Nuggets at 50

[Michael W]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...classic-garage-rock-compilation-nuggets-at-50

"Half a century on from its release, we track down the surviving artists from the hugely influential record and hear how the double LP changed their lives and careers"

 

[greenfuzz]

The below statement from the article is interesting. Anybody have any info, such as label?

“A five LP Nuggets box set is on the way – delayed until spring 2023 owing to the vinyl production backlog.”

 

[Ryan L.]

The below statement from the article is interesting. Anybody have any info, such as label?

“A five LP Nuggets box set is on the way – delayed until spring 2023 owing to the vinyl production backlog.”

It's funny, I was just thinking the other day that it has been fifty years and there hasn't been any fanfare for the original double-LP. I certainly welcome a new set, especially if they change up the track list and/or remaster them in better sound. I would think it would almost certainly be Warner/Rhino releasing the set, as they seem to want to corner the market on the "Nuggets" brand. Here is just a sampling on Spotify and all from Warner:

Swedish Pop Nuggets
Class of '77: US Punk Nuggets
00s Pop Nuggets
Funk Nuggets
R&B Nuggets
Alt Rock Nuggets
Funky Soul Nuggets
Post-Hardcore Nuggets
Cajun Nuggets
Soul Nuggets
Country Nuggets
Singer/Songwriter Nuggets
Hip-Hop Nuggets
etc, etc, etc.

There are lots more. Weird.

Hell, it now even occurs to me that the 4-CD box set will be 25 years old next year! Sheesh!

 

[Michael W]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...classic-garage-rock-compilation-nuggets-at-50

Umm ... same article I linked to in the first post.

 

[bosshoss]

They should get Mike Markesich to pick each and every track. Give it some personality and cohesion like the original. And not worry about including every song from the original LP/CD. Some of them are very ordinary compared to what's now available.

And base the selections on greatness, not on "we own the publishing for this one, so..."
That's if they want to release something that's still talked about 50 years from now.

 

[pfft]

They should get Mike Markesich to pick each and every track. Give it some personality and cohesion like the original. And not worry about including every song from the original LP/CD. Some of them are very ordinary compared to what's now available.

And base the selections on greatness, not on "we own the publishing for this one, so..."
That's if they want to release something that's still talked about 50 years from now.

I couldn't agree more! I actually have very low hopes for this. I bet Rhino will reuse the same tracks they have comped a million times already, with maybe three or four "alternate" mixes of familiar songs by The Monkees, Love, etc. just to lure the suckers in.
I would be thrilled to be proven wrong.

 

[MopTopMike]

Thanks for enlisting me, but I'd turn down the offer - I want nothing to do with a re-hash of any Nuggets-themed project.
The pair of CD box sets dropped the curtain on that legacy 25 years ago. There is absolutely no need to offer a vinyl pressing in 2023. Are the CD box sets out of print? Makes no sense, really, since modern day transfers are all done digitally, not pure analog., Why even bother pressing something on vinyl from a digital signal source? It will sound lousy, as do 99% of all digital to vinyl releases. It's all about the potential money to be made at this point in time - not about paying homage to the concept.

 

[Heitkotter77]

And base the selections on greatness, not on "we own the publishing for this one, so..."

If this is a major label or subsidiary project, we all know that publishing ownership will be the only factor.
It'll be similar to the Rhino "Hallucinations" comp they did on the Handmade imprint. It was a good comp, but could have been much better if they went outside of Warners for source material.

And as Mike conjectures above, we can be certain it will be nothing more than a rehash.

 

[bosshoss]

In that case, I'll settle for the TBM top 200 played off the original vinyl 45s

 

[Frantic]

Umm ... same article I linked to in the first post.

WHOOPS

 

[troggy]

The pair of CD box sets dropped the curtain on that legacy 25 years ago.

I agree and the CD box sets were great for what they were. I still have both of mine and play them every so often.

 

[Ryan L.]

Are the CD box sets out of print?

Yes, they've been out of print for some years now. The sets have a bit of that "Rhino-Phonic" sound that is a bit harsh, I find. But through my crummy stereo at the time, I didn't care.

I understand the argument to be made against digitally-sourced vinyl. When digitally-sourced vinyl is bad, it's really bad. But when it's good I can't tell the difference. I'm not really a digital v. analogue guy, but there is something to be said about experiencing certain types of music coming from a diamond being dragged through a plastic groove. There's magic there. And if they're transferring the material at high resolution, and mastering it well then great, I say. I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir here. But if a vinyl box set is a way to get people to shell out for music they want to own then I can't argue.

 

[howlin' hoosier]

Yes, they've been out of print for some years now. The sets have a bit of that "Rhino-Phonic" sound that is a bit harsh, I find. But through my crummy stereo at the time, I didn't care.

I understand the argument to be made against digitally-sourced vinyl. When digitally-sourced vinyl is bad, it's really bad. But when it's good I can't tell the difference. I'm not really a digital v. analogue guy, but there is something to be said about experiencing certain types of music coming from a diamond being dragged through a plastic groove. There's magic there. And if they're transferring the material at high resolution, and mastering it well then great, I say. I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir here. But if a vinyl box set is a way to get people to shell out for music they want to own then I can't argue.

