NUGGETS Box: Disc 1, Song 2

If forced to choose thee ultimate mid-'60s garage rock tune, one might bloody well settle on this track, "Dirty Water" by The Standells. (I'd probably go with "Talk Talk" by The Music Machine--but, "Dirty Water" is right there.) The guitar hook is impossibly catchy, and the vocals are snarling. What more could you want? Check this out from the boxed set's booklet [Note: "Valentino" refers to the band's guitarist, Tony Valentino, and "Dodd" refers to vocalist and drummer, Dick Dodd]:

..."Dirty Water" boasts a killer guitar hook (apparently the invention of Valentino), an aggressive backbeat (boosted by a double-tracked kick drum), and Dodd's lead vocal, which radiates pure attitude as he tosses out lines like "Along with lovers, muggers, and thieves -- ah, but they're cool people!" The song gradually became a regional breakout during the early months of 1966 and went on to become national hit.

In fact, it topped out at #11 on the Billboard charts on June 11, 1966.

Last time around, we learned about the rumor that The Electric Prunes were from Seattle, when they were, in fact, from L.A. Well, here we have a band singing "Boston, you're my home" when they were, in fact, from L.A. Odd, isn't it? Apparently, it's not a problem, as I've read that the song still is played after every home victory of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins.

Click here to read more about The Standells.