Various Artists - Nuggets Psychedelic 60s (18 tracks) +Album Reviews

Golden nuggets shining brightly !!!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 06/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nuggets: A Classic Collection From the Psychedelic Sixties has quite a few killer classics on it and if you like psychedelic music from the awesome `60s this CD is made just for you! The sound is excellent and the artwork is very nicely done. There is a good diversity of artists on this disc, too.

The CD starts with The Standells doing their awesome hit entitled "Dirty water." "Dirty Water" has a catchy melody and you won't forget this tune anytime soon if you haven't heard it already! "Dirty Water" just doesn't start the album; it's also a highlight of this CD. Great! The guitar work is excellent as The Standells sing and play this one up right! The Count Five also do their "Psychotic Reaction;" this classic golden nugget shines bright with some great percussion and guitar work--how about that musical interlude jam session? Even if it is comparatively brief, the interlude is still excellent rock music. The Easybeats also do a fantastic hit, "Friday On My Mind." "Friday On My Mind" has great harmonizing and it's always been one of my favorite hits from back in the day.

The Five Americans do "I See The Light" with lots of positive energy; and the electric guitar is perfect for this tune! Listen also for The Syndicate Of Sound doing their hit "Little Girl." "Little Girl" is instantly recognizable for us people who like their `60s rock. It has a fine psychedelic rock flavor to it and The Syndicate Of Sound never misses a beat, either! "Little Girl" is another major highlight of this album. The Monkees follow with "Pleasant Valley Sunday;" this tune sounds really fine and it fits in well with the other tracks on this CD.

"Laugh, Laugh" by The Beau Brummels has a great melody that I always enjoyed; and when I hear this song I cannot help but smile. Sure, the lyrics may not be the happiest; but it's a great song and it's very well arranged. "Laugh, Laugh" really has a great flavor to it and the harmonica is used very well. There's also The Troggs doing their huge hit called "Wild Thing;" they handle the complicated tempo and key changes like pros!

The Monkees do "Valleri" with all their might--and just one listen proves it! "Valleri" is an underappreciated number if you ask me. I really like the catchy melody of "Valleri" and if you like this type of music you're going to love this tune. "Just A Little" shows The Beau Brummels back again with another hit of theirs; "Just A Little" is very beautiful and this rock ballad impresses me.

The Seeds sing and play "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" with heart and soul; and the CD ends nicely with The Amboy Dukes performing "Journey To The Center Of The Mind." This psychedelic rock tune makes the perfect ending for this album--and there's great harmonizing, too!

Overall, Nuggets: A Classic Collection From the Psychedelic Sixties has a lot to like on it! I highly recommend this album for people who like psychedelic rock from the `60s and people who enjoy music from The British Invasion will enjoy this album, too.

"

A prize for boomers... and maybe their kids.

Michael J Edelman | Huntington Woods, MI USA | 06/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Psychadelic? I don't think I'd call most of the tunes on this album psychdelic, save perhaps the great Nazz "Open My Eyes" and the Dukes' "Journey to the Center of Your Mind.". But almost every tune here brings back great memories of my childhood, listening to amazing the new music that was coming in the wake of the great British invasion bands.

When we think of 60s music, we tend to think of the real monsters of that time, like The Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, the Doors, and so forth, but most of what we listened to was more like what you'd find on this album- great pop tunes recoded by bands with just one or two hits. Listening to this collection will bring back great memories for the over 50 crowd, and show the kids today just how much the current wave of pop owes to those who were performing back when grampa and grandma were tooling around in a VW Microbus."

Great late-60s music!

Donna Di Giacomo | Philadelphia, PA | 07/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One hit wonders? Sure (for the most part). Great music? You bet!

I have always been drawn to the music of the 1960s, particularly the late-1960s, and the three "Nuggets" CDs really whetted my appetite for more of the same.

While The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and others ruled the charts with hit after hit, the groups featured here were majority one-hit wonders, "garage bands," call it whatever you want, but it's those one-hit wonders that people love and fondly associate with this time period (I know I do with stuff from the 1990s, so I can relate to the nostalgic feelings from "dinosaurs" here).

As one listens to the tracks, you can feel the youthful energy of the times, the protest against all the so-called norms, and of young people wanting to find their own way in life as opposed to having it predetermined for them. Other songs are about drugs (oh me, oh my!) and so what? That doesn't make them any less enjoyable.

I listen to this CD from start to finish everytime and enjoy every song, but "Open My Eyes" by The Nazz and "Journey to the Center of the Mind" by The Amboy Dukes are two great tunes that keep me jamming. I find that the more I listen to it, the more I appreciate some tunes I didn't pay enough attention to the first six hundred times around.

It's wise to buy all three "Nuggets" CDs as opposed to buying just the compilation. You'd be cheating yourself out of some great music if you did. - Donna Di Giacomo"

Bright Fringe of the British Invasion

The Aeolian | 02/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"-You don't have to believe that any of the songs on this well-chosen collection is "a pop classic easily surpassing anything by the Beatles" (as the feverish CD notes by Greg Shaw state) to enjoy the energy and, at times, quirkiness of the music. The comparison to the Beatles is apt because many of the groups here were touted as either "the next Beatles" (The Easybeats) or "the American answer to the Beatles" (The Beau Brummels, The Monkees). The rest of the groups were "the next Rolling Stones" or "the American answer to The Rolling Stones." The rush to get through the door that those two bands blew open resulted in music that was by turns imitative of, suggestive of, or hinting-at-while-trying-something-a-bit-different-than what the forerunners did. It hardly mattered that the forerunners had moved on to more adventurous music. This CD captures the optimism of young musicians who saw that some guitars and a drum set when applied enthusiastically backing tight (and not-so-tight) harmonies might just conquer the world, or at least that month's Billboard charts. When listening to the sometimes raw and awkward expressions of these groups (the proto-slick Monkees excepted) it helps to have been too young to vote when this music was first released, but is apparently not a requirement. Cue up this CD and don't sit back to enjoy it -- get up and move."

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