You're being generous regarding the harshness level - it goes well beyond a bit, and the dynamic range is extremely compressed taking the normal Rhinophonic mastering characteristics (bright highs, shaved mid bass) to a new level of Rhinophonic-ness. I get that the original 45s were compressed (analog compression) when released, but digital compression on the boxes' songs takes harshness and brightness to unfortunate levels. I use Dynaudio monitors and Velodymne subs that cover everything from around 30 hz to 20 khz and I can easily hear when there's something that's accentuated or diminished. I like the box, the booklet is great, the additional song choices went more garage/punk and less pop (a good thing) - the mastering just isn't my cuppa.

 

[howlin' hoosier]

If this is a major label or subsidiary project, we all know that publishing ownership will be the only factor.
It'll be similar to the Rhino "Hallucinations" comp they did on the Handmade imprint. It was a good comp, but could have been much better if they went outside of Warners for source material.

And as Mike conjectures above, we can be certain it will be nothing more than a rehash.

Those comps got made because they kept things in-house as far as song choices went - no outside licensing, no accompanying legal fees - the Handmade discs were a way to milk the Warner vault past the usual/overdone reissue suspects, a group of one or two shot discs with primarily unknown work from their catalog.

 

[Ryan L.]

You're being generous regarding the harshness level - it goes well beyond a bit, and the dynamic range is extremely compressed taking the normal Rhinophonic mastering characteristics (bright highs, shaved mid bass) to a new level of Rhinophonic-ness.

Heh! I didn't mean to be generous. I guess I just didn't notice much at the time. Or the sheer joy of having these songs was so overwhelming that I didn't care. I seem to remember Nuggets II being worse. Either way, yes, they're not great. I think that sound is very dated now.

Side note: It would be hilarious and stupendous if someone shamed Rhino by dubbing pristine examples of the 45s in hi-res and recompiled them into the same track order. Presto! The 50th Anniversary Nuggets set we should have gotten for the 25th anniversary! Ah, to have those resources.....

 

[howlin' hoosier]

When the box came out it made a lot of tracks available that were under the radar for a lot of folks who had a passing interest in garage tunes. Unless I was in a well stocked indie record store, there was usually little to no stock on titles like Pebbles or other garage/punk series out there. The Nuggets box put 60s garage/punk out and available on a wide scale - you could go into Musicland chain stores or Borders and the box was there on the shelf. The Nuggets box didn't have rechanneled dubs like the original 2 lp set had for a number of tracks, and there weren't noisy/poorly done transfers - the mastering was hot/compressed and bright, and that made the box a mixed blessing. I didn't spring for the second boxed set - if I run across it at a sane price I'll probably pick it up; I think part of my hesitation for that set was the narrow minded view that garage bands were a US scene all on its lonesome, and similar sounding music from other countries didn't count in the Nuggets vein (I did give Canada a pass - thank the deity of your choice if you have the Wyld Canada collection compiled by our host).

 

[Ryan L.]

...thank the deity of your choice if you have the Wyld Canada collection compiled by our host).

I do, and I do! It brings a tear to my eye to hear so many killer tracks laid down by my countrymen. I've often thought that the scene in Canada would be deserving of a comp (or four) on Ace/Big Beat. Hell, thanks to BossH, a lot of the work is practically done for them! They could call it "Nightmares From The Overworld" (a reference to the classic comp, and to being "over" the US on the map). But I digress....

 

[Perkeo]

I do, and I do! It brings a tear to my eye to hear so many killer tracks laid down by my countrymen. I've often thought that the scene in Canada would be deserving of a comp (or four) on Ace/Big Beat. Hell, thanks to BossH, a lot of the work is practically done for them! They could call it "Nightmares From The Overworld" (a reference to the classic comp, and to being "over" the US on the map). But I digress....

Speaking of...i feel like there have been enough Canadian 45s that have come out from under the floorboards that a new volume of Wyld Canada would be possible, but that's only if Bosshoss has collected them, any new additions lately to your Canadian file Mark?

 

[bosshoss]

Speaking of...i feel like there have been enough Canadian 45s that have come out from under the floorboards that a new volume of Wyld Canada would be possible, but that's only if Bosshoss has collected them, any new additions lately to your Canadian file Mark?

Probably the odd one or two, but I can't think of anything amazing in the last 10 years. Canada is a country I declared "complete" many years ago, like Australia and New Zealand. Once declared complete, I get a sense of satisfaction and I lose interest. I only collect missing 45s from from a completed country if they fall into my hands with no effort. I would rather spend my effort and resources on an uncompleted challenge. There are an infinite number to choose from.

 

[Outside_Lookin_in]

Probably the odd one or two, but I can't think of anything amazing in the last 10 years. Canada is a country I declared "complete" many years ago, like Australia and New Zealand.

I'm fairly certain there's a slew of French-Canadian 45s missing from your collection; and I think some remarkable omissions from your NZ collection.