2. "Save My Soul"- Wimple Winch (5/5). I really like this one. It has a catchy, quiet menace in the verses and a really messed-up vocal delivery. Even though the chorus is more of a generic Stones takeoff, it works well in conjunction with the verses. Really good guitar breaks, too. It's always nice to see the garage rock formula tweaked now and then.
3. "Desdemona"- John�s Children (4/5). Not sure what to make of this selection. Sort of a blues take-off with a wink-wink quality about it, with that 'pick up your skirt and fly' line. The chorus always make me laugh, its simple the title recited twice three times, the second time in a helium voice (Marc Bolan?). Not a 5-star classic, as it kind of repeats itself.
4. "I Can Only Give You Everything"- Them (2/5). Surely there are better Them songs to feature than this one? All I remember is the four-note riff that Beck nicked for "Devil�s Haircut" and good old Van Morrison on vocals. Why not "Gloria" or "Mystic Eyes" or "Here Comes the Night"? Too well-known?
5. "Lost Girl"- Troggs (3/5). LOST GIRL!!!!! <dun dun dun DUN dun> SHE'S IN A LOST WORLD!!! <dun dun dun DUN dun> Forget it. "Lost Girl" predates "Wild Thing" and didn't shake the world as their first single. You can hear a premonition or two of "Wild Thing" ever so slightly here: the busy drumming, the brief guitar breaks, etc. Can't help but fail to be as brilliant as �Wild Thing,� but it's good in its own right.
6. "I Must be Mad"- Craig (4/5). Yeah, it's sort of generic, but there's something about that guitar drive and the lead singer's half-singing delivery that intrigues me quite a bit. I dig that single-note white noise beginning as well. What's more, it has very little progression! One note over and over!
7. "Say Those Magic Words"- Birds (3/5). I don�t know. This is well-played, has an alright melody, a good resolution in the chorus. But then again, the lyrics veer close to bubblegum and there's not much excitement. What are those magic words??? I have no idea!!!
8. "Baby Your Phrasing is Bad"- Caleb (2/5). Not quite Nuggets II's equivalent to the "The Trip," but close. Like "The Trip," this tune is recorded by some guy who�s not known for singing, and is more gimmicky-psychedelic than anything else. The gimmick here would be endless 'phasing,' and it goes on for too long. He played with Elton John throughout the '70s, good thing Elton never let him sing.
9. "Daddy Buy Me a Girl"- Golden Earrings (5/5). That's right, the same band behind "Radar Love" and "Twilight Zone." "Daddy" is light years away from that classic rock, however. Instead it's a wonderful send-up of Brit-pop with an un-Nuggets story: rich boy thinks girls only like him for his money. It just has a great sound and I could listen to it all day.
10. "Exit Stage Right"- Ronnie Burns (4/5). An upbeat Bee Gees tune that isn't disco? Yessir, that�s this selection. Journeyman Ronnie Burns is backed by the Gibb Brothers, who both play and sing backup vocals here. It�s a confident pop performance, perhaps too Beatlesque for its own good, but that's not a major downfall.
11. "Gone is the Sad Man"- Timebox (5/5). Hey, these classics keep on coming! The opening passage deliciously throws me off every time, and from then on the melody is friggin' awesome Brit-pop complemented with gruff vocals. That instrumental section could stand to be cut a little, but that's OK. I'm always loving some fine pop, which the Timebox delivers.
12. "I'm Rowed Out"- Eyes (2/5). Does that opening riff sound familiar? I hope it does. Besides that, it's got old-hat female-bashing lyrics that bore me. The chorus is interesting, 'rowed out' must be some British slang term. It�s not enough to save this unremarkable outing.
13. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving"- Davy Jones and the Lower Third (3/5). From the very beginnings of David Bowie's career, before he changed his last name to Bowie, hails this tune. It�s a fair mod-pop tune produced by the ubiquitous Shel Talmy, notable because it�s danged David Bowie! You sure couldn't tell if you didn't know.
14. "Reflections of Charlie Brown"- Rupert's People (2/5). Too bad, I thought this would be about that lovable Charles Schultz loser. Instead you have an obvious "Whiter Shade of Pale" ripoff about some normal man. Aside from the Procol Harum nicking, you don't really feel for the guy they describe. He gets up, works, comes home, yeah yeah yeah. What�s the catch? UPDATE: Reading the liner notes, Rupert's People is actually Les Fleur de Lys!!!! Damn, these guys and mediocrity go together, don't they???
