Where The Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 (Boxed Set)
Boxed Set Excavates More Than 100 Nuggets from Los Angeles' Eclectic Music Scene From 1965-68, Spotlighting Gems from The Byrds, The Beach Boys and Love, Plus Cult Classics by The Standells, Spirit, The Seeds, The Electric Prunes and More
Four-Disc Set Will Be Available from Rhino September 22
In Los Angeles during the mid-'60s, music was everywhere - from the garages of Orange County, to the dingbat apartments of the San Fernando Valley, to the bungalows of Laurel Canyon. But without a doubt, the epicenter of the music scene was the Sunset Strip, where “freaks” filled the rock clubs lining the famed Hollywood thoroughfare. Rhino continues the storied Nuggets tradition with a four-disc boxed set that mines the city's rich musical history for unsung gems. WHERE THE ACTION IS! LOS ANGELES NUGGETS 1965-1968 will be available September 22 from Rhino Records for a suggested list price of $64.98.
Andrew Sandoval, one of the collection's producers, explains the set's concept in its liner notes: “...the Nuggets series is something of the alternative musical history of the 1960's. Not so much a survey of what happened, but more what could have happened had music charted on merit alone.”
WHERE THE ACTION IS! compiles 101 tracks that mix many of the city's brightest stars (The Byrds, Love, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, Captain Beefheart, The Mama & The Papas, Lowell George, Iron Butterfly, The Monkees) with talented artists whose stellar songcraft sadly flew under the radar (The Seeds, Jameson, The Electric Prunes, Modern Folk Quintet, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Spirit, The Everpresent Fullness, Kaleidoscope, The Standells, The Bobby Fuller Four).
WHERE THE ACTION IS! encompasses four discs arranged thematically to cover different aspects of the pop, rock, club and Top 40 sounds of the era. The first covers some of the most notable bands that performed in the clubs of Hollywood's Sunset Strip. Disc two features a sampling of the musicians who began life in South L.A., East L.A. and such far-flung suburbs as Riverside and Bakersfield. The third delves into the artistry of L.A.'s producers, arrangers and Wrecking Crew of studio players. The final disc takes us from the nascent seeds of folk rock to the first blooms of canyon rock, country rock and full-blown psychedelia in the region. It also shows how rock pioneers such as Del Shannon and Rick Nelson took their own stabs at fitting in with “the kids.”
Among the many highlights are: an alternate take of The Beach Boys' “Heroes And Villains,” Warren Zevon and producer Bones Howe performing “(You Used To) Ride So High” as The Motorcycle Abeline, “Take A Giant Step” by The Rising Sons, “Acid Head” by The Velvet Illusions,” local scenester Kim Fowley's “Underground Lady,” Jan & Dean's “Fan Tan,” The Monkees' “Daily Nightly,” Jesse Lee Kincaid's “She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune,” “Come To The Sunshine” by Van Dyke Parks, “Sister Marie” by Nilsson and “Hippy Elevator Operator” by The W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band.
The set also offers a trio of previously unreleased tracks: a recently discovered demo version of “Sit Down I Think I Love You” recorded by Stephen Stills and Richie Furay shortly before they formed Buffalo Springfield; a demo of “Words” by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, one of the West Coast's most successful songwriting teams; and “Once Upon A Time” a collaboration between Tim Buckley and lyricist Larry Beckett.
Beautifully packaged in a coffee table book resembling the San Francisco Nuggets collection from 2006, the set provides a wealth of information about Los Angeles' music scene, including a comprehensive timeline, a listing of the clubs and who performed there, an essay about the L.A. radio stations that defined the era, plus a track-by-track commentary.
