Customer Reviews

Where The Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Four discs -61,64,69,71 minutes each approximately. The sound is uniformly fine. These songs sound about as good as they ever will. The discs are slipped-bare-into half-cardboard sleeves in the back of the hardback book. Not the best. I put my discs into separate jewel cases for protection. The book itself is well done. Information on the era when this great music was first coming out is informative and fun to read. There is a track by track listing of the various groups,with info on who was in the band,when it was recorded,and any listings on Billboard,etc. There are pictures of the bands,along with reproductions of advertising for various clubs and related items,that were seemingly essential (leather goods) during that time. There are also two pages listing clubs of the era,along with info on various groups that played these venues. The radio stations of the day are also listed,along with a brief description of the music they played. There's also a time line of musical and related events during this time period. All of this adds up to be a very well done collection,and helps set the scene for this great music. One of the more interesting items is a letter from THE BYRDS to the group THE RISING SONS,hoping their album flops and they rot in the Columbia Records basement,along with Terry Melcher,and then they wish the band good luck in the future. At Ciro's Le Disc,for $4.95,you can have dinner,dancing and two drinks,in a "special" called the "Early Byrd Delight". Definitely a different era.

The music itself is a good overview of Los Angeles "rock" during the mid to late sixties. Some groups will be well known to listeners (THE STANDELLS,THE BYRDS,LOVE IRON BUTTERFLY etc) familiar with this era's music. However,even the groups that most listeners know, they probably haven't heard a number of these early tracks. That's the beauty of this collection. It isn't a collection of "hits" from the era. This is an alternative collection of music by people/groups,some who went on to fame and fortune,while others disappeared. The discs are,roughly,thematically done,covering areas like pop sounds,groups who primarily played in the clubs,more rock oriented groups,and even Top 40 groups. Along the way you'll hear rock,folk,folk-rock,country (L.A. style),studio productions,and the beginnings of psychedelic music.

There are groups who "made it" and some groups who were literally "one shot wonders". But that's the beauty of this set. Together this overview will show listeners that there was much more than the "known" groups coming out of L.A. The treasures found in this collection are to numerous to list. Virtually every track is worthwhile,if for nothing else than putting a smile on your face. However,there are a number of groups who sound so good,you'll wonder why they didn't make it. The early tracks by many well known groups will be a revelation to listeners only familiar with the usual stuff we've heard over and over again. There's early songs from Van Dyke Parks,Nilsson,Peter Fonda(!),P.F. Sloan,THE RISING SONS (with Taj Mahal),THE SEEDS,HEARTS AND FLOWERS,Sonny and Cher,and so on.

This is one of Rhino Records better releases in their Nuggets series. There is so much good,important,fun music here,that this collection bears listening to many times over. And every time you'll hear something new and probably great. For those who grew up in the late sixties,this will be a time machine back to an era long past. For those who weren't around then,this set will go a long way in explaining the beginnings of the sixties music sound. Either way,this is a great collection of the sounds that came out of Los Angeles during a relatively short,but important,period of time .

This is a really fine collection of tunes, following the blueprint of the original 1972 "Nuggets" compilation, concentrating on the "scene" in L.A., many of which were overlooked at the time, but are no less deserving of our praise than the more familiar hits by the artists represented. Some were genuine local radio hits, like "Tripmaker" by The Seeds, and "Roses and Rainbows" by Danny Hutton. The Music Machine's followup to "Talk Talk", "The People In Me" is arguably even better but got blacklisted from radio play due to radio station politics but should have been a monster hit. One of The Turtles' best records (and one of the greatest titles for a song ever) was the low-charting "Grim Reaper of Love", which is my personal favorite from the band. The sublime "Splendor in the Grass" written and performed by Jackie DeShannon (and covered by a girl group called The Boys), is a shining example of a tune that slipped by but shouldn't have. The idea here is not to collect a bunch of overly familiar songs (and there are plenty of CD collections like that), but to highlight the great gems that mostly missed receiving the attention they deserved. Now is the time for us to appreciate these tracks with this super set.

The above review seems based on a misconception about the box set. This is a compilation that celebrates rock and roll music in LOS ANGLES during the mid-60s. Which would explain why The Kinks or the Dave Clark 5 are not included. Like most Nuggets collections, this is a very thorough one. It's well worth the price.

