« Back to Top Level | Various Artists

Various Artists - Nuggets II - Original Artyfacts From The British Empire & Beyond 1964-1969 (1969)

Track listing:
Volume 1
  1. Making Time The Creation 2:58
  2. Father's Name Was Dad Fire 2:29
  3. I Can Hear The Grass Grow The Move 3:07
  4. My Friend Jack The Smoke 3:01
  5. My White Bicycle Tomorrow 3:16
  6. I'll Keep Holding On The Action 3:39
  7. When The Night Falls The Eyes 2:33
  8. Sorry The Easybeats 2:35
  9. Imposters Of Life's Magazine The Idle Race 2:19
  10. How Is The Air Up There? The La De Das 2:37
  11. Mud In Your Eye Les Fleur De Lys 3:03
  12. Everything (That's Mine) The Motions 2:03
  13. Garden Of My Mind The Mickey Finn 2:34
  14. Take A Heart The Sorrows 3:16
  15. The Life I Live Q'65 3:20
  16. Midnight To Six Man The Pretty Things 2:20
  17. I See The Rain The Marmalade 3:48
  18. The First Cut Is The Deepest The Koobas 3:06
  19. You Stole My Love The Mockingbirds 2:41
  20. 125 The Haunted 2:32
  21. My Mind's Eye The Small Faces 2:03
  22. Going Nowhere Los Bravos 2:20
  23. All Night Stand The Thoughts 2:05
  24. War Or Hands Of Time The Masters Apprentices 2:51
  25. It's A Sin To Go Away We All Together 3:50
  26. A Dream For Julie Kaleidoscope 2:47
  27. I Read You LIke An Open Book The Tages 2:38
Volume 2
  1. Children Of The Sun The Misunderstood 2:52
  2. Save My Soul Wimple Witch 3:06
  3. Desdemona John's Children 2:27
  4. I Can Only Give You Everything Van Morrison 2:42
  5. Lost Girl The Troggs 2:33
  6. I Must Be Mad The Craig 2:47
  7. Say Those Magic Words The Birds 3:15
  8. Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad Caleb 3:16
  9. Daddy Buy Me A Girl Golden Earrings 2:41
  10. Exit Stage Right Ronnie Burns 2:30
  11. Gone Is The Sad Man Timebox 3:46
  12. I'm Rowed Out The Eyes 2:57
  13. You've Got A Habit Of Leaving Davy Jones 2:29
  14. Reflections Of Charles Brown Rupert's People 4:19
  15. Words Enough To Tell You The Mascots 1:58
  16. That's The Way It's Got To Be The Poets 2:36
  17. 14 Hour Technicolor Dream The Syn 2:54
  18. Walking Through My Dreams The Pretty Things 3:38
  19. You Said The Primitives 2:19
  20. This Life Of Mine The Lost Souls 2:43
  21. Shadows & Reflections The Action 2:52
  22. Friday On My Mind The Easybeats 2:52
  23. In The Land Of The Few Love Sculpture 3:57
  24. For Another Man The Motions 1:49
  25. Fire Brigade The Move 2:24
  26. Gaby The Boots 2:32
  27. Biff! Bang! Pow! The Creation 2:26
Volume 3
  1. Your Body Not Your Soul Cuby & The Blizzards 2:18
  2. Cathy, Come Home The Twilights 2:01
  3. Circles Les Fleur De Lys 3:03
  4. Get Down From The Tree The Matadors 3:30
  5. Cry In The Night Q'65 2:16
  6. Changing The Colors Of Life Los Chijuas 3:00
  7. Social End Product The Bluestars 2:33
  8. Crawdaddy Simone The Syndicats 3:16
  9. Don't You Remember? The Sound Magics 2:14
  10. It's My Pride The Guess Who 2:47
  11. Magic Potion The Open Mind 3:34
  12. You're Driving Me Insane The Missing Links 2:57
  13. Who Dat? The Jury 2:17
  14. A Midsummer's Night Scene John's Children 2:35
  15. Listen To The Sky Sands 3:46
  16. How To Find A Lover The Mockingbirds 1:56
  17. Days Of The Broken Arrows The Idle Race 3:49
  18. By My Side The Elois 2:17
  19. Path Through The Forest The Factory 3:58
  20. Love Hate Revenge Episode Six 2:55
  21. Pictures Of Matchstick Men The Status Quo 3:11
  22. The Train To Disaster The Voice 2:49
  23. Sad The (Australian) Playboys 2:55
  24. Slaves Time The Slaves 2:22
  25. You Can Be My Baby The Red Squares 2:18
  26. I Wish I Was Five Scrugg 3:19
  27. Glendora The Downliners Sect 2:44
Volume 4
  1. Rosalyn The Pretty Things 2:21
  2. Come On The Atlantics 2:55
  3. The Madman Running Through The Fields Dantalian's Chariot 4:11
  4. How Does It Feel To Feel The Creation 3:08
  5. I'm Just A Mops The Mops 2:58
  6. Why Don't You Smile Now The Downliners Sect 2:08
  7. Nothin' The Ugly Ducklings 2:27
  8. Break It All Los Shakers 2:22
  9. The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane Timon 2:20
  10. Touch The Outsiders 3:13
  11. Vacuum Cleaner Tintern Abbey 3:06
  12. My Life Thor's Hammer 2:20
  13. Bad Little Woman The Wheels 2:50
  14. No Presents For Me Pandamonium 2:52
  15. Bat Macumba Os Mutantes 3:08
  16. Real Crazy Apartment Winston's Fumbs 2:52
  17. No More Now The Smoke (NZ) 2:12
  18. No Good Without You The Birds 2:40
  19. Kicks And Chicks The Zipps 3:14
  20. Dance Around The Maypole The Acid Gallery 2:41
  21. Get Yourself Home The Fairies 2:28
  22. I'm Your Witchdoctor The Chants R&B 2:04
  23. But You'll Never Do It Babe The Boots 2:32
  24. One Third The Majority 2:17
  25. Flight From Ashiya Kaleidoscope 2:40
  26. Here Come The Nice The Small Faces 2:58
  27. It's My Fault The Rattles 2:08
  28. When The Alarm Clock Rings Blossom Toes 2:16