15. "Words Enough to Tell You"- Mascots (3/5). On the surface, these Swedish teens pull of an utter Beatles impersonation circa A Hard Day�s Night. But look a little bit further and you'll see the lyrical sentiment is too sweet for the Beatles, and there is no sense of humor or fun! I can see John writing this for George, like "Do You Want to Know a Secret?", but that's it.
16. "That�s the Way it�s Got to Be"- Poets (4/5). For 1965, this is impressive. The fat bassline and the ominous lyrics make a routine number dark, even though the lead singer's pinched vocals can�t hope to match Mick Jagger's. The Poets never posed a threat to the Stones, but I don't mind this artifact.
17. "14 Hour Technicolour Dream"- Syn (2/5). It's all about history, as this commemorates a penultimate London happening in 1967 in which even the Beatles participated. The song itself? Not memorable�I can't recall a melody or very much enthusiasm from these guys. Two of the members went on to bigger and better things with Yes. Too bad Jon Anderson wasn't one of them. That would be a hoot.
18. "Walking Through My Dreams"- Pretty Things (5/5). Not the same Pretty Things we saw with "Midnight to Six Man," indeed. By 1967, they are doing the whole psychedelic game, as shown here. You got the surreal dream-like lyrics, the backwards-guitar solo, a great melody, and some cool harmonies�it's just the perfect psychedelic song.
19. "You Said"- Primitives (4/5). One year earlier than the Poets, these guys have an even harder tune! It's straightforward R&B, but it's rougher than most of the stuff in 1964. Listen to all those tempo changes within the verses, when the drummer all out bashes. What a load of fun. And who's that on the guitar solo? JIMMY PAGE!! Best session man of the decade! Except maybe Nicky Hopkins.
20. "This Life of Mine"- Lost Souls (3/5). The fuzzy guitar drone that opens up is the backdrop of this forgettable track. I guess this Australian group was talking about their lives or something. Not offensive, just blah.
21. "Shadows and Reflections"- Action (4/5). A year after their Marvelettes cover, this underrated group turn in a neat Kinks-style outing. On second thought, maybe it's a "Penny Lane"-style outing, both songs have that stomping beat and a chorus radically different from the verses. They must have learned a thing or two from George Martin's other clients.
22. �Friday on My Mind�- Easybeats (5/5). Of course! This is only the second song on here that I knew before Nuggets II (besides the Status Quo track), and I've always dug this number. The best day-of-the-week song ever (yes, even better than "Friday I�m In Love"), it's unabashed rock'n'roll with slight Indian touches. And a buttload of energy! It was a minor hit in U.S., it should have been #1. Awesome.
23. "In the Land of the Few"- Love Sculpture (4/5). Huh, sounds just like early '70s AM gold, especially the Grassroots. Maybe I keep thinking of "I'd Wait a Million Years" when I hear this. It's pretty impressive, in the production and the structure. Then again, maybe too professional for Nuggets II. Then again, I still like listening to it.
24. "For Another Man"- Motions (2/5). No better than "Everything (That's Mine)" this is. It's more of a straightforward ballad, but I'll be damned if I can recall anything besides that standard jangly riff. Pass.
25. "Fire Brigade"- Move (5/5). Yes!!! More eccentric rock by Roy Wood and the boys!! This selection takes lustful lyrics to a new direction, calling for the 'fire brigade' (complete with vocal sirens!) over a hot-to-trot classmate. The song has awesome drive and even throws in a brief guitar riff that predates "Footloose" and "Authority Song." Man oh man, why can't there be more tracks like this one???
26. "Gaby"- Boots (4/5). This is the first we hear from Germany. Like "I Must be Mad," I like this more than I should. Something about that stomping beat, organ part, and the shrill guitar cries really make this garage-rock number cool. I can�t say I know a Gaby though, nor do I know a Desdemona. These international artists sure had original names for their girls!
27. "Biff! Bang! Pow!"- Creation (4/5). Who thought of combining "My Generation" with '60s Batman? Holy Nicky Hopkins, Batman! I can feel the fun in this song, and I have no need to compare it to "My Generation." It's different enough to make comparison unnecessary, even if it's weaker than "Making Time." Oh well. To the Bat Cave!