You know the music's good. Hits, rarities, you name it, all from the great L.A. scene of the mid-sixties. Given recent trends in the Nuggets series, you know the packaging is going to annoy you, but hey, just slide those CDs out carefully the first time and put them in your own slim-line cases for protection and storage. It's really not that big a deal. But I'm here to alert you now about the CONTENT of the accompanying book for this Los Angeles set. It's the best of the series. Others have complained here on amazon about how Where the Action Is "skimps" on content. Well, not quite. True, there aren't as many pages as in the San Francisco set, but what's here is great. In a quick easy format, you get snapshot profiles of all the bands, personnel listings, and a timeline detailing everything of importance that happened on "the scene." After the paragraph long band capsules, you get profiles of all the clubs and discothèques of Sixties L.A. And then you get intros to the various radio stations that played this music in L.A. at the time. Best of all, it's a fast read, with no fluff and no filler. To tell you the truth, I've always found those earlier Nuggets books to be a little wearisome. Sure the great information is there, but you have to dig through a lot of wide-eyed wonder and elaboration to get to it. With Where the Action Is, it's all front and center. Nobody's on a nostalgia trip (except for maybe a little in the introduction), and you'll finish up knowing a whole lot more about the L.A. scene than you do about S.F. in Love is the Song We Sing. Sure, there are fewer words here, but they're the right words with the right information. This is the most succinct, most helpful and most entertaining companion book that Nuggets has put out, and I own them all. Looking forward to the Boston Scene, you guys!

Over the last few years, the CD reissue house Rhino Records has been widely expanding the classic garage music collection of `Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968' put together by Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records, and the late Lenny Kaye, later lead guitarist for the Patti Smith Group. This masterful original collection paid homage to the music of the period and was very influential in the creation of the Punk Rock movement which grew out of the demise of the first rock music wave of the 1960s (which had grown lazy and self indulgent). `Nuggets' brought to the attention of the new generation of musicians in the late 1970s the deep rock grooves that made the music of the 1960s truly interesting. L.A. Nuggets is now the fifth or sixth 4 cd collection issued by Rhino. The last two reissues have seen a change with the recognition that rock music and rock culture always begins and renews itself from regions and from there spreads its influence and fan bases nationally and internationally. This collection is based on Los Angeles rock culture from 65 to 68. Last years release was SAN FRANCISCO NUGGETS: LOVE IS THE SONG WE SING 1965-1970, another wonderful 4cd box set.

Both of these collections have very impressive packaging. CD manufacturers, facing stiff competition from mp3 type downloads have started to really improve the packaging of music. For years after the demise of the record, customers were treated like mugs with poor sound quality digital transfers and the most revolting packaging. Business managers of the big music corporations obviously were not fans of music listening. If they were they would have understood just how important a cover and its contents are to making a purchasing decision. A similar thing might be said about books and booksellers today, who are now facing the threat of ebook downloads. Both the San Francisco and LA Nuggetts collections come in a large book format, with great layout and photography as well as sets of essays about the era and details about the bands performing on the various tracks. These books are a sensual delight to touch and hold and smell, something you might want to do while you are listening to the great music on the CDs!

San Francisco and LA had very distinct rock music styles. It might have been the differences in the kind of drugs that were popular at the time (e.g. Sand Francisco-LSD; LA-speed and both obviously had THC). Perhaps a more significant factor was to do with the musical styles that were around in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both regions forged different styles of rock music that brought in the blues / folk / jazz / Tex-Mex / rockabilly / Indian raga / country / Cajun in different configurations. The musicians in the individual regions would then interact, from which a distinct regional style would evolve. The regions would then become the platform from which bands and styles would launch themselves into the world. West coast USA in the 1960s, with two and possibly three (I'm thinking of Seattle) musical regions became a musical and cultural powerhouse the like of which we have never seen before (or are likely to see again, given the changes to the structure of the music industry). The list of famous names are simply too long to list here, but they were key personnel in the emergence of all the musical styles we enjoy today. These bands and individuals `restructured' the styles they drew on, in the process creating something completely novel, completely `out of the way'. Today we take many musical sounds and chord progressions for granted. The fact that we are capable of recognising the cacophony of sounds as `music' is entirely due to those who pioneered the styles, those who experimented, and those who were willing to push audio envelopes on stage and in the sound studio. An album like Sgt. Peppers would have been unlistenable to all but the most sophisticated experimental jazz and orchestral players in the 1930's and 1940s. Now we hear it without thinking at the supermarket. Led Zeppelins' `Stairway to Heaven' was once only for rather ripped rock fans. Now you also hear it in supermarkets and coffee shops.

The San Francisco Nuggets' collection is far more cerebral than the LA collection. There was more of a tendency to play around with sound, slowing it in odd moments, twisting it around, drifting around and then shooting off to some distant musical galaxy. The LA sound strikes me as less the head, more the abdomen and below. It's got much more of a driving rock sound and puts you more quickly in the mood for dancing. Dancing -of course- is the essential corollary to rock music. In the end, the only way you can judge rock music is through feeling. Does it feel good, does it turn you on, does it make you wanna-wanna. The remastering of the sound in these collections is another impressive feature. Forty years or more later and the sound still hits you like a well cured joint in an open air festival out in the country on a sunny day. Relax and enjoy this music. Get it through your local dealer or through Amazon (the music I mean).

