#405 Various, 'Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968' (1972)

Previously #196

An album compiled by Lenny Kaye, a writer and record store employee, who would go on to become the lead guitarist in the Patti Smith Group. This compilation is a great little snapshot into a microcosm of music history; the period leading into, during and immediately after the Summer Of Love. This collection is all about the scene and those artists that were a massive part of it. None of the artists are super familiar to me, to be honest, but I enjoyed listening to this very much.

One major standout for me was Mouse and the Traps – A Public Execution. For me this was a very thinly veiled rip off of Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone.’ From the Dylanesque vocals to the music, to the song structure. Upon a bit of research, it turns out I’m not the only one that thought this and has been brought up my multiple music historians. And how cool is Count Five – Psychotic Reaction? I was most surprised to find out that The Amboy Dukes was fronted by Ted Nugent. Had no idea that he had roots in psychedelia. His later political opinions seem to go against everything people in that movement were standing for. Another highlight was The Vagrants’ cover of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect.’ This is a record that would sound so great on vinyl. It’s not available on streaming, so I had to do a bit of work to listen to each track cobbled together on Spotify and YouTube.

#rs500albums