Notes


All those who enjoy music richer in energy and daring than intelligence and maturity should add Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond (1964-1969) to their music collection--where it should sit right next to the series' first volume. The lyrics to songs such as "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" and "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" won't unlock life's mysteries, but the reckless abandon with which these songs were written and played will remind anyone how it feels to be young and angst-ridden. A few of the selections, including "Pictures of Matchstick Men," achieved some commercial success upon release; some were covered by bands more recent or lasting than the mostly one-hit wonders who performed the originals; others are so simple they sound like a lot of rock songs; and a number include a distinctive sound or effect other rockers felt compelled to steal. Plenty of songs, though, will be new to all but the most dedicated collectors, and the fact that the best of these didn't make the charts when they were originally released confirms that timing is indeed everything. A final note: While the music in this collection is certainly worth the price, the beautiful liner notes--all 100 pages worth--offer a treasure-trove of information, great graphics, and lots of yuks. --Steve Halloran

Nuggets, Lenny Kaye's original 1972 compilation of garage and psych, loomed large in the record collectors consciousness, canonizing a portion of rock that was originally laughed off while setting the standard for reissues. Rhino's 1998 box set of the same name expanded the scope of that record, replicating most of the original while gloriously spilling forth over three additional discs — and, in doing so, it spurred a minor revolution, becoming one of the most talked-about reissues of the last half of the '90s. Rhino knew there was an audience thirsting for a sequel, and they gave them one in 2001, but they didn't take the easy way out. Instead of offering another round of American garage rockers, they decided to take the road less traveled, compiling four discs of hidden treasures from non-American garage and psych bands. Most of these cuts are from British bands, but there are also selections from a pre-fame Guess Who, the New Zealand act the Smoke, the Brazilian psychedelia of Os Mutantes, the exceptional Merseybeat stylings of Uruguay's Los Shakers, and the extraordinary Peruvian combo We All Together, among other non-Brit acts. It's a brilliant, even necessary, move, since most of these bands and songs have been only heard only by the most dedicated collectors — the kind that are willing to risk money based on just hearing a band mentioned, not to hear the group themselves. Let's face it — apart from the Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men," the Small Faces' "Here Comes the Nice," and the Pretty Things' "Rosalyn," the most familiar song here is the opener, the Creation's "Making Time," simply because it provided the indelible soundtrack to Max Fischer's yearbook in Rushmore. That's four songs out of 109 — a ratio that should simply entice most die-hard rockers and record collectors, especially since the familiar names (the Move, Them, the Easybeats, the Troggs) are represented by songs that aren't heard all that often. So, the big question is, does Nuggets, Vol. 2 deliver and is it worth spending the money for 100-plus songs you've never heard before? Well, if you're even slightly interested in this, the answer is yes. That doesn't mean this isn't without its faults — like any garage rock, if it's listened to in once concentrated burst, it becomes a little samey, which is also a by-product of its biggest flaw, namely how the compilers favor songs that sound like American garage and downplaying the delirious, precious frutiness of British psych. Still, that's a minor complaint, because the simple fact of the matter is this — there's no better way to fall in love with this music, not just because it does its job so well, it just simply doesn't have any peers. Furthermore, a lot of this stuff is pretty hard to come by (personally, I spent about 150 dollars on a complete Idle Race collection, and it's much better to get their two best songs here). Also, much of the bands here are best heard in this context, since they have a song, maybe three, that were stunners — and all of these stunners in one place is stunning.