|
| Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 | 
 enlarge
| Artist: Various Artists
Label: Rhino Records
Category: Music
List Price: $64.98
Buy New: $42.95
You Save: $22.03 (34%)
New (38) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $42.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 13225
Format: Box Set, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.6
MPN: 165564
UPC: 081227998301
EAN: 0081227998301
ASIN: B000PHX0VE
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All products brand new and factory sealed.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Your CDs will be damaged. Could have been one of the best. January 29, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The book style packaging for this set is wonderful for it's high quality and content. This is the best book/box set I've ever seen except for the CD storage. Rhino is now packaging all of their sets with the CDs tightly packaged in cardboard such that they must be damaged to be removed and then there's no way to put them back for storage without further damage. People need to start complaining directly to Rhino about this. The music on this set is wonderful but it's mostly well known material unlike some of the nugget sets. It would have been nice to see a little more lesser known tracks mixed in. If not for the CD packaging this would be the nicest box set I own.
 Soundtrack Of My Childhood January 31, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was immediately attracted to this collection. I was a big fan of the first two Nuggets sets, both for their eclectic track selection and detailed scholarship ( especially when so little was known about some of the more obscure groups.) Even more exciting was the fact that it was the story of the San Francisco music scene; the place where I spent my childhood and the music I listened to. Could they really get this right, I sure hoped so.
Like many great scenes, some of the most definite expressions of this cultural earthquake came early. The Beau Brummels were really the first great San Francisco band. They took the Folk-Rock style so ubiquitious in the mid 60s and fused it with the energy of the English Invasion, very much as their counterparts the Byrds did in Southern California. They were not alone, with other bands like the Mojo Men, the We Five, and the Vejtables bringing a local presence to AM radio, to mix with Motown and Liverpool. The first disc really captures this moment, when the elements combined to bring the message of folk music, the electricity of the Beatles and the awareness of generational change together. Something was definitely happening and even Mr Jones knew it. The Dead were still a bar band named the Warlocks and their great "Can't Come Down" gives you a glimpse of their unique power, before they discovered 30 minute jams. Perhaps the most psychedelic band at this point in time were Country Joe and the Fish whose magnificent original version of "Section 43" is here along with the pre-Grace Airplane led by Marty Balin.
Disc 2 brings us the wider scene, the groups on the penninsula and other parts of the Bay Area that contributed to the tapestry. Most of these groups never found the recognition beyond a fine single or an impossible to find album, and this dic is a great treasure trove for even the most hardcore collectors. The momentum is building, the revolution is almost here.
We arrive at the Haight on disc 3, begining with the best recorded moment by the legendary Charlatans, "Alabama Bound." Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Airplane and Dead in their glory; so much was happening all at once. But we also had the Mystery trend, Serpent Power, Blue Cheer and Sly and the Family Stone. It was not a monolitic sound so much as a diverse embarrassment of riches, elements of R&B, Folk, Pop, Acid Rock and outright weirdness all going on on the same stage and echoing in the ears and often-expanded minds of the locals and runaways that populated the streets.
The final disc covers the aftermath of the explosion, with bands like Santana, It's a Beautiful Day and the Sons of Champlin getting their moment in the fog, if you will. Of all the discs, this one is the most familiar in terms of track selection, the energy diminishes despite the greatness of individual efforts. The Summer is over kids, back to real life.
The packaging is really singular in the history of cd packaging, not a booklet, a bonafide book. Great and previously unseen photos along with the complete backstory on everyone, famous and one-hit wonders alike. I do agree the discs are best removed and stored in jewel cases. This is time travel to a glorious past and history of a turbulant era as well. There is certainly tragedy and wistful sadness here as well as joy and love, but that is what makes it great art as well as cherished memories. They got it right.
Sharing the Love... October 17, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This collection really IS a labor of love. I thought I knew the 60's and Frisco psychedelia pretty well, but over half the cuts on this set are new to me, either performers I didn't know or different recordings/mixes from what I've heard, and few of them are less than excellent. The essays in the book are, as usual with Rhino, well-written and full of information, too. Almost as good as the music, the booklet includes dozens of excellent photographs of various bands, many of them previously unpublished. Grab several copies as Xmas gifts for the baby-boomers on your list.
Was it really a golden age? You decide. November 23, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
As a twenty-year collector of psychedelia and longtime fan of the major San Francisco acts, this latest box set celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Summer Of Love was welcome. Even the most avid collectors will be hard-pressed to have heard every one of the obscure acts in this set, especially the ones represented on disc two. The box comes with an outstanding booklet featuring many rare photos and comprehensive liner notes, although the real focus is the music itself. After so many decades of being recognized as a "golden age", one gets to hear for oneself if all those dozens of obscure hippie bands produced anything of lasting worth.
For starters, it must be stated that this box only covers one aspect of the SF sound; the 20-minute guitar jams do not appear, although the single version of "Dark Star" does. The verdict on what is there is mixed; the major San Francisco acts were all great, although the ragbag
of more obscure acts, while incredibly diverse in sound and style, run the gamut from incredibly dated to surprisingly listenable. This is essential for any fan of the period, but for the cream of the SF sound I'd buy releases from the major acts (Dead, Airplane, Big Brother, Steve Miller, Santana)before this.
essential December 28, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This package is a winner. There were a few songs on the set that were familiar to me such as those done by Big Brother, the Dead, and Quicksilver. But more important are the totally obscure. Listen to My Buddy Sin by the Stained Glass or Coffee Cup by the Wildflower just to name two, and see if you don't get a chill up your spine. The hardcover book that packages the disc is something else. Beautiful pictures and thoughtful comments on each track enhance the experience. I was a teenager in the 60's on the East Coast so most of these groups were unfamiliar to me. Sort of melancholy that most of them never really saw the light of day; but somehow maybe even more precious. Now if Rhino could do a similar number with the East Coast 60's scene. Maybe start off with the Blues Project, Vagrants and..?
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
