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After the immense success of the original and very American Nuggets box, Rhino was all too happy to scan the remainder of the globe for further forays in garage rock obscurity. Covering the nether regions of 1964-'69, Nuggets II is a virtually hitless, ye
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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 II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond Reviews
Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond Reviews
| 42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:  Far Out Collection, By thedevilscoachman (Vienna, Virginia) - See all my reviews This review is from: Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond (Audio CD) I don't get where some of the last few critics are coming from. Yes, sadly some of the members of the bands featured on this album ossified into prog-rockers come the '70's -- just like some some punk generation musicians ossified into lounge singers, fake rockabillies, world-music twerps or pop acts. So what? It doesn't take an iota of energy away from the music they and their cohorts played when they were young. The great songs here are too many to list, but include the incredibly catchy and riffy "Sorry" by the Easybeats; a maximum R'n'B "I'll Keep Holding On" by the well-named Action; the incredibly produced and jubilantly trippy "My White Bicycle" by Tomorrow; the aggressive "Making Time" by the Creation; the too-wonderful-for-words "My Friend Jack" by the Smoke (just check out that opening guitar!); "How is the Air Up There?" by the La De Da's, who out-Stone the Stones; and "Social End Product" by the... Read more 17 of 18 people found the following review helpful: Another great success from Rhino, By This review is from: Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond (Audio CD) Once again, as they did with the first Nuggets Box and the first Doo Wop Box, the good folks at Rhino Records have produced a collection that is simply the finest of its type. In every way -- sound quality, liner notes, packaging, song selection, and sheer volume -- this box, like those others, shows evidence of great care and leaves most other similar collections in the dust.The selection here is more wide-ranging than on the first Nuggets box, both geographically and in terms of style. The first box had a lot of fairly-well known songs; here we get just a handful of favorites and classics ("My White Bicycle", "I Can Hear the Grass Grow", "Friday on My Mind", "Pictures of Matchstick Men") along with a lot of great recordings that even dedicated listeners may not be familiar with. (I've been listening to music of this ilk for years, and I had heard less than half of these songs.) I was particularly delighted with the inclusion of... Read more 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:  Essential listening, although not every track is a winner, By Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond (Audio CD) This second compilation box of rare garage/freakbeat/psych from the 60s is certainly worth the price. I had heard 28 of the 109 tracks on here before I bought it, and had been looking for most of the other bands for quite some time now. Thank you, Rhino, for making these obscure groups and songs available, as you did for the first set. An important missing piece of rock history is being filled by "Nuggets II", for one gets to see that rock music extended as far as Iceland and Peru, where groups tried their best to mimic The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Yardbirds--and didn't do too bad a job, either. The majority of the set, however, is taken up by the glorious UK acts, where one can see R&B raveups turn into mod-influenced freakbeat and then flower into psychedelia all within a three-to-four year timespan. The sound quality and extensive liner notes are top-notch, as usual. However, in spite of being a huge fan of this music, about a quarter of the songs have a... Read more |
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