Hardcore collectors will champion the PEBBLES and BACK TO THE GRAVE series as a better representation of the genre by unearthing rarer than rare singles, but the NUGGETS set is far more accessible and covers everything from Beatles-wannabes to guitar-slammin' pre-punk to trippy folk-rock to rhythmic vocal showcases. I won't bother pointing out all the highlights, as each disc is a non-stop smorgasbord of excellent music. Only a handful of songs could have easily been left out ("Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen and "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs are a little too obvious, and "At the River's Edge" by The New Colony Six is awful), and if the music wasn't enough, you get a thoroughly researched book packed with essays and track-by-track history on each song, including personnel and record info!

If you don't have this one yet, what are you waiting for?! Shame on you for hesitating this long!!


The ultimate car trip box set   June 30, 2004
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is possibly the greatest collection that Rhino has ever come up with. I had the original three Nuggets releases that Rhino did in the late 80's/early 90's and they were among my favorites in my early cd buying years. This set eclipses my discs, and adds so much that the extra money spent isn't difficult to think of as an investment. I've found that my favorite songs were mostly from the original three discs;
Lies - The Knickerbockers
Public Execution - Mouse & the Traps
Psychotic Reaction - The Count Five
Let's Talk About Girls - The Chocolate Watchband
Open My Eyes - The Nazz
Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock
Can't Seem to Make You Mine - The Seeds
Live - The Merry-Go-Round
I've also found some new favorites through listening to this set;
Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) - The Swingin' Medallions
It's Cold Outside - The Choir
Put the Clock Back on the Wall - The E-Types
What Am I Going Do - The Dovers
7 and 7 Is - Love
Don't get me wrong, these aren't the only great songs in this collection, just my favorites off the top of my head after a quick look through the list. This is a fascinating collection that gives a look at the songs that were regiional hits around the country, but occasionally also made little noise on a national scale. For a box set it's among the best money I ever spent.


From Heaven to Hell in Four Easy Discs   July 25, 2004
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Parts of me agreed with some of the one star reviews. And, I admit I'd been hearing about the legendary nuggets collection from rockcrit whispers for years and years. My expectations were over-inflated I'm afraid so my rating might improve with time.
There is a fair amount of bad stuff here, but before I go further let me say that I was pleased to see the Dovers' 'What am I Going to Do' get some mention in the reviews I read or skimmed (all 88 to this date)
That song is a hidden, humble classic, one that'll find its ways into my song mixes a lot. Wistful, beautiful, with that frayed vocal that sounds like a kid talking to his locker. There's great stuff here but I had to pare it by more than fifty percent.

And I have to defend 'Louie Louie' . I'm on board and sick of Wooly Bully too, but Wooly Bully is no 'Louie Louie'. It's not even worthy of the same punctuation.
Maybe it's just a fluke blessing, but 'Louie Louie' is one of the overplayed hogs out there that still makes me grin with pleasure every time I hear it.
One other note, the Sonics had two really solid entries, Psycho'
and 'Strychnine'.
No need to say more, I'm no. 89


THE ONLY BOX SET YOU NEED   May 31, 2000
 3 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is truly amazing stuff. Each C.D. is packed with obscure classics. Listening to this set restores my faith in rock-n-roll as a vital creative force. If you are sick of the obviousness and pretention of modern rock then buy this and cleanse yourself. The best music always lays beneath the surface.


One-hit wonders for a reason.   July 11, 2000
 3 out of 11 found this review helpful

I wonder if we'll see a Nuggets in 2040 with "Oops...I Did it Again" or "Wannabe," because that's basically what this box set amounts to. I saved the $$ and bought this based upon a tremendous number of positive reviews. The first listen was fantastic. Every listen since then got worse and worse and I sold the damn thing a few weeks ago. Like any other musical movement (grunge being the best example), the psychedelic genre appears to have been populated with a few true artists and otherwise crammed full of no-talent hacks. There are some great bands represented here and a few great tracks worth repeated listening (Nazz, 13th Floor Elevators), but there is not enough material to even fill two discs, let alone four. Discs three and four wear thin very quickly, especially with the dopey frat rock of "Wooly Bully" and "Louie Louie." Lavishly packaged with wonderful liner notes, it's a shame the material represented simply wasn't of a higher caliber.