While the original Nuggets compilation concentrated on the American pop
and rock scene, the second Nuggets shifted its focus to the rest of the
world, collecting cuts from the United Kingdom (such as the Pretty
Things and the Small Faces), Canada (The Guess Who and The Haunted),
Japan (The Mops), Australia (The Easybeats, The Masters Apprentices),
New Zealand (The La De Das and Chants R&B), Sweden (The Tages),
Iceland (Thor's Hammer), the Netherlands (Q65, Cuby & the Blizzards
and Golden Earrings), Peru (We All Together), Brazil (Os Mutantes) and
Austria (The Slaves).All those who enjoy music richer in energy and daring than intelligence and maturity should add Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond (1964-1969) to their music collection--where it should sit right next to the series' first volume. The lyrics to songs such as "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" and "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" won't unlock life's mysteries, but the reckless abandon with which these songs were written and played will remind anyone how it feels to be young and angst-ridden. A few of the selections, including "Pictures of Matchstick Men," achieved some commercial success upon release; some were covered by bands more recent or lasting than the mostly one-hit wonders who performed the originals; others are so simple they sound like a lot of rock songs; and a number include a distinctive sound or effect other rockers felt compelled to steal. Plenty of songs, though, will be new to all but the most dedicated collectors, and the fact that the best of these didn't make the charts when they were originally released confirms that timing is indeed everything.
Disc one
1. "Makin' Time" (The Creation) - 2:58
2. "Father's Name Was Dad" (The Fire) - 2:29
3. "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" (The Move) - 3:07
4. "My Friend Jack" (The Smoke) - 3:01
5. "My White Bicycle" (Tomorrow) - 3:16
6. "I'll Keep Holding On" (The Action) - 3:39
7. "When the Night Falls" (The Eyes) - 2:33
8. "Sorry" (The Easybeats) - 2:35
9. "Imposters of Life's Magazine" (Idle Race) - 2:19
10. "How Is the Air Up There?" (The La De Das) 2:37
11. "Mud in Your Eye" (Fleur De Lys) - 3:03
12. "Everything (That's Mine)" (The Motions) - 2:03
13. "Garden of My Mind" (The Mickey Finn) - 2:34
14. "Take a Heart" (The Sorrows) - 3:16
15. "The Life I Live" (Q 65) - 3:20
16. "Midnight to Six Man" (The Pretty Things) - 2:20
17. "I See the Rain" (The Marmalade) - 3:48
18. "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (The Koobas) - 3:06
19. "You Stole My Love" (The Mockingbirds) - 2:41
20. "125 [Album Version]" (The Haunted) - 2:32
21. "My Mind's Eye" (Small Faces) - 2:03
22. "Going Nowhere" (Los Bravos) - 2:20
23. "All Night Stand" (The Thoughts) - 2:05
24. "War or Hands of Time" (The Masters Apprentices) - 2:51
25. "It's a Sin to Go Away" (We All Together) - 3:50
26. "A Dream for Julie" (Kaleidoscope) - 2:47
27. "I Read You Like An Open Book" (The Tages) - 2:38
Disc two
1. "Children of the Sun" (The Misunderstood) - 2:52
2. "Save My Soul" (Wimple Winch) - 3:06
3. "Desdemona" (John's Children) - 2:27
4. "I Can Only Give You Everything" (Them, Van Morrison) - 2:42
5. "Lost Girl" (The Troggs) - 2:33
6. "I Must Be Mad" (Craig) - 2:47
7. "Say Those Magic Words" (The Birds) - 3:15
8. "Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad" (Caleb) - 3:16
9. "Daddy Buy Me a Girl" (Golden Earring) - 2:41
10. "Exit Stage Right" (Ronnie Burns) - 2:30
