Another Nuggets box (sort of?): Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965 - 1970

Yeah, I mean, it's just another piece of product, but that's actually a pretty awesome track listing. It's certainly better than some low budget multiple CD box set of sixties songs that would be advertised on TV or offered as a premium for a PBS pledge drive.

God, "White Bird," ack.

God, "Get Together," ack.

What's the story on We Five? I thought they were Australian. Did they live in SF or something?

Seems more like a good anthology of the 60s San Francisco scene than another garage rock compilation. As such, I wouldn't consider it a Nuggets box at all, but certainly of value anyway.

we five were from san fran. or based there, anyway.

"Seems more like a good anthology of the 60s San Francisco scene"

yeah, cuz it is!

they are just using the "nuggets" brand cuz they own it. not cuz all of this stuff is garage rock.

this brings together a couple of different ILMisms:

"Michael Stewart (b. April 7, 1945 - November 13, 2002) was the guitarist for We Five. He was the brother of John Stewart, a one-time member of The Kingston Trio and later a very successful singer/songwriter, and the father of Jamie Stewart, frontman of popular avant-garde group Xiu Xiu. Stewart eventually became a successful record producer, with one of his biggest successes being Billy Joel's Piano Man."

"He committed suicide in November 2002."

what, no TRIPSICHORD?!?

j/k .. it wouldn't be a compilation thread without complaints. (Rickey -- there are TWO versions of "Get Together"!!)

This looks pretty awesome and I'll definitely pick it up, since it's maybe my fave rock scene ever. Great track listing actually.

the "san fran" tag is endlessly debatable though. count five were from san jose and certainly not the first band people would think of to represent the san fran sound. but bands like the peanut butter conspiracy, who were from L.A. and had a much bigger san fran vibe, aren't included.

well yeah, and the Youngbloods were from New York...

i might pass. i own about 75% of it already. and i still haven't bought that funk box yet.

yeah, that's what i mean. i haven't given that list a good look. there's probably a lot of examples like that. i guess get together is too undeniable or something.

I own most of it too, but I'm curious enough about the stuff I don't have, and sometimes it's nice to listen to somebody else's mix (I'm always too lazy to make my own) I dunno, we'll see, looks like something to ask for for X-mas basically.

they also should have thrown on some AUM.

and since they have other big names on there, why no turtles or byrds? seems kinda weird. or buffalo springfield. OR POCO GODDAMMIT!

but, yeah, overall, it's fine. good music. if you don't own a lot of it, you should definitely buy it.

because those groups were from los angeles?

x-post

yeah, they are/were, but we have already established that all of these bands are not from san fran. without the byrds would there have been a charlatans? or a grass roots? maybe they are gonna have an L.A. box. that would be nice too.

i heart vejtables.

ok but saying "the count five were from san jose" is a little different from wondering why the byrds aren't on a san francisco box!

not to be argumentative!

i think the byrds should be on every 60's boxed set.

i think the byrds should be on every box set

It's a Beautiful Day [Columbia, 1969] This is on the charts. Get it off. D

Scott and Max OTM.

An earlier version of the track listing had a Golliwogs track and a couple Creedence tracks -- I'm guessing that Fantasy's position on licensing individual tracks may have changed since the new regime came in.

I do think that effectively positioning the Dead as a singles band is v. cool.

Hey, what the frick! What about "Mendocino"?

BOYCOTT

Good to see some Family Tree on there, their "Miss Butters" LP (which is about to be released on CD for the first time ever) is my favourite album, though, they could've picked a better song for the boxset, but still...

who doesn't have all this shit already?!

lots of people, probably.

Has there really been an overview of these SF groups? I think in that alone, it is worth compiling even if the Nuggets brand might not really fit.

I've seen references that The Paul Butterfield Blues Band stretching out tunes in a modal style live in SF, such as the title track "East-West" on their second record was a spark for some of the SF bands to start jamming tunes out.

I guess they should have called it Bay Area Nuggets to be accurate. But Alec Palao wrote the liner notes, and he 'll do right by these bands in his writing.

Rhino needs to do a super deluxe reissue of the Dino Valente record.

I've seen references that The Paul Butterfield Blues Band stretching out tunes in a modal style live in SF, such as the title track "East-West" on their second record was a spark for some of the SF bands to start jamming tunes out.

The Butterfield Blues band were vital in the development of the Haight-Ashbury sound.

