Search - Various Artists :: Children of Nuggets: Original ARtyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era - 1976-1996

Half a loaf, if that

Fran Fried | Fresno, Ca. United States | 12/06/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"You ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Of course, I stole that line from John Lydon, who was never in a garage band -- then again, neither were half the acts on this box set.

I've lived the garage thing for over 20 years -- since seeing The Raybeats and The Vipers at the Peppermint Lounge in NYC (with Mr. "Nuggets" himself, Lenny Kaye, spinning 45s downstairs) that fateful frozen February Friday in 1983, and Rhino's third "Nuggets" box only vaguely resembles -- or represents -- garage history as many of us who really lived it knew it.

The incredible first "Nuggets" box, the 1998 amplification of Kaye's original two-LP 1972 landmark, succeeded wildly because it comes quite close to being something definitive, a fine representative of a great, undercredited era of rock'n'roll. To a large extent, the same goes for the second box, too. But this so-called "Children of Nuggets"? In short, in no way is this collection anywhere near definitive. Half the box seems to have been put together by real garageheads, the other half by skinny-tie, checker-sneakered, L.A. new wave popsters out of "Square Pegs" casting, or co-opted late-'80s corporate college radio geeks who never had, like, y'know, a clue. Here are some of the good points and bad points:

The good side:

* Some of the early modern garage greats are represented here (Flaming Groovies, Cramps, Fleshtones, Chesterfield Kings, The Lyres and Jeff Conolly's pre-Lyres group, DMZ).

* The Three O'Clock both "befour" (as The Salvation Army) and after the name change.

* XTC's two best songs under their Dukes of Stratosphear alias ("25 O'Clock" and "Vanishing Girl").

* "Beauty and Sadness," a standout early track by the most commercially successful band aligned with the garage tribe, The Smithereens.

* Not one, but two tunes each from The Fleshtones, The Vipers and Australia's much-beloved Hoodoo Gurus.

* The Pandoras, the first girls of the garage. Paula Pierce lives ...

* Some songs that just dead-on hit the target and represented the garage era as well as anything: "Baby What's Wrong" by Pittsburgh's eternal Cynics, a howler with the nastiest guitar fuzz riff ever unleashed; and the fiery "Down at the Nightclub" by The Creeps, a Swedish band that was only good for one memorable LP ("Enjoy the Creeps") before going in terrible directions. "Where the Wolfbane Blooms" by The Nomads, Sweden's best-known garage band until The Hives. The Swingin' Neckbreakers, the mighty, mighty Jersey trio with the semi-title tune to their classic first album, "Live for Buzz." Australia's Lime Spiders and their ultra-primitive knuckle-dragger, "Slave Girl."

* Great bands on the periphery of the garage thang: New York surf hipsters The Raybeats (Danny Amis long before Los Straitjackets). The Untamed Youth, Deke Dickerson's teenage surf band back in Missouri. The Mummies, the Bay Area's unraveled kings of juvenile trash madness. Laika & the Cosmonauts, Finland's contribution to surf/soundtrack hip.

* The Fuzztones and other mainstays: Plasticland, The Miracle Workers, The Tell-Tale Hearts.

The bad side:

* Some of the bands on here that I liked a lot in the day (The Godfathers, The Plimsouls, The La's) -- simply didn't belong here. Same goes for The Soft Boys, That Petrol Emotion, Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, The Last, The Inmates and Primal Scream, among others. These acts belonged on Rhino's "Left of the Dial" box, if anything, not "Nuggets."

* Right bands, wrong songs, or not enough of them. This Fleshtones fan would've gone with super-rock stompers "Stop Fooling Around" and "Screaming Skull" instead. The Vipers' "Cheated and Lied" is fine, but what about "Nothing's From Today," "Tellin' Those Lies" or "Never Alone" instead of "Tears"? Or "10-5-60" or "Looking for Lewis and Clark" by The Long Ryders?

* How many times is Rhino going to use the same two Lyres songs ("Don't Give It Up Now" and "Help You Ann") in compilations? How about "I'm Telling You Girl," "Soapy," "She Pays the Rent" or "Not Looking Back"?

* If Rhino was attempting to incorporate British/Irish psychedelia/garage, it picked the wrong end of the '80s. No Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen or very early U2.

* Rhino tried to artificially rewrite history (and failed miserably) by drawing a line at 1996. This leaves out a whole slew of great young(er), more contemporary bands that deserved to be here: The Hives (of course), The Forty-Fives, The Mooney Suzuki, The Woggles, The Greenhornes, The Star Spangles, The Flaming Sideburns ... and did someone say The White Stripes?

