Nuggets (series) explained

Nuggets is a series of compilation albums, started by Elektra Records in 1972^[1] and continued by Rhino Records thereafter.^[2] The series focuses primarily on relatively obscure garage and psychedelic rock songs from the 1960s, but with some hits and pop-oriented songs also included.^[2]

In 1972, Elektra released , compiled by Lenny Kaye.^[1] The later series by Rhino consists of 12 vinyl-only and three single-CD albums, all released during the 1980s. In 1998, Rhino issued a 4-CD Nuggets box set, which was essentially the original 1972 LP with 91 bonus tracks.^[2] Four more box sets and four single-CDs releases followed.

The music on Rhino's 1984–1989 Nuggets series is similar to that on Kaye's original compilation. While many of the songs on the 1980s series' 15 albums appeared on the original Nuggets double LP, others were new to the series and some eventually wound up on Rhino's 1998 box set. Although most of the music was recorded by US groups, there are some exceptions, such as the Troggs (English) and the Easybeats (Australian).

In 2012, Australian label Festival Records issued their own CD compilation titled Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts, 1965–1967,^[3] followed by a vinyl release the following year.^[4]

Discography

Original compilation: 1972

The original 1972 Nuggets compilation was a 2-LP set of 27 American psychedelic and garage rock singles that were originally released during the mid-to-late 1960s. It was created by Lenny Kaye, and was reissued with a new cover design by Sire Records in 1976. For more information:

• (1972)

Nuggets, Volumes 1 through 12: 1984–1985

Rhino issued a 12-volume series of Nuggets LPs in 1984-1985; there are 168 tracks across the 12 volumes. All tracks are by American performers, and the LPs feature a mix of garage rock, folk rock, pop and other related genres.

This iteration of Nuggets has an extremely different track listing when compared to the original LPs. All told, only 16 of the 27 tracks on the original Nuggets 2LP set are featured in this 12 volume series.

As well, numerous tracks from these LPs were later incorporated into the later Nuggets 4CD box set -- although many, many tracks were not ported over into the CD box set. Of the 116 tracks on the 1998 4CD box set, 72 are featured in this 12-volume LP series.

• Tracks included on the original 1972 compilation are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets 2LP.
• Tracks included on the later 1998 4-CD box set are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets Box.
• Tracks included in specialized Nuggets compilations are noted in the Other column.
  • Tracks marked H appear on
  • Tracks marked LA appear on Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965–1968.
  • tracks marked SF appear on

Nuggets, Volume 1: The Hits (1984)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Leaves		Yes	Yes		US #31
The Electric Prunes	I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)	Yes	Yes		US #11
The Five Americans	I See the Light		Yes		US #26
The Standells	Dirty Water	Yes	Yes		US #11
The Human Beinz			Yes		US #8
Blues Magoos			Yes		US #5
The Barbarians	Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl		Yes		US #55
The Seeds	Pushin' Too Hard	Yes	Yes		US #36
The Music Machine			Yes		US #15
Count Five	Psychotic Reaction	Yes	Yes	SF	US #5
The Balloon Farm	A Question of Temperature		Yes		US #37
Nazz	Open My Eyes	Yes	Yes		US #112
The Amboy Dukes	Journey to the Center of the Mind		Yes		US #16
Blue Cheer	Summertime Blues			SF	US #3

Nuggets, Volume 2: Punk (1984)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
Love	My Little Red Book				US #52
The Shadows of Knight	Gloria				US #10
The Seeds	"Can't Seem to Make You Mine"		Yes		US #41
The Music Machine	Double Yellow Line		Yes		US #111
The Chocolate Watchband	Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love-In)?		Yes
The Del-Vetts	Last Time Around		Yes
The Vagrants	Respect	Yes	Yes
The Standells	Try It
The Shadows of Knight	I'm Gonna Make You Mine		Yes		US #90
The Music Machine	The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly
The Leaves	Too Many People		Yes
The Sonics	Strychnine		Yes
The Elastik Band	Spazz		Yes
The Standells	Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White		Yes		US #43

Nuggets, Volume 3: Pop (1984)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Knickerbockers	Lies	Yes	Yes		US #20
The Cryan' Shames	Sugar And Spice	Yes	Yes		US #49
The Lewis & Clarke Expedition	I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)				US #64
The Parade	Sunshine Girl				US #20
Boyce & Hart	I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight				US #8
The Cyrkle	Turn Down Day				US #16
The Merry-Go-Round	You're A Very Lovely Woman				US #94
The Bobby Fuller Four	Let Her Dance				US #133
The Turtles	Can I Get To Know You Better				US #89
The Cyrkle	Red Rubber Ball				US #2
Spiral Starecase	Baby What I Mean				US #111
The Outsiders	Time Won't Let Me		Yes		US #5
People!	I Love You			SF	US #14
October Country	October Country