I wonder if the Dark Star used is the single version, I've never heard it.
I've never heard a lot of this stuff, just heard of it. Like Sopwith Camel.
I should ask for this for my birthday or something.

Hey, what the frick! What about "Mendocino"?

OTM. If Janis counts, so should Sir Doug...and the 13th Elevators.

You know, it's funny that they chose "Suzy Creamcheese" by TEDDY AND HIS PATCHES instead of "Haight Ashbury." I guess it's OK to be stupid and garage on disc two but "Haight Ashbury" would have dragged down the necessary gravitas about THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT.

OTM. If Janis counts, so should Sir Doug...and the 13th Elevators.

Maybe some the selections depended on what Rhino was allowed to use.

Well, they've used the Elevators on the first Nuggets box (and so other comps too)via Charly Records. The Frisco-era SDQ stuff is owned by Universal Music Group, whom Rhino has also done business with before. Altough I imagine the ultimate reasoning is that Joplin is (A) a bigger star whose catalogue hasn't been as extensively licensed out for comps, and (B)She is seen to be a much bigger and imporatant part of the San Francisco scene (The Elevators and the SDQ are--after all this time--still more closely associated with the Texas scene than Janis).

I think the "Dark Star" single is on "What A Long Strange Trip It's Been".

It is also a bonus track on the 2003 CD reissue of Live/Dead.

(B)She is seen to be a much bigger and imporatant part of the San Francisco scene (The Elevators and the SDQ are--after all this time--still more closely associated with the Texas scene than Janis).

This seems like a likely reason.

I think this song list does a decent job, transcending the hippie/jam vs. garage/punk dichotomy.

I love this bit from Greil Marcus's recent column on the box:

Love Is the Song We Sing brings the whole hoary myth of San Francisco as the last American utopia down to earth. The 77 tracks collected here, recorded between 1965 and 1970, reduce the San Francisco Sound--in the hands of a few, a glorious explosion of musical risk, experiment, discovery, and glamour--to a bunch of local bands making crummy singles.
Weak vocals! Rickety rhythms! Bad sound! Hipster posing! I mean, having lived my entire life in the Bay Area, I was there, and a lot of the stuff here I never heard. There are bands here I've never heard of--and for good reason.

San Francisco had possibly the shittiest music scene of all the famous late-60s hotspots. Apart from Sly and the Beau Brummels and the occasional Moby Grape bit urrrrghhhh so bad.

oh and of course CCR, the best American band ever

but seriously, Country Joe and the Fish? Quicksilver Messenger Service? Janis? the Dead? DO NOT WANT

That Greil comment is beautiful.

Man, there's some whiny shit on this thing, even on the "Suburbs" disc (the one with Count Five and the Chocolate Watchband). And this is what the fabled Dino Valenti sounds like?

Enough about that sort-of Nuggets box for now: what does anyone think of this sort-of Nuggets II box?

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/61GawxThNrL._AA240_.jpg

Disc 1: Sowing The Seeds
My Friend Jack - The Smoke
No More You And Me - The Tornados '66
The Cheat - Lord Sutch
Doctor Doctor - The Frame
Day And Night - The Drag Set
Fancy - The Kinks
Don't Want You (BBC session) - The Traffic Jam
The Breaking-Up Scene - Honeybus
Snow White - Winston's Fumbs
I Like It - Neil Christian & the Crusaders
Black Sheep R.I.P. - Australian Playboys
Circles - The Fleur De Lys
The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan - Marc Bolan (with John's Children)
You're Holding Me Down - The Buzz
I Take It That We're Through - The Riot Squad
Come On Back - Paul Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames
It's A Crime - The Kirkby's
Love Me Till The Sun Shines (BBC session) - The Kinks
Hippy Gumbo - Marc Bolan
Gently Tender - The Incredible String Band
Sunny Goodge Street - Donovan
Linda Loves Linda - Floribunda Rose
Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire - The Small Faces
Rubber Monkey - Santa Barbara Machine Head
You've Got To Hold On - The Deviants
Season Of The Witch - Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger with The Trinity

