Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968

  Compiled by musician, collector, impresario Lenny Kaye.  Some are hits, some should have been, and some are just plain weird, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  The Nuggets Compilation is the first release to coin the term Punk Rock, in an official manner.  None of these tunes are cut and paste Garage Rock, they go even Furthur, drenched in fuzzed out psychedelia.  I was a little surprised that the Music Machine and The Sonics were left out.  Otherwise this is a must have in every record collection, and has been since it came out in 1972.  It has influenced countless musicians and collectors to dig deeper into the reaches of their minds to find more obscure 60's Garage tunes ....

The Kingsmen -- In Person

  The first Lp by the notorious Kingsmen.  In Person is a phony live album, with the crowd obviously dubbed in.  Even with the fake crowd it somehow doesn't take away from the music, which sounds just like Joey Dee and The Starliters, just more raw and raunchy.  Of course it features Louie Louie, which was popularized due to scandal.  Although after their scandalous popularity the band hit some internal troubles, one guys mom bought the band name because he wanted to sing, some of the others got cheesed and left, he realized he sucked, then they end up a lip sync band ... yadda yadda ... "we gotta go now!"

The Cramps -- ... Off The Bone

  ... Off The Bone is an off the cuff compilation of The Cramps early singles, like a best of.  This was put out right before Bad Music For Bad People, which is pretty much the same record minus a couple songs.  Why you ask would a label put out basically the same album twice, answer, contractual BS.  The Cramps tried to sue IRS Records, for what I hear was a million dollars, they had a shopping list of complaints, but didn't win; since the label still owned the material they released another best of compilation to cash in on their investment.

  The story goes, more like the legend goes ... Interior picked up Ivy while she was hitchhiking in 1972, they quickly realised they had the same obsession of music, art and collecting; they decided to become an item, then eventually a band -- The Cramps.  This comp covers their most important and crucial era, some of which was recorded with Alex Chilton in Memphis with the help, supposedly, of Sam Philips at Sun Studios.  Their sound seems to get lumped into two categories, Psychobilly and Garage Punk, but I disagree with that labeling.  What the Cramps did was mix the coolest elements of the 50`s, 60`s, and 70`s to make something new that became so unique, so awesome that no takers could copy or outdo!

  I bought this bad boy off the bay, and the damn thing skips even though looks good it skips, every song with the exception of Domino.  I was so pissed, I`ve been listening to this band since I was too young to know about them, and my very first real good Cramps record skips; I`ve been stuck with the same old tape that has this material on it for years, otherwise I have a couple albums of their later stuff, which doesn`t even touch their early brilliance.  I contacted my bayer, typing like a man with mad cow disease, thirsting for my money back to end my paranoid suffering.  My reply was to check for this and that, which I already knew, but there was a remedy as well, static cleaner, i`ve also heard distilled water who knows ... it could be my saving grace so I can finally play my holy grail, well until the next one ... I guess we`ll just have to see ....

Deep Purple -- Shades Of... & The Book Of Taliesyn

  I did these two together because they are basically the same disc, and was on a grandiose search of what could be their next great song of this period other than Hush, which by the way is their best tune, but my results came back nil.  What I did discover is a mix of the bad sides of Cream and The Doors all intertwined making two albums of complete over the top 60's garbage.

  Both albums feature some cheeseball originals, tasteless Beatles covers, and a couple of horrendous renditions.  The main offender is their version of Hey Joe, which they take full song credit for, and by the way isn't written by Hendrix either, but did he say, "that's mine", I don't think so, although Deep Purple did.  In order not to ruin my day with this stream of negativity, I won't go on about the Camelot references, or the annoying keyboard playing, etc ... Hush is a great hit, and if anyone wants these albums I'll let go of the pair for a couple dollars, at least there's one good song!

The English Beat -- I Just Can't Stop It

  Ska/ New Wave outfit The Beat are one of the best of the revival bands that came out of England.  Now I'm not just tossing them into New Wave gang because they're from the 80's, I have evidence to support my case.  Exhibit one, the song Best Friend is a basic New Wave song and is almost completely Skaless; exhibit two, is the large use of flange guitar which goes hand in hand with the New Wave Sound.  This record is filled with wall to wall classics, form the start, Mirror In The Bathroom, to some cool covers, including my personal favorite track, the most authentic Ska sounding tune, Can't Get Used To Losing You.  Plus they have a resident Sax virtuoso Saxa who is a luminary player from the old days in Jamaica playing with the greats, Buster and Dekker, just to name a few.  Call up the Special Beat Service 'cause Hands Off ... She's Mine!

Black Sabbath -- Master Of Reality

  I'm not sure what reality they are the masters of, but it certainly isn't the one that any of us live in (hopefully), who gives a f*ck if the lyrics are juvenile this guitar Grunge Sludgefest is goddamn great!  Here you've got the best riff based Heavy Metal tunes that screwheads are still worshiping.  They include weird little ditties, keeping the album interesting, for example the Lo-Fi Indian styled Embryo and the prettily vocaled Solitude.  I really liked the fact that they mix in juxtaposing elements to show their varied musicianship while keeping their fans on their toes.

Gene Loves Jezebel -- Desire

  This five song EP is the cross between The Bauhaus and The Cult ... I kinda thought I'd hate it once I put it on, but I didn't, it wasn't so bad, although it wasn't so good either.  Title track Desire was by far the best tune on the EP, you can definitely hear some Jane's Addiction roots buried in all these songs, and that's about all there is to say about it!