If you hear the song I sing, you must understand.
This box set is devoted to the San Francisco rock music scene of the second half of the 1960s. It comes in a hardcover book filled with lots of information, plus beautiful photographs of the performers. The four CDs feature music by performers both well known (Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane) and obscure (Public Nuisance, The Ace of Cups). The vast majority of the songs featured here will be unknown to most listeners. Not every song is great, but most of them are quite enjoyable. This set is well worth getting for fans of '60s rock music.

Rhino Captures Another Era and Time
Rhino Records does it again. This 4 C.D. box set captures the San Fransisco, West Coast Sound of the mid to late sixties. If you lived in the Bay Area at that time, I highly recommend this box set. I was living in Hawaii at the time and i remember a lot of these tunes, which i haven't heard since that time. I feel that they could have added another disc of the really commercial stuff that we are all familiar with, but i guess with licensing problems and such. The folks who will appreciate this set the most will be the baby boomers. You know the sole suvivors of that great time in music.

FLOWER POWER?..MUSIC POWER!
MAGNIFICA OBRA DE RHINO..COMO NOS TIENE ACOSTUMBRADOS...INSTANTANEA DEL LUGAR EXACTO DONDE EMPIEZA TODO...SEMILLAS QUE GERMINARON EN EL SUBCONSCIENTE DE TODA UNA GENERACION...POLEN QUE AL FINAL FLORECIO EN UNAS POCAS MACETAS PERO QUE EN DETERMINADO MOMENTO ALCANZO LA SENSIBILIDAD SUFICIENTE PARA CAMBIAR EL NEGOCIO DE LA MUSICA POLPULAR PARA SIEMPRE..ACA ESTAN TODOS...DESED IGNOTOS HASTA ESTRELLAS....HERMOSO LIBRO PLAGADO DE FOTOS, HISTORIAS Y TODO LO QUE NECESITAS SABER SOBRE ESTA MUSICA HERMOSA, IRREPETIBLE!!!!!!! MUY MUY RECOMENDABLE.

Soundtrack Of My Childhood
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.

Your CDs will be damaged. Could have been one of the best.
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.