Nuggets, Volume 4: Pop, Part Two (1984)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Merry-Go-Round	Live		Yes		US #63
The Outsiders	Lost In My World
The Royal Guardsmen	Baby Let's Wait				US #35
Teddy & The Pandas	We Can't Go On This Way				US #103
The Parade	She Sleeps Alone
The E-Types	Put The Clock Back On The Wall		Yes
The Palace Guard	Falling Sugar		Yes
The Knickerbockers	One Track Mind		Yes		US #46
The Chartbusters	She's The One				US #33
The Palace Guard	All Night Long			LA
lyme & cybelle	Follow Me		Yes		US #65
The Long Island Sound	1, 2, 3 And I Fell
The Rumors	Without Her
The Yellow Balloon	Yellow Balloon			LA	US #25

Nuggets, Volume 5: Pop, Part Three (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Knickerbockers	High On Love			LA	US #94
The Vacels	You're My Baby (And Don't You Forget It)				US #63
The Vogues	You're The One				US #4
Hackamore Brick	Got A Gal Named Wilma
The Lovin' Spoonful	She Is Still A Mystery				US #27
The Association	Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies			H	US #35
The Mojo Men	Sit Down I Think I Love You	Yes	Yes		US #36
The American Breed	Bend Me, Shape Me				US #5
Cherokee	Girl, I've Got News For You				US #116
The Grass Roots	Where Were You When I Needed You				US #28
The Electric Prunes	Everybody Knows You're Not In Love
The Trade Winds	Mind Excursion
Strawberry Alarm Clock	Tomorrow				US #23
Primrose Circus	P. S. Call Me Lulu

Nuggets, Volume 6: Punk, Part Two (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
Mouse	A Public Execution	Yes	Yes		US #121
	Diddy Wah Diddy		Yes
The Nightcrawlers	The Little Black Egg		Yes		US #85
The Brogues	I Ain't No Miracle Worker		Yes
The Unrelated Segments	Where You Gonna Go
Black Pearl	Forget It
We The People	Mirror Of Your Mind		Yes
The Shadows of Knight	Oh Yeah	Yes	Yes		US #39
Steppenwolf	Sookie, Sookie
The Chocolate Watchband	Sweet Young Thing		Yes
The Grass Roots	Mr. Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man)			SF	US #121
The Seeds	Try To Understand
The Underdogs	Love's Gone Bad		Yes		US #122
The Electric Prunes	Get Me To The World On Time		Yes

(1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Beau Brummels	Laugh, Laugh		Yes		US #15
The Beau Brummels	Just a Little				US #8
The Mojo Men	Dance with Me				US #61
The Mojo Men	She's My Baby		Yes	SF
The Vejtables	I Still Love You
The Vejtables	The Last Thing on My Mind
Jan Ashton	Cold Dreary Morning
We Five	You Were on My Mind			SF	US #3
We Five	You Let a Love Burn Out
The Charlatans	Codine		Yes
The Great Society	Somebody to Love			SF
The Great Society	Free Advice			SF
Country Joe and the Fish	Bass Strings
The Tikis	I Must Be Dreaming

Nuggets, Volume 8: The Northwest (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
	Louie, Louie		Yes		US #2
The Sonics	Boss Hoss
Paul Revere & The Raiders	Over You				US #133
The Wailers	Hang Up
The Initial Shock	Mind Disaster
The Daily Flash	Jack Of Diamonds		Yes
The Weeds	It's Your Time
Paul Revere & The Raiders	Just Like Me		Yes		US #11
The Wailers	You Weren't Using Your Head
The Surprise Package	Out Of My Mind
The Sonics	He's Waitin'
The Daily Flash	Violets Of Dawn
The Kingsmen	I Guess I Was Dreaming
Floating Bridge	Don't Mean A Thing

(1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
Love	7 and 7 Is		Yes		US #33
The Byrds	Eight Miles High				US #14
	Feelings
The First Edition	Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)				US #5
Steppenwolf	Magic Carpet Ride				US #3
The Young Rascals	It's Wonderful				US #20
	Porpoise Song			H	US #62
The Turtles	She's My Girl				US #14
Strawberry Alarm Clock	Incense and Peppermints		Yes		US #1
The Seeds	The Wind Blows Your Hair
Vanilla Fudge	You Keep Me Hangin' On				US #6
	In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (single edit)				US #30
	Time Has Come Today				US #11
	I Won't Hurt You