Disc 2: Plant A Flower Child Today
The End - Loving Sacred Loving (alt. version)
All Day All Night - Blonde On Blonde
Crazy One - Ramases And Selket
Man In Black (BBC session) - Skip Bifferty
Yellow Balloon (Previously unreleased) - Icarus
Real Life Permanent Dream - The Orange Machine
The Clown - Eire Apparent
When The Wind Arises - The Rokes
I'm Flying - Serendipity
Trip On An Orange Bicycle - The Orange Bicycle
Utterly Simple - The Smoke
London Social Degree - Billy Nicholls
The Golden Lion (Previously unreleased) - Lomax Alliance
Sunshine Day - Jethroe Toe (Tull)
Boy Meets Girl - Paper Blitz Tissue
Cave Of Clear Light - The Bystanders
I Wonder Where My Sister's Gone - Anan
Man In A Shop - The Marmalade
Lord John (Previously unreleased) - The Bobcats
Mazy - The Peep Show
Bakerman - Moon's Train
Love, Hate, Revenge - Episode Six
Good Evening - The Tickle
It - The Excelsior Spring
Nite Is A-Comin' a.k.a. Lindyloo (Previously unreleased alt. version) - Warm Sounds
Fire (alt. version) - The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown

Disc 3 HappyDaysToyTown
Pictures Of Matchstick Men (BBC session) - The Status Quo
Five White Horses - Sun Dragon
Riding A Wave - The Turnstyle
I Know She Believes - The Picadilly Line
Hey! Mr Carpenter - The Fox
The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane - Timon
Disappear - Gilbert
Encapsulated Marigold - Our Plastic Dream
Henry Long - The Epics
Lullaby - Grapefruit
I've Seen To Dream - Harmony Grass
Nodnol - Spectrum
Colour Sergeant Lillywhite - West Coast Consortium
Things Green - The Yellow Bellow Room Boom
Golden Apples - The Californians
Don't Turn Around - The Loot
Silver Tree Top School For Boys - The Beatstalkers
Give Him A Flower - The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
Fade Away Maureen - Tony Hazzard
Yellow Rainbow - The Rockin' Berries
Sylvie (Previously unreleased) - The Hill
Fool From Upper Eden - Andy Ellison
Love And Best Wishes (BBC session) - The Uglys
Sunshine - The Gun
Green Circles - Twice As Much
Mr. Job - The Alan Bown Set
Happydaystoytown - The Small Faces

Disc 4 Circus Days Are Here Again
Circus Days - Junior's Eyes
No Home Today - The Kult
Lady Caroline - Velvett Fogg
Go Your Way - Andromeda
The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon - The Nice
Horse - Sam Gopal
Candlelight - Hardin-York
How Can I Live? - Fat Mattress
Tarot (Ace of Wands Theme) - Andrew Brown
The Light Of Love - Humble Pie
On A Meadow Lea - Bobak Jones Malone
The Open Ground - Pussy
Fair Maiden - Woody Kern
Empty Room - Man
Venus - Samson
My Gration Or? - Opal Butterfly
Thank You Pierrot Lunaire / Have You Ever Bean Green? / Pataphysical Introduction Pt 2 (live) - Soft Machine
Felix - Andwella's Dream
Born In A Trunk - Spice
All In Your Mind - Stray

Lots of cracking Freakbeat on there, pity I've got so much of it on other comps, but it does suggest the stuff I don't have may be equally mental.

I think the "Dark Star" single is on "What A Long Strange Trip It's Been".
I picked up this set at a used cd shop last weekend, v v pleased with the single version of Dark Star.

That single is totally unique. I was just listening to it yesterday. That organ and ghostly reverb is awesome.

so yeah this thing is actually quite the friggin awesome document...

Country Weather
Salvation

= the biggest revelations, for me

HARD-BOUND book and striking Alec Palao photos within .. a bountiful treasure

there are a little too many dippy pop groups (although once again: woe for the lack of Aum, Tripsichord, or even Cold Blood [yes, I know that Lydia is on here with her other group..])

still one heck of a document. Nicely played

Hey, Stormy! I was fortunate enough to find a Salvation single, on ABC, not long ago, and it is indeed the goodness. I liked the box too, although it loses steam for me around Disc 4 or so, when the jam bands take over. But it holds up pretty good, for the most part. They really shouldn't have used the term "nuggets" in the title, though, as too much of this DOES NOT have a garage sound and shouldn't be confused with that.

I'm not terribly familiar with Aum or Tripsichord, but wouldn't Cold Blood be a little bit out of the timeline? (First album = 1970.) Tower Of Power and Joy Of Cooking didn't make it either, I suspect for the same reasons.