Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era is one of the great artefacts of rock and roll. Probably the most revered compilation in music history; its release in 1972 helped inspire the countless musicians who went on to create punk rock, and has inspired innumerable artists since.
To help celebrate the 40th birthday of Lenny Kaye’s enduring garage compilation, Warner Music Australia gathered up 18 garage-tinged Australian bands to lend a hand in re-imagining tracks from the seminal original to create Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era.
The majority of bands offer faithful renditions, albeit with more relentless energy. Velociraptor add mountains of fuzz to The Electric Prunes’ ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’, while Straight Arrows replace vocal flourishes with a torrent of cymbal crashes and a one-note guitar solo in ‘Lies’.
Eagle and the Worm bring their warm studio polish and horn section to their take on The Magicians’ ‘Invitation to Cry’. Jarrad Brown makes up for his reedy vocals with plenty of yelling, while despite the guitar solos, Joe Cope’s organ is the real highlight.
King Gizzard add plenty of muscle to ‘Open My Eyes’, while The Frowning Clouds shift the rhythm and add more colour to the chorus of ‘Let’s Talk About Girls’.
There are some reworkings which hit a sweet spot and end up trumping the original, Gooch Palms’ take on Michael & The Messengers’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the perfect blend of energy, scuzz and sickly sweet harmonies. Ex-You Am I guitarist Davey Lane infuses the obtuse humour of ‘Moulty’ with an array of kaleidoscopic vocal harmonies and fuzz-washes which give the song an added weight.
The Murlocs bring just the right amount of swagger to their version of ‘Psychotic Reaction’, while Billy Gardner’s vocal drawl brings a sultry air to The Living Eyes’ rendition of ‘Oh Yeah’.
The compilation is sometimes let down by acts offering bland renditions of their songs. Whether upset by the song they were assigned or not, Step Panther and The Palms both sound uninspired.
But it’s The Laurels’ take on 13th Floor Elevators’ standout track ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ which is the real letdown. The band coat the song in their walls of neo-psych guitar; and usually this is a great thing, but here it bogs the track down and strips it of any of the original’s sense of urgency.
Elsewhere, there are some bands who steer their covers into entirely new terrain altogether. Pearls’ version of ‘Dirty Water’ sounds like My Bloody Valentine were the original authors; while Baptism of Uzi take The Amboy Dukes’ ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ and apply several coats of Neu! coloured krautrock.
It only further highlights Nuggets as part of a grander musical lineage, and is the real success of the compilation.
Just as the genres it celebrates are experiencing a renaissance (garage, krautrock, shoegaze), the new Nuggets compilation helps emphasise the cyclical nature of rock and roll.
Most of the covers here are great, some aren’t; but Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era succeeds because it not only celebrates what happened first; but also celebrates what happened next and, more importantly, now.