* Speaking of the missing ... Oh, the land of the missing! Not just little nitpicks, mind you, but gaping holes. Most of the great girl groups: The Brood ("Since He's Been Gone"), The Friggs (whose "Bad Word for a Good Thing" has been all over Chevy commercials the last two years) and The Muffs. The two raw, powerful Detroit bands fronted by Mick Collins (Jack White's patron saint): The Gories and his current group, The Dirtbombs. Other prime Michigan groups (Outrageous Cherry, The Detroit Cobras, Demolition Dollrods). Rhode Island's psychedelic demons, Plan 9. The Gravedigger V ("All Black and Hairy"). True West. Marshmallow Overcoat ("Thirteen Ghosts"). Out of Connecticut, my pals The Double Naught Spys ("You Better Tell Me Now") and psych madmen The Not Quite. The Gruesomes, from Montreal. The Playn Jayn, from England. The Shoutless, from Sweden. The Cosmic Psychos, from Australia. Some of the stalwarts of the New York scene (The Cheepskates, The A-Bones, The Raunch Hands, The Headless Horsemen). The mighty Long Island garage pop bands (The Secret Service and The Mosquitos, whose "That Was Then, This Is Now" became The Monkees' comeback hit). Even Southern Culture on the Skids.

* Screaming Trees. You sure this isn't the "Children of Nirvana" box set?

I rambled about this box set because the garage thang inspires a LOT of passion among those who have truly lived and enjoyed it -- and, as mentioned, "Children of Nuggets" barely resembles anything like the musical history I or my friends (or even the bands) lived. I wanted to get this in before some of you do your Christmas shopping. To buy this at full price would be like paying for a full loaf of bread and getting half a loaf -- if even that. See if you can find this for half-price somewhere, because that's all it's worth. I've loved Rhino to death for 25 years, but this is, without question, the most disappointing and wrongheaded collection in Rhino's long history."

Worthy entry in the Nuggets family

atlantamoi | Scottdale, Ga United States | 10/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was born in the 60's. Born just as the Beatles were blasting all over the U.S. Born just as most of the songs on the first Nuggets comp. were being recorded. Even though I was too young to hear them firsthand, they did influence my love of punk/new wave/alt-rock. In the mid-80's I was music director for a large campus radio station that regularly spun bands like Dream Syndicate, Lyres and Rain Parade. I always laugh at people who say the 80's were a bad decade for music. Roll eyes. I've been waiting patiently for a box set like Children. And just like I'd expect from the first two boxes there are tons of songs on here I have never heard of even though I was rolling in records from the same time period.



I could definitely quibble with the choices. I always thought the Lyres fast version of "She Pays The Rent" was one of the better songs of the 80's. I also find Laika and the Cosmonauts an odd choice despite being a fantastic band. But, it's so insignifanct when so many awesome songs are put together like this. Rhino deserves much thanks for their time and effort on this box."

The '80's FINALLY get their due!!

mjkvol | Lanoka Harbor, NJ United States | 01/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you weren't around during the '80's and judged its musical worth solely from compilations and box sets released up to now, you would be justified in wondering how people listened to such dreck (even "Left of the Dial" is half-half). It seemed to be nothing but synth-pop, new romantic garbage, and hair-metal. And truth be told, that is pretty much what you got from commercial radio and MTV. The punk movement had degenerated into industrial and hardcore stuff that was unlistenable.

Unlike today, however, there WAS still such a thing as great rock'n'roll, but you had to dig to find it. I was a college radio jock during the early to mid '80's, and what kept me going were the original Nuggets albums, the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, the Beatles, the Byrds, and all the stuff influenced by these bands. That's why "Children of Nuggets" is so necessary, and such a breath of fresh air. It spotlights great bands like the Flamin' Groovies, Hoodoo Gurus, Plimsouls, Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Fleshtones, and Smithereens, who never really got their due, because they weren't fashionable. You can say the same for every band on this box.

Another great thing is that although I know most of these bands, I found some stuff I had never listened to then, like the Barracudas and the Bevis Frond, and tons of things I had completely forgotten.

What gets me is the nitpicking in some of the reviews. Is this set perfect? Of course not - you couldn't possibly please everybody! There are bands omitted that I would have included, and song choices that I would change. But SO WHAT? What IS here is a blast to listen to. Others complain that the music is derivative. Can't the same argument be made of the original garage movement? The bands on Nuggets & Nuggets II for the most part derived from SOME aspect of the British Invasion (Beatles, Stones, Them, etc.). And it seems that most of the complaints are from what I would refer to as "garage-snobs". If it doesn't sound like early Stones or the Pretty Things (both of whom I love and recommend), they don't want to know about it. Have you forgotten the Merry-Go-Round, Nazz, and the Nightcrawlers - bands more influenced by "Rubber Soul" era Beatles? Bands like that were all over the first Nuggets box.

Listen, just get the box, you'll love it! But be forewarned - this stuff is addictive!"