Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era, 1976–1996 is a box setcompilation album of alternativepop music, released in 2005 by Rhino Records. The set consists of four compact discs of songs recorded between 1976 and 1996, with most of the recordings stemming from the 1980s. The title refers to the original Nuggets LP, which was first issued in 1972 and whose music influenced the bands featured on Children of Nuggets.[1]
The tracks on Children of Nuggets were chosen by Alec Palao and Gary Stewart and represent a later period. Palao writes in the liner notes that they were following Kaye's original objective which, he said, was to "compile together the good tracks from all those albums that only have one good track".[1] The exact scope of the Children set is vaguely defined, a fact which has led some critics to express reservations about the concept, with one reviewer complaining that the compilers are trying to define an era that "didn't exist".[2] The song selection gives particular prominence to the artists that formed Los Angeles' Byrds-influenced Paisley Underground scene in the 1980s, including Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, the Three O'Clock, Green on Red, and the Bangles (recording under their earlier name, the Bangs).
The set was broadly praised for its selections, and for avoiding well known songs other than "There She Goes" by the La's.[1] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club wrote, "By the time the set hits its second disc, the programmers are lining up one obscure wonder after another, hitting a precipitous peak in the middle of disc three with the one-two of the Stems' molten power-pop anthem 'Love Will Grow' and the Spongetones' fractured Beatles homage 'She Goes Out With Everybody.'"[3]
Comparing the selections with the tracks on the original Nuggets LP, Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote, "As on Nuggets, the songs are terse and catchy, the equipment is vintage and distortion-happy, and the recording budgets sound minimal; girl trouble is still the perennial subject. The difference is a broad streak of self-consciousness, but it rarely takes the fun out of the songs."[5]Alexis Petridis of The Guardian was more reserved, applauding the inclusion of the Bevis Frond's "Lights Are Changing" but adding "there's also plenty of dreary trad rock that smacks not of exploration, but retreat into stultifying conformity".[4]
