2. �Last Time Around�- Del-Vetts (5/5). Even better than the previous! Fuzz guitar and feedback carry this tune, creating a sense of doom and despair that complements the lyrics of, well, doom and despair. Then the guitars briefly turn jangly for the mid-section, but return to menacing for the chaotic guitar solo. A little while later, the song abruptly ends. No! Then the ascending riff starts up again. Yes!! An absolute powerhouse this one is.
3. �Nobody But Me�- Human Beinz (4/5). This was an Isley Brothers cover? Not hard to believe. Lyrically it�s one of those many name-as-many-hip-dances-as-possible tunes as was so prevalent in the '60s, but they got a good groove to make up for it. The organ sounds like R&B, but the awesome guitar solo is pure garage-rock. The best white-soul song on here, it was a Top 10 hit and worthy of its originators.
4. �Journey to Tyme�- Kenny & the Kasuals (2/5). Oh darn. It was going so good. OK, it�s not bad, the Kasuals have a nice fuzz-geetar sound. Too bad Kenny�s not pulling his weight. All he does is shout about this so-called journey, not sounding too convincing. As for the riff, I�m not sure where it came from, doesn�t sound like �I Feel Fine� to me. Still, there have been better from the state of Texas, like those elevators on the 13th floor
5. �No Friend of Mine�- Sparkles (4/5). See, see, this is a great Southern nugget, not that last effort. Everything is fuzzy here, guitar, bass, all dat. As far as Texas rock goes, it�s not as perfect as �You�re Gonna Miss Me,� but that did set the bar high though. This tune has unintelligible ramblings in the verse, which gives way to the melodic chorus. Mean, but bouncy at the same time.
6. �Outside Chance�- Turtles (3/5). Whoa, I heard of these guys! Unfortunately, they�re not known for their angry side, shown in this tune. Even that isn�t too vicious: �You don�t stand an outside chance/But you can try!� How nice of them. Oh well, typical Turtles folk-rock with the jangly riff, and a cute piano solo. Warren Zevon wrote it, too!
7. �Action Woman�- Litter (4/5). Ooooh, the guitar sounds awesome here! It makes the whole song for me. A bit different from the others here, it seems closer to the late �60s rock scene. Still nice and short, with your typical can�t-get-no-satisfaction lyrics. But man, that guitar sound. Especially the solo.
8. �Spazz�- Elastik Band (5/5). From out of left field comes this head-scratcher. An out-of-tune riff, a clumsy beat, and ridiculous vocals make up this song. It�s about crazy people, not a particular PC topic. But none of this begs to be taken seriously, it�s just�gosh I don�t know. Even weirder: this was on the Otis Redding�s label, Atco. No doubt one the most outlandish singles ever put out by a major record label, along with Legendary Stardust Cowboy�s �Paralyzed.�
9. �Sweet Young Thing�- Chocolate Watchband (3/5). Better than �Let�s Talk About Girls� indeed. Their Mick Jagger-wannabe does an admirable job here, and the guitar has that Eastern sound. Other than that, the song is a bit overlong and lyrically not captivating. I couldn�t see the Stones singing this; maybe in their earlier years, but not 1966.
10. �Incense & Peppermints�- Strawberry Alarm Clock (4/5). I think this is the lone chart-topper on this box set. That means this was the high point for psychedelia, from a commercial standpoint. This puts crazy images into a happy pop melody, includes references to turning on, tuning in, and looking at yourself, and everything. I�m a bit sick of it, since it�s on the radio all the time. But who says you need to listen to the radio? Not me.
11. �I Ain�t no Miracle Worker�- Brogues (3/5). The first protest song on this disk, I think. Musically, it�s a decent performance, with intelligent lyrics penned by some hack writing duo. But it just sounds like everyone�s holding back. The band doesn�t cut loose, and the guy is mostly subdued. He hints at a build-up at the end of each chorus, but then it just stops. No wild scream. No guitar solo. Come on!
