Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1996

Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1996

(Rhino)

Lenny Kaye's 1972 Nuggets compilation embodied the garage-bred, acid-tinged one-hit wonderism of the mid-Sixties, yet the guitarist/author/music scholar didn't let that stop him from throwing studio creations like Sagittarius into the brew. While the unifying aesthetic of Rhino's second 4-CD Nuggets spin-off remains just out of reach, the original double LP holds spiritual sway over virtually all of the 100 paisley pop, neo-psych, folk-rock, power pop, and garage punk gathered here. Children of Nuggets, 1976-1996, positions Seventies holdouts like the Droogs ("Ahead of My Time") and Flamin' Groovies ("I Can't Hide") as generational viaducts. The zenith of Sixties rock revivalism occurred in the mid-Eighties, and with the exception of the Bangles, Smithereens, and Church, groups such as these operated below Top 40's radar, consigned to the same underground club circuit as Black Flag and Hüsker Dü. Flavors here vary from the ethereality of XTC alter-ego the Dukes of Stratosphear's "Vanishing Girl" to the garage fundamentalism of the Lyres' "Help You Ann" and the primitive B-movie thrash of the Cramps' "New Kind of Kick." No city is better arty-facted than L.A., with Reagan-era psych-pop delights from the Rain Parade ("You Are My Friend") alternating with jangle-rockers like the Plimsouls' "Everyday Things." The UK checks in with post-punk from the Soft Boys ("I Wanna Destroy You"), cartoonish pep-pop from the Revillos ("Motorbike Beat"), and Farfisa fuzz from Manchester's Inspiral Carpets ("Weakness"). Like its predecessor, each successive adrenaline burst from Children of Nuggets leaves you wanting more.