splendid receives. When they come without nary a word about the artist, or the band's history, I will make one up, give them an intriguing father figure like Austin, and see if there's a way to make the group sound as special as this tribute CD makes the Shaggs appear.