12. �7 and 7 is�- Love (4/5). The chaos on this track sure makes up for the lack thereof on the previous tune. These guys are apparently the greatest lost band of the �60s, with the cult album Forever Changes and whatnot. Before that, they were just another rawkin L.A. band. This track simmers, with insane riffing (are they revving a motorcycle or something?) and drumming that builds and builds. Then BOOM! An explosion goes off, and the sound changes into blues until the fadeout. A bit anticlimactic, but still...
13. �Time Won�t Let Me�- Outsiders (4/5). Back to the pop side of the spectrum. The production is clear and poppy, and there�s lots of brass and such. Yet, you can still tell these are amateur teens, with their hopeful lyrics and guitar and bass lines. Top Five hit? I�m not surprised. These guys are no different from the rest, they probably got a better record deal than most of these artists.
14. �Going All the Way�- Squires (5/5). Niiice. With proper promotion, this could have been huge. It�s pop-rock with an awesome jangly guitar, well-placed organ parts, and dewey-eyed lyrics. It must have been written about graduating for high school; I mean, who doesn�t want to see the world and do it all at that time? Oh, and that guitar solo? Icing on the cake. A mature, beautiful, perfect performance.
15. �I�m Gonna Make You Mine�- Shadows of Knight (2/5). You know, I�ll stick up for the Shads� version of �Gloria� to the death; I prefer it to the ugly Them version (EDIT: I no longer defend these dudes, check my Nuggets II page to find out why). It�s a sloppy attempt to sound nasty, with the feedback covering everything. Maybe it�s good the vocals are so buried, this guy sounds like a total poseur. �Eat what I want/I want dessert�� Did the Cookie Monster write this?? �C is for Cookie� was a better song than this!!!
16. �The Trip�- Kim Fowley (1/5). Ladies and gents, this is the worst song on the whole collection. I don�t care how legendary this guy was, or if he was mocking LSD, this song still sucks. His lyrical �imagery� and his whole trip-along-with-me deal is nauseating. Good thing: it lasts but two minutes. Bad thing: it seems much longer to sit through.
17. �Can�t Seem to Make You Mine�- Seeds (2/5). With three straight suck songs, we�ve officially reached a lull. This shows that the Seeds couldn�t come up with a �real� song. �Pushin� Too Hard� was great because the sloppiness worked in their favor; here, they just sound pathetic. It�s slooow, the guitars are whiny, but not nearly as whiny as Sky Saxon. He moans and groans and drowns himself in so much pity that you see why he can�t make her his.
18. �Why Do I Cry�- Remains (4/5). Whew. Relief. In the form of another Remains classic. It�s more poppy than �Don�t Look Back�, and a lot of Beatles influences here. So many hooks too: from the minor key melody on the piano to the �made of stone, made of stone� bit, it�s a treat to hear. The middle eight and bridge are awesome too, where the melody completely changes! The production is a bit muddy, however, so no 5-rating for you.
19. �Laugh Laugh�- Beau Brummels (3/5). Hey, what are these wimps doing here? Security! Seriously, this radio hit has all right lyrics and an original melody. But it sounds too much like how the pop industry marketed folk in the �60s. There�s no aggression, and the sad harmonica is grating. Another mainstay in the oldies radio rotation, unsurpisingly.
20. �The Little Black Egg�- Nightcrawlers (5/5). Sometimes a lot of simplicity goes a long way. There�s nothing original about this song at all: the three-chord melody and the guitar riff are both obvious. The na�ve lyrics about finding a �little black egg� put it over the top. No drug references, just wide-eyed wonder. It�s like �Louie Louie� in its greatness, but never was a big hit. Oh gall-durn, what can you do?
21. �I Wonder�- Gants (4/5). These are the Gants? Doesn�t sound a bit like their earlier, rip-roaring cover of �Road Runner�! Here, they basically take the Beatles� �In My Life,� mix the structure a little bit, and add their own words. Could have been laughable, but because �In My Life� is so awesome, this tune is too. And those lyrics! I�m fresh out of high school, and I still can relate to them.
