VA - Nuggets II (Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969)

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.

VOL.1 

1. "Makin' Time" (The Creation) - 2:58

   2. "Father's Name Was Dad" (The 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" (Idle Race) - 2:19

  10. "How Is the Air Up There?" (The La De Das) 2:37

  11. "Mud in Your Eye" (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 [Album Version]" (The Haunted) - 2:32

  21. "My Mind's Eye" (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

VOL.2

1. "Children of the Sun" (The Misunderstood) - 2:52

   2. "Save My Soul" (Wimple Winch) - 3:06

   3. "Desdemona" (John's Children) - 2:27

   4. "I Can Only Give You Everything" (Them, Van Morrison) - 2:42

   5. "Lost Girl" (The Troggs) - 2:33

   6. "I Must Be Mad" (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 Earring) - 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, The Lower Third) - 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 Technicolour 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 and 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

VOL.3

 1. "Your Body Not Your Soul" (Cuby & the Blizzards) - 2:18

   2. "Cathy, Come Home" (The Twilights) - 2:01

   3. "Circles (Instant Party)" (Fleur De Lys) - 3:03

   4. "Get Down from the Tree [Album Version]" (The Matadors) - 3:30

   5. "Cry in the Night" (Q Sixty Five) - 2:16

   6. "Changing the Colors of Life" (The 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" (The Sands) - 3:46

  16. "How to Find a Lover" (The Mockingbirds) - 1:56

  17. "Days of the Broken Arrows" (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" (Status Quo) - 3:11

  22. "The Train to Disaster" (The Voice) - 2:49

  23. "Sad" (The Playboys) - 2:55

  24. "Slaves Time" (The Slaves) - 2:22

  25. "You Can Be My Baby [Single Version]" (The Red Squares) - 2:18

  26. "I Wish I Was Five" (Scrugg) - 3:19

  27. "Glendora" (The Downliners Sect) - 2:44

VOL.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 [US Single Version]" (The Creation) - 3:08

   5. "I'm Just a Mops" (The Mops) - 2:58

   6. "Why Don't You Smile Now" (Downliners Sect) - 2:08

   7. "Nothin'" (The Ugly Ducklings) - 2:27

   8. "Break It All [US Single Version]" (Los Shakers) - 2:22

   9. "The Bitter Thoughts of Little Jane" (Tymon) - 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" (The 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) - 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" (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" (Small Faces) - 2:58

  27. "It's My Fault" (The Rattles) - 2:08

  28. "When the Alarm Clock Rings" (The Blossom Toes) - 2:16

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