Track list:
# Riot On Sunset Strip - The Standells
# You Movin' - The Byrds
# You I'll Be Following - Love
# Dr. Stone - The Leaves
# Go And Say Goodbye - Buffalo Springfield
# Zig Zag Wanderer - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
# Gentle As It May Seem - Iron Butterfly
# Candy Cane Madness - Lowell George & The Factory
# If You Want This Love - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
# Baby, My Heart - The Bobby Fuller Four
# All Night Long - The Palace Guard
# It's Gonna Rain - Sonny & Cher
# For My Own - The Guilloteens
# Take A Giant Step - The Rising Sons
# One Too Many Mornings - The Association
# Time Waits For No One - The Knack
# Take It As It Comes - The Doors
# Pulsating Dream - Kaleidoscope
# Tripmaker - The Seeds
# The People In Me - The Music Machine
# Saturday's Son - The Sons Of Adam
# Eventually - The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
# Swim - Penny Arkade
# The Third Eye - The Joint Effort
# Girl In Your Eye - Spirit
# Jump, Jive & Harmonize - Thee Midniters
# Back Up - The Light
# To Die Alone - The Bush
# Get On This Plane - The Premiers
# Little Girl, Little Boy - The Odyssey
# Hideaway - The Electric Prunes
# Listen, Listen! - The Merry-Go-Round
# She Done Moved - The Spats
# Grim Reaper Of Love - The Turtles
# See If I Care - Ken & The Fourth Dimension
# He's Not There Anymore - The Chymes
# Back Seat '38 Dodge - Opus 1
# Eternal Prison - The Humane Society
# Revenge - The Others
# Come Alive - Things To Come
# Acid Head - The Velvet Illusions
# Guaranteed Love - Limey & The Yanks
# Love's The Thing - The Romancers (a.k.a. The Smoke Rings)
# Underground Lady - Kim Fowley
# Pretty Little Thing - The Deepest Blue
# You're Wishin' I Was Someone Else - The Whatt Four
# Hippy Elevator Operator - The W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band
# That's For Sure - The Mustangs
# Tomorrow's Girl - Fapardokly (Merrell & The Exiles)
# Everything's There - The Hysterics
# Our Time Is Running Out - The Yellow Payges
# Action, Action, Action - Keith Allison
# The Rebel Kind - Dino, Desi & Billy
# High On Love - The Knickerbockers
# Fan Tan - Jan & Dean
# Halloween Mary - P.F. Sloan
# Somebody Groovy - The Mamas & The Papas
# Daydreaming - Thorinshield
# Just Can't Wait - The Full Treatment
# Yellow Balloon - The Yellow Balloon
# The Times To Come - London Phogg
# No More Running Around - The Lamp Of Childhood
# Little Girl Lost-And-Found - The Garden Club
# Mothers And Fathers - The Moon
# My Girlfriend Is A Witch - October Country
# Montage Mirror - Roger Nichols Trio
# Flower Eyes - Pasternak Progress
# Come Down - The Common Cold
# Jill - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
# Daily Nightly - The Monkees
# Night Time Girl - The Modern Folk Quintet
# Don't Say No - The Oracle
# Tin Angel (Will You Ever Come Down) - Hearts And Flowers
# Rainbow Woman - Lee Hazlewood
# Poor Old Organ Grinder - Pleasure featuring Billy Elder
# Baby, Please Don't Go - The Ballroom
# Sit Down I Think I Love You - Stephen Stills & Richie Furay*
# Splendor In The Grass - Jackie DeShannon with The Byrds
# November Night - Peter Fonda
# Roses And Rainbows - Danny Hutton
# Lemon Chimes - The Dillards
# Here's Today - The Rose Garden
# I Love How You Love Me - Nino Tempo & April Stevens
# Words (Demo) - Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart*
# (You Used To) Ride So High - The Motorcycle Abeline (Warren Zevon & Bones Howe)
# Life Is A Dream - Noel Harrison
# Los Angeles - Gene Clark
# Once Upon A Time - Tim Buckley*
# Darlin' You Can Count On Me - The Everpresent Fullness
# I'll Search The Sky - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
# Come To The Sunshine - Van Dyke Parks
# Heroes And Villains (Alternate Take) - The Beach Boys
# She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune - Jesse Lee Kincaid
# Sister Marie - Nilsson
# Last Night I Had A Dream (Single Version) - Randy Newman
# I Think I Love You - Del Shannon
# Change Is Now - The Byrds
# The Truth Is Not Real (Single Version) - Sagittarius
# Marshmallow Skies - Rick Nelson
# You Set The Scene - Love
# Inner-Manipulations - Barry McGuire
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