Nuggets II - Disc 4 (Various Artists, 1998)

The final disc of the impressive Nuggets II box set is probably the most diverse, with a mere 15 of the 28 tracks coming from British groups. Also represented here (some their only appearance in the whole set) are Australia (The Atlantics), Brazil (Os Mutantes), Canada (The Ugly Ducklings), Iceland (Thor's Hammer), Ireland (The Wheels), Japan (The Mops), and Uruguay (Los Shakers). New Zealand, the Netherlands, and (West) Germany each have two spots, demonstrating their relatively hip scenes outside the UK. All of the non-British bands except for the brilliantly weird Os Mutantes are not well-known outside of their own countries. Among the Brits, a few of the bands should be familiar to casual fans, if not because of their own accomplishments (The Pretty Things, The Creation, The Small Faces), then what they contributed to later (The Birds through Ronnie Wood, The Fairies through John "Twink" Alder, Dantalion's Chariot through Andy Summers and The Acid Gallery through Roy Wood). A few of the oddballs like Winston's Fumbs and Tymon have minor but direct links to an array of later groups ranging from Yes to the Clash.

One bit of methodology the second Nuggets uses is to include any country outside the US, meaning Canada is here when most series prefer to lump our northern neighbors with the similar sounding US scene. Generally the American material from 1965 to 1968 trends a little grittier, heavily influenced by the Yardbirds and early Kinks, while Europe's various scenes trends more fanciful, ranging from psych-pop to freakbeat. The rest of the world is a mixed bag. Some absorb their local sounds and merge them into pop, like Os Mutantes. Some ape the mop-top era Beatles (Los Shakers). Others fall more in line with the American sound, especially New Zealand and somewhat Australia. At least two songs here ("Rosalyn" and "Get Yourself Home") are older than the other songs and reflect a British Invasion mentality than the usual "psych era" stuff that's the backbone of the entire series.

Listeners should resist the temptation to listen to the whole box set from Disc 1 Track 1, because, as good as the music is, you will likely be too tired to fully appreciate the last disc. It has a lot to offer and I'm glad I had the chance to give it a little quality time today!