Nuggets, Volume 10: Folk Rock (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Byrds	Mr. Tambourine Man				US #1
The Turtles	It Ain't Me Babe				US #8
	Only When You're Lonely				US #96
The Deep Six	Rising Sun
Jake Holmes	Dazed And Confused
The Sunshine Company	Back On The Street Again				US #36
	San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)				US #4
Barry McGuire	Eve Of Destruction				US #1
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	Buy For Me The Rain				US #45
M.F.Q.	Nighttime Girl			LA
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy	It's A Happening Thing				US #93
The Love Exchange	Swallow The Sun
P.F. Sloan	The Sins Of A Family				US #87
Hearts & Flowers	Rock 'N' Roll Gypsies

Nuggets, Volume 11: Pop, Part Four (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Grass Roots	Let's Live For Today				US #8
The Left Banke	Pretty Ballerina				US #15
Montage	I Shall Call Her Mary
Gene Clark	Echoes
The Sunshine Company	Happy				US #50
The Magicians	An Invitation To Cry	Yes	Yes
Fever Tree	San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)				US #91
Lee Michaels	Hello
The Third Rail	Run, Run, Run	Yes	Yes		US #53
The Critters	Mr. Dieingly Sad				US #17
Blues Magoos	I Can Hear The Grass Grow
The Blues Project	No Time Like The Right Time	Yes	Yes		US #96
The American Breed	Step Out Of Your Mind				US #24
Keith	Ain't Gonna Lie				US #39

Nuggets, Volume 12: Punk, Part Three (1985)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
Syndicate of Sound	Little Girl		Yes		US #8
Paul Revere & The Raiders	Steppin' Out		Yes		US #46
Kenny And The Kasuals	Journey To Tyme		Yes
The Other Half	Mr. Pharmacist		Yes
The Spats	She Done Moved			LA
The Remains	Don't Look Back	Yes	Yes
Max Frost and the Troopers	Shape of Things to Come		Yes		US #22
The Hombres			Yes		US #12
The Woolies	Who Do You Love?		Yes		US #95
Mouse and the Traps	Maid Of Sugar, Maid Of Spice		Yes
Harbinger Complex	I Think I'm Down		Yes
The Lollipop Shoppe	You Must Be A Witch		Yes
The Uniques	You Ain't Tuff		Yes
The Unrelated Segments	The Story Of My Life		Yes

Nuggets: Psychedelic Sixties: 1986-1989

Beginning in 1986, Rhino curated another configuration of Nuggets volumes, this time on CD. These volumes drew from the original Nuggets 2-LP set, and the later 12-volume LP series, but also included tracks completely new to the Nuggets series. As well, a handful of tracks were from non-American acts, specifically tracks by The Troggs (England) and The Easybeats (Australia).

The 3CD collection consists of 54 tracks. This iteration of Nuggets has an extremely different track listing when compared to the original LPs:

• Only 11 of the 27 tracks on the original Nuggets 2LP set are featured across these three CDs.
• Only 37 of the 168 tracks from the 12-LP series are featured across these 3 CDs.

As well, numerous tracks from these three CDs were later incorporated into the later Nuggets 4CD box set -- although many, many tracks were not ported over into the CD box set. Of the 116 tracks on the 1998 4CD box set, 32 are featured in this 3CD series.

• Tracks included on the original 1972 compilation are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets 2LP.
• Tracks included on the later 1998 4-CD box set are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets Box.
• Tracks included in specialized Nuggets compilations are noted in the Other column.
  • Tracks marked II appear on
  • Tracks marked LP followed by a number appear on that volume number in the 12-LP Nuggets LP series

Nuggets: A Classic Collection from the Psychedelic Sixties (1986)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Standells	Dirty Water	Yes	Yes	LP1
The Seeds	Pushin' Too Hard	Yes	Yes	LP1
Count Five	Psychotic Reaction	Yes	Yes	LP1
The Chocolate Watchband	Let's Talk About Girls	Yes	Yes
The Easybeats	Friday On My Mind			II
The Five Americans	I See The Light		Yes	LP1
The Standells	Why Pick On Me		Yes
Syndicate of Sound	Little Girl		Yes	LP12
The Monkees	Pleasant Valley Sunday
The Knickerbockers	Lies	Yes	Yes	LP3
The Beau Brummels	Laugh, Laugh		Yes	LP7
	Wild Thing
The Easybeats	Heaven And Hell
The Monkees	Valleri
Nazz	Open My Eyes	Yes	Yes	LP1
The Beau Brummels	Just A Little			LP7
The Seeds	Can't Seem To Make You Mine		Yes	LP2
The Amboy Dukes	Journey To The Center Of The Mind		Yes	LP1