Sunday, 1 November 2009

Nuggets are noted for their enthusiasm and punch (AM) over any asperation of finesse or fidelity (FM). Mono is well suited to "punch", really the only way to hear this stuff, unless of course you have a favored altered state, that won't hurt the listening experience, either. As they say, enjoy responsibly. The tracks are fairly consistantly obscure, something that cannot be said for the previous S.F. Nuggets set, which contained a smattering of fairly well known, FM, stereo tracks. Many of these tracks lean toward the folk/pop side of the garage, clearly the Beach Boys' harmonies were a beacon to many of these aggregations. Digestion of Nuggets sometimes takes repeated listens, sometimes it seems like you've heard something before, but can't place when or where. Maybe, that's a tugging from alternate reality, planet X, where these are all, of course, big hits. Fans of the weird and wonderful, rejoice !

I got this 4 CD box set a few days ago and it took a few days to review.
This is definitely one of their better compilations of various artists from Rhino.
I don't need to tell you that Rhino is one of the better labels. Some of my best CDs came from them.


There is every genre from Rock/Sunshine Pop to Garage style music.
No matter what genre you like you will find something to like.

Since my site specializes in Garage 'style' music I'll concentrate on these songs.
If you like garage you can easily make a one disc compilation of the lesser known bands that will sound good no matter where you go in your car.

Here are the best highlights of this genre (Garage):

Revenge - The Others - 1966 - "Raw GARAGE FUZZ guitar riffs define this song along with some FINE vocals."

Hideaway - The Electric Prunes - 1967 - "From their album Underground-1967. This time out the group was allowed to write five of the disc's twelve songs, allowing their musical voice to be heard with greater clarity. This is one of their more Psychedelic songs."

Everything's There - The Hysterics - 1967 - "Good FIRST impression. They had a characteristic organ-guitar sound and snarling, immature teen putdown vocals; a 500-copy reissue EP of four of their songs came out in the 1980s."

Acid Head - The Velvet Illusions - 1967 - "If you LIKE The Electric Prunes then you WILL like this song. He's singing about a DRUGGY girl. They moved from Yakima Washington to the LA area."


I'm very particular on what I put on my site player and you can check it out if you want.

Would I recommend this Box set? Yes and the reason is that you can check out the other bands to increase the value of your songs in iTunes.

If you agree that the above songs are good them maybe you'll use my site player for your next party. Talk about being grandiose. LOL.

Wow, poor Mona. She's in way over her head. This set will be completely lost on her. She'll never even listen to it because it contains nothing that she's already familiar with?! She's obviously unaware of Rhino records OR their stellar reputation when it comes to reissues (see Nuggets I & II, Children of Nuggets, What It Is!, Love is the Song We Sing, Left of the Dial.) Their credibility is reflected by all of the awards won for said reissues. They put as much into their sets as I do mine. Maybe Mona should have glanced at the track listing provided before buying the download. Hey Mona, maybe you should give this set a chance. You might learn something. I don't even have mine yet. I'm hoping to get it tomorrow, and I'm only fluently familiar with one song here, "If You Want This Love," which is an instant classic. It's people like you who come up to me and request songs like "Play That Funky Music" and "Brick House," songs that are begging to be put to sleep. It makes me wanna puke. Have a nice day.

Outstanding collection of nuggets, indeed. Although I have a number of tracks scattered on other recordings that are contained on this collection, my biggest criticism is what others have said about the storage sleeves for the cds. "Total cheese". Why they couldn't have put good, recessed trays inside that would be more accessible as well as better protection is beyond me. Same goes for the "Love is the Song We Sing" collection. A superb gathering of music, brought down by cheesy cd-storage. Rhino needs to re-think this one. But all the music on both collections is nice venture into a time when the gloves were off musically and audio pugilism was on all radios and stereos. Recommended.

This set is a well-above-average compendium of the mid-60s Los Angeles music scene. The four discs containing 101 songs are divided in four genres, if you will, addressing the Sunset Strip scene, the LA subrubs, studio-groups and onset of the evolutionary synthesis that for this region lead to the rise of the singer-songwriter and soft country-rock. There are the very well-knowns, the lesser-well knowns, the local heroes and what I have to call the "why are they here?"

The songs themselves are not, however, the ones you might expect. Instead of the big hits, it's a panorama of more obscure cuts, B-sides, alternative versions and album cuts. It also contains a number of before they were famous/almost famous performers, including Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Danny Hutton and Jackie DeShannon. Doing this allows one to get a more clear understanding of just how good some of these performers were!

Rhino used the same packaging approach as it did for the San Francisco set "Love Is the Song I Sing," and a good design it is. The book format allows for the CDs and liner notes to be stored in a minimum of space without sparing content.

More or less...

To my mind, the only fault in this set - I don't see the songs being in mono an issue, as a another reviewer commented; that's the way they were released and let's be objective here...we cannot spend the funds that were spent to reissue The Beatles catalog on every group...even if it would have been a better use of the TARP and Economic Stimulus funds - is the liner notes/annotation is lean and spare. I would have preferred more text and something other than publicity photos. At the same time, I found the breakdown of the LA AM radio stations and clubs delightful.