Mejor De Los Nuggetz: ‘60s Garage And Psych (2024) CD Review

This is that time of year when we look at our long Record Store Day wish lists, and wonder just how many of those records we’re going to be able to fit into our already-crowded homes. Well, one good thing is that some of the albums released that day will also be made available on CD. One of those is the great compilation of Spanish-language artists covering 1960s hits, Mejor De Los Nuggetz: ‘60s Garage And Psych. You might not be familiar with the bands, but you know the songs, and these versions are largely pretty great. And as the vinyl release is apparently limited to only 1,000 copies, it is a good thing that there is a CD release. Give a fresh listen to some familiar songs.

The collection opens with a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” titled “Satisfaccion,” as done by Los Apson. This is a Stones song that I’ve grown tired of over the years, but the raw energy of this rendition kind of re-ignites my love for it. This is fun, no question. It was the title track from the band’s 1965 LP, and was also released as a single. It is the first of three Stones songs covered on this disc. Well, it only makes sense to follow a Stones song with a Beatles song, and we get a group called Los Mustang covering “Please Please Me.” This is sung in Spanish, except for that title line, which is delivered in English: “Come on (come on), come on (come on), come on (come on),  come on (come on), please please me, me gustas solo tu.” It’s always interesting how some of the lyrics change in the translations. Los Mustang released it on a single in 1964.

Things start to seriously rock with a cover of “Train Kept A-Rollin’” titled “El Tren Pasa Esta Noche,” done by the group Los Shain’s. There is a fantastic, raw garage energy to this track, helping to make it one of the disc’s highlights. Seriously, this is so damn good. Check out that guitar work. I love that these guys deliver a great little jam on this one. We then get a second track from Los Mustang, “La Carta,” a cover of The Box Tops’ “The Letter,” with a sound that is fairly faithful to the original. That’s followed by a radio identification spot, which is delivered in English and Spanish. It is the first of two such radio spots on this disc. There are also two commercials mixed in with the music to add to the feeling that we’re listening to the radio back in the late 1960s.

Los Shain’s also give us “96 Lagrimas,” which they released as a single in 1967. I’ve always enjoyed this song, and I am especially fond of this rendition. I love the vocal performance on this track. It’s passionate, exciting. That’s followed by a delightful and totally cool rendition of “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’” by Gloria Benavides. “Estas Botas Son Para Caminar” was released on a single in 1966. By the way, there are a couple of errors on the CD case. Gloria Benavides is listed as “Gloria Benevides” and the song is listed as “Esta Bota Son Para Caminar,” which of course doesn’t make any sense grammatically. Perhaps it will be correct on the vinyl issue. Then The Isley Brothers’ “Respectable” becomes “Que Chica Tan Formal,” as done by Los Polares, who released it as a single in 1966.

The second Rolling Stones number in this collection is a much better song than “Satisfaction,” at least to my thinking. It is “19th Nervous Breakdown,” released by the Stones in 1966, and here done by Los Salvajes as “La Neurastenia.” They do a fantastic job with it. They change the line “Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes” to “Atención, atención, atención, atención,” which is kind of adorable, but works. This is another of my personal favorite tracks. Los Salvajes also do the collection’s third and final Rolling Stones song, but these two tracks are separated by a Volkswagen commercial, which is delivered in Spanish. On the vinyl release, the commercial is the final track of the first side. “Paint It Black,” that third Stones song, is another excellent choice (one of my favorite Stones songs, anyway). Their version is titled “Todo Negro.” What a great job they do with it! There is an explosive energy to certain sections, and a sense of doom rolling in, or having rolled in. Perfect.

A group called Lone Star delivers a wonderful, rocking version of The Who’s “My Generation,” totally getting into the spirit of the song. This collection is a lot of fun. Take “Nadie Como Yo” from Los Yaki, for example. This is a song (“Nobody But Me” by The Isley Brothers, and then a hit for The Human Beinz) I hadn’t listened to in quite a while, and this version is seriously great. I think I enjoy this more than those earlier renditions. In this collection, “Wooly Bully” becomes “Bule Bule.” If you remember the original version by Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs, you’ll recall it opens with a count of “Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro,” so it is already mixing in some Spanish. So Los Shain’s keep that opening in their wild, raucous version, which is great. This is the song the band used as the lead track to their 1965 LP El Ritmo De Los Shain’s, and it is another of the disc’s highlights. That’s followed by Los Belmonts delivering a strong rendition of The Yardbirds’ “Over Under Sideways Down,” listed as “Arriba Abajo Y Lados.” And then we get the other radio identification spot, delivered in both Spanish and English.

We’re pretty far into the disc before we finally get a Kinks song. It is “You Really Got Me.” This, if I recall correctly, is the first song I ever played on the drums when I was a kid. My friend across the street got a guitar at the same time, and we played this song over and over. Los Matematicos deliver a really good version, titled “Me Atrapaste.” I’m particularly fond of the vocal performance, which is just this side of sanity. Oh yes, this is rock and roll. This is exactly what we want from this collection. Three Stones songs, but only one Kinks song? Well, I’ll take what I can get. That’s followed by “Hey Joe,” a song made famous by Jimi Hendrix. The version here by Los Locos Del Ritmo is more in line with the original version by The Leaves, and it features a raw, powerful vocal performance. The final song on the disc is Willie Dixon’s “The Seventh Son.” The version here was inspired more by the Johnny Rivers recording than the original Dixon rendition. It’s done by Los Apson, so that group gets the first and last song on this release. The song is titled “Voy Por Ti,” which quite a bit different. But whatever it’s called, this track is good. The album then concludes with a commercial for Coca-Cola. Why not?

CD Track List

1. Satisfaccion – Los Apson
2. Please Please Me – Los Mustang
3. El Tren Pasa Esta Noche – Los Shain’s
4. La Carta – Los Mustang
5. XERB/XERF Radio ID
6. 96 Lagrimas – Los Shain’s
7. Estas Botas Son Para Caminar – Gloria Benavides
8. Que Chica Tan Formal – Los Polares
9. La Neurastenia – Los Salvajes
10. Volkswagen Commercial
11. Todo Negro – Los Salvajes
12. Mi Generacion – Lone Star
13. Nadie Como Yo – Los Yaki
14. Bule Bule – Los Shain’s
15. Arriba Abajo Y Lados – Los Belmonts
16. XELO Radio ID
17. Me Atrapaste – Los Matematicos
18. Hey Joe – Los Locos Del Ritmo
19. Voy Por Ti – Los Apson
20. Coca Cola Commercial

Mejor De Los Nuggetz: ‘60s Garage And Psych is scheduled to be released on CD on April 19, 2024, and on vinyl the next day.