More Nuggets: Classics from the Psychedelic Sixties, Vol. 2 (1987)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
Blues Magoos	(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet	Yes	Yes	LP1
The Seeds	Mr. Farmer
The Standells	Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White		Yes
The Castaways	Liar, Liar	Yes	Yes
	Diddy Wah Diddy		Yes	LP6
The Chocolate Watchband	Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love-in)?		Yes	LP2
The Music Machine	Talk Talk		Yes	LP1
The Merry-Go-Round	Live		Yes	LP4
The Five Americans	Western Union
The Nightcrawlers	The Little Black Egg		Yes	LP6
The Parade	Sunshine Girl		Yes	LP3
The Merry-Go-Round	You're A Very Lovely Woman			LP3
The Left Banke	Desiree
Boyce & Hart	I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight			LP3
Mouse	A Public Execution	Yes	Yes	LP6
The Standells	Try It			LP2
The Chocolate Watchband	Sweet Young Thing		Yes	LP6
The Easybeats	Gonna Have A Good Time

Even More Nuggets: Classics from the Psychedelic Sixties, Vol. 3 (1989)

Artist	Title	Nuggets 2LP	Nuggets Box	Other	Notes
The Electric Prunes	I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)	Yes	Yes	LP1
The Shadows of Knight	Gloria			LP2
We The People	Mirror Of Your Mind		Yes	LP6
Strawberry Alarm Clock			Yes	LP9
Max Frost & The Troopers	Shape Of Things To Come		Yes	LP12
The First Edition	Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)			LP9
The Woolies	Who Do You Love		Yes	LP12
The Barbarians	Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl		Yes	LP1
The Knickerbockers	One Track Mind		Yes	LP4
The Grass Roots	Let's Live For Today			LP11
	Roses And Rainbows
The Cyrkle	Red Rubber Ball			LP3
The Third Rail	Run, Run, Run	Yes	Yes	LP11
Dino, Desi & Billy	I'm A Fool
The Sunshine Company	Back On The Street Again			LP10
The E-Types	Put The Clock Back On The Wall		Yes	LP4
The Chambers Brothers	Time Has Come Today			LP9
The Grass Roots	Only When You're Lonely			LP10

Nuggets: Box sets: 1998-2009

A series of Nuggets box sets have been issued.

• (1998)
  • The first box set compiled the original 2-LP sequence of Nuggets tracks, and 91 other tracks -- some of which had been included on the 1980s 12-volume LP collection, many of which had not. All the tracks included in the box set were by American artists, recording in the mid to late 1960s.
• (2001)
  • This follow-up box compiled similar tracks that were from various non-American artists, also working in the late 1960s. Virtually all of these tracks were not previously issued as part of any Nuggets compilation.
• (2005)
  • This third box consisted of music in similar styles to the original Nuggets tracks (garage rock, jangle pop, folk rock, etc.), but that were recorded mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s.
• (2007)
  • This fourth box compiled tracks from bands working in and around the San Francisco area in the late 1960s.
• Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965–1968 (2009)
  • This fifth box compiled tracks from performers working in and around the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s. Both this box and the San Francisco box consisted almost entirely of material that was not compiled on previous Niggets volumes.

Other single-disc compilations

Two single disc compilations of softer Nuggets material were issued in 2004. These compilations tended toward orchestrated, mildly psychedelic music, and did not feature a typical Nuggets rock or garage rock sound:

• (2004)
• (2004)

The above two CDs were reissued the following year with unchanged track listings, but with new titles and artwork:

• My Mind Goes High: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2005)
• A Whole Lot of Rainbows: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2005)

The most recent Nuggets compilation featured tracks from performers working in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1960s, and very definitely focused on garage rock and similarly harder material:

• Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts, 1965–1967 (2012)

See also

• List of garage rock compilation albums
• Psychedelic States

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 Album Reviews, Songs & More . Deming . Mark . Mark Deming . . January 3, 2023.
2. Web site: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 [Box Set] - Various Artists ]. Unterberger . Richie . Richie Unterberger . . January 3, 2023.
3. Web site: Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts 1965-1967 - Various Artists (CD) . . January 3, 2023.
4. Web site: Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts 1965-1967 - Various Artists (LP) . . January 3, 2023.