Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era is a compilation album of American pop and rock songs from the mid- to late 1960s, assembled by Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records. Assisting him was Lenny Kaye, who later became the guitarist for the Patti Smith Group. Together, the two men assembled a 2-LP set. The album was originally released by Elektra Records in 1972, and reissued, with a new cover design, in 1976 by Sire Records. The liner notes, penned by Lenny Kaye and containing one of the first uses of the term "punk rock", gave a brief biography of each band.
The stripped-down music of groups like the 13th Floor Elevators, the Electric Prunes, the Blues Magoos and the Chocolate Watchband resonated with budding musicians of the 1970s. Many credit the influence of these groups on the punk movement that was to later explode in both the UK and the United States. Jon Savage, in his history of the UK punk movement England's Dreaming, cites Nuggets as a major influence, and includes it in his essential punk discography, alongside Iggy and The Stooges' Raw Power.
Nuggets gained credence with rock music critics and reached #196 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Infamously, unlike the other albums on this list, Nuggets took quite a while to appear on CD. Many labels marketed some of the songs on the original LP in compilation discs like Rhino Records' Nuggets series and the Pebbles series, but none of them ever compiled the original LP, with the exact same songs in the original sequence.
Nuggets gained credence with rock music critics and reached #196 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Infamously, unlike the other albums on this list, Nuggets took quite a while to appear on CD. Many labels marketed some of the songs on the original LP in compilation discs like Rhino Records' Nuggets series and the Pebbles series, but none of them ever compiled the original LP, with the exact same songs in the original sequence.
Pebbles Vol. 1 & 3 (I'll save for a later post) and Nuggets Vol. 1: The Hits (featured here) were the three albums that first got me into this music back in the mid 80's. A great escape from Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins.
01 Electric Prunes, The I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) (2:59)
02 Standells, The Dirty Water (2:48)
03 Strangeloves, The Night Time (2:32)
04 Knickerbockers, The Lies (2:44)
05 Vagrants, The Respect (2:15)
06 Mouse, A Public Execution (2:49)
07 Blues Project, The No Time Like The Right Time (2:47)
08 Shadows of Knight, The Oh Yeah (2:49)
09 The Seeds, Pushin' Too Hard (2:37)
10 Barbarians, The Moulty (2:34)
11 Remains, The Don't Look Back (2:43)
12 Magicians, The An Invitation To Cry (2:57)
13 Castaways, The Liar, Liar (1:54)
14 13th Floor Elevators You're Gonna Miss Me (2:29)
15 Count Five Psychotic Reaction (3:07)
16 Leaves, The Hey Joe (2:51)
17 Michael & The Messengers Romeo & Juliet (2:00)
18 Cryan Shames, The Sugar And Spice (2:30)
19 Amboy Dukes, The Baby Please Don't Go (5:39)
20 Blues Magoos Tobacco Road (4:42)
21 Chocolate Watch Band, Let's Talk About Girls (2:43)
22 Mojo Men, The Sit Down, I Think I Love You (2:23)
23 Third Rail, The Run, Run, Run (1:55)
24 Sagittarius, My World Fell Down (3:50)
25 Nazz Open My Eyes (2:45)
26 Premiers, The (4) Farmer John (2:27)
27 Magic Mushrooms, The It's-A-Happening (2:47)
A tip of the hat to freaky lady.