11. "Gone Is the Sad Man" (Timebox) - 3:46
12. "I'm Rowed Out" (The Eyes) - 2:57
13. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" (Davy Jones, The Lower Third) - 2:29
14. "Reflections of Charles Brown" (Rupert's People) - 4:19
15. "Words Enough to Tell You" (The Mascots) - 1:58
16. "That's the Way It's Got to Be" (The Poets) - 2:36
17. "14 Hour Technicolour Dream" (The Syn) - 2:54
18. "Walking Through My Dreams" (The Pretty Things) - 3:38
19. "You Said" (The Primitives) - 2:19
20. "This Life of Mine" (The Lost Souls) - 2:43
21. "Shadows and Reflections" (The Action) - 2:52
22. "Friday on My Mind" (The Easybeats) - 2:52
23. "In the Land of the Few" (Love Sculpture) - 3:57
24. "For Another Man" (The Motions) - 1:49
25. "Fire Brigade" (The Move) - 2:24
26. "Gaby" (The Boots) - 2:32
27. "Biff Bang Pow" (The Creation) - 2:26
Disc three
1. "Your Body Not Your Soul" (Cuby & the Blizzards) - 2:18
2. "Cathy, Come Home" (The Twilights) - 2:01
3. "Circles (Instant Party)" (Fleur De Lys) - 3:03
4. "Get Down from the Tree [Album Version]" (The Matadors) - 3:30
5. "Cry in the Night" (Q Sixty Five) - 2:16
6. "Changing the Colors of Life" (The Chijuas) - 3:00
7. "Social End Product" (The Bluestars) - 2:33
8. "Crawdaddy Simone" (The Syndicats) - 3:16
9. "Don't You Remember?" (The Sound Magics) - 2:14
10. "It's My Pride" (The Guess Who) - 2:47
11. "Magic Potion" (The Open Mind) - 3:34
12. "You're Driving Me Insane" (The Missing Links) - 2:57
13. "Who Dat?" (The Jury) - 2:17
14. "A Midsummer's Night Scene" (John's Children) - 2:35
15. "Listen to the Sky" (The Sands) - 3:46
16. "How to Find a Lover" (The Mockingbirds) - 1:56
17. "Days of the Broken Arrows" (Idle Race) - 3:49
18. "By My Side" (The Elois) - 2:17
19. "Path Through the Forest" (The Factory) - 3:58
20. "Love Hate Revenge" (Episode Six) - 2:55
21. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (Status Quo) - 3:11
22. "The Train to Disaster" (The Voice) - 2:49
23. "Sad" (The Playboys) - 2:55
24. "Slaves Time" (The Slaves) - 2:22
25. "You Can Be My Baby [Single Version]" (The Red Squares) - 2:18
26. "I Wish I Was Five" (Scrugg) - 3:19
27. "Glendora" (The Downliners Sect) - 2:44
Disc four
1. "Rosalyn" (The Pretty Things) - 2:21
2. "Come On" (The Atlantics) - 2:55
3. "The Madman Running Through the Fields" (Dantalian's Chariot) - 4:11
4. "How Does It Feel to Feel [US Single Version]" (The Creation) - 3:08
5. "I'm Just a Mops" (The Mops) - 2:58
6. "Why Don't You Smile Now" (Downliners Sect) - 2:08
7. "Nothin'" (The Ugly Ducklings) - 2:27
8. "Break It All [US Single Version]" (Los Shakers) - 2:22
9. "The Bitter Thoughts of Little Jane" (Tymon) - 2:20
10. "Touch" (The Outsiders) - 3:13
11. "Vacuum Cleaner" (Tintern Abbey) - 3:06
12. "My Life" (Thor's Hammer) - 2:20
13. "Bad Little Woman" (The Wheels) - 2:50
14. "No Presents for Me" (The Pandamonium) - 2:52
15. "Bat Macumba" (Os Mutantes) - 3:08
16. "Real Crazy Apartment" (Winston's Fumbs) - 2:52
17. "No More Now" (The Smoke) - 2:12
18. "No Good Without You" (The Birds) - 2:40
19. "Kicks and Chicks" (The Zipps) - 3:14
20. "Dance Around the Maypole" (The Acid Gallery) - 2:41
21. "Get Yourself Home" (The Fairies) - 2:28
22. "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (Chants R&B) - 2:04
23. "But You'll Never Do It Babe" (The Boots) - 2:32
24. "One Third" (The Majority) - 2:17
25. "Flight from Ashiya" (Kaleidoscope) - 2:40
26. "Here Come the Nice" (Small Faces) - 2:58
27. "It's My Fault" (The Rattles) - 2:08
28. "When the Alarm Clock Rings" (The Blossom Toes) - 2:16