22. �I See the Light�- Five Americans (3/5). Clich� alert: �It has a good beat, and I can dance to it.� The organ sounds cool, and the guitar ain�t bad. But the vocals sound horrendous, hoarse to the max. Only 2 minutes long, though. A year this minor hit, these boys took some cough drops and had a Top Five hit with the superior �Western Union�. So there is a happy ending.
23. �Who Do You Love�- Woolies (3/5). Ehhh. Everything here is decent, but not outstanding. They sound energetic enough and �it has a good beat etc.� Conversely, it ends too quickly at 2 minutes. For a Bo Diddley song, there�s not a lot of the Diddley beat going on. Maybe I�m just used to the slow, bluesy version by the Doors.
24. �Double Shot (of my Baby�s Love)�- Swingin� Medallions (4/5). Party at Sigma Phi!! Woooo!! Goes to show you that not every teen was into LSD in 1966, there were still some who stuck with alkeehol. These guys sound totally wasted, chanting the lyrics of being drunk on love and adding hooting and hollering. Even the swirling organ hook makes you feel dizzy. I�m not into drinking, but it�s entertaining to hear. Bruce Springsteen sometimes plays it live? Interesting.
25. �Live�- Merry-go-Round (4/5). Who does this guy sound like? Can�t put my finger on it. The tune is relaxing, from the guitar and organ to the guy�s optimistic delivery. It�s another tune about getting out and seeing the world like �Going All the Way�, except here the guy�s trying to get the girl to do so. May not wow you, but it certainly soothes you.
26. �Steppin� Out�- Paul Revere and the Raiders (4/5). Yes! Hometown heroes! Paul Revere grew up in Idaho, and started a band in the early �60s. After personnel changes, they had their first national hit here. The organ/guitar bit is reminiscent of �Tobacco Road,� but not Mark Lindsay�s hilarious vocals about returning home to see his girl�s been �step, step, steppin� out.� It�s catchy as heck, and they speed up like crazy at the end while Lindsay continues to scold his girl. Woo!
27. �Diddy Wah Diddy�- Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band (4/5). I barely know about this dude, just that he�s had some crazy stuff. This track ain�t crazy, it�s an authentic-sounding blues number. His voice is great, especially when it goes super low in the chorus. Only problem is the rinky-dink piano sounds out of place. Maybe it�s just me, but it doesn�t fit in this blues context. But that voice.
28. �Strychnine�- Sonics (4/5). Northwest rock, baby!! These guys had a career rocking hard with their piano, saxophone, and Gerry Roslie�s manic vocals. This album track is a great example of this. Roslie�s screams are right out of Little Richard, and it�s oh so catchy. Message to all the kiddies out there: strychnine is very poisonous, and you do not want to ingest it. Just rock out to the song instead. There, I�ve done my good deed for the day.
29. �Little Girl�- Syndicate of Sound (3/5). Hmmm. It hit #8, but it�s not Top 10 material. The guitar starts out with a cool-sounding riff, but then moves to a more generic riff that�s all over the rest of the song. Vocals? Just some guy telling off his girlfriend. He doesn�t sing, he just laughs it off, as if trying to impress his buddies. A bit irritating, at least the guitar sounds cool.
30. �(We Ain�t Got) Nothin� Yet�- Blues Magoos (4/5). Better than �Tobacco Road�, and also a much bigger hit. The organ/bass hook is awesome, and the high-pitched guitar solo rules. Too bad the lyrics are a bit clich� but does that matter here? Not really! It�s catchy pop-rock, but keeping up with the psychedelic times of 1966.
31. �Shape of Things to Come�- Max Frost & the Troopers (3/5). The theme from the 1968 movie Wild in the Streets, about a teenage revolution or something. Apparently the movie hasn�t aged well, and the theme outlived it. Penned by the Mann-Weil team, it has a desperate vibe and catchy melody. Big drawback: it�s only about 1:45 long! Wha? I thought by 1968, people were making longer songs. Its length makes the tune, good as it is, sound unfinished.