Nuggets: Going All the Way by The Squires

Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965-1968 and was a major influence on punk rock. Rhino Records reissued an expanded version of the set in 1998, with 118 tracks in total. I’m profiling and rating each of these 118 tracks, working backwards.

Track 41/118: Going All the Way by The Squires
Release Year: 1966
From: Bristol, Connecticut
Aphoristic Rating: 10/10

GOING ALL THE WAY – The Squires [2:18]
(Michael Bouyea)
Personnel/MIKE BOUYEA: vocals, drums * TOM FLANIGAN: lead guitar, vocals * JIMMY LYNCH: guitar * KURT ROBINSON: organ * JOHN FOLCIK: bass
Produced by BOBBY DIO
Recorded in New York, NY
Atco single #45-6442 (9/66), Pop #90

If the purpose of the Nuggets box set is to compile overlooked gems, it’s hard to find anything more overlooked or gem-like than The Squires ‘Going All The Way’. The Squires, from Bristol, Connecticut, aren’t even the best-known band of that name from North America in the 1960s. If you search Google for “The Squires”, the first article is about a Winnipeg band, formed in 1963, featuring Neil Young on guitar.

The Squires were originally known as the Rogues and were formed by high school friends. They released a local single as The Rogues, titled ‘It’s the Same All Over’. They seemed poised for success when they signed to Atco who insisted on a name change to The Squires. They released their first single as The Squires, ‘Going All the Way’. It’s great, but it sank without a trace, only reaching #90 on the charts.

With the spooky organ, harmonies and minor chords, it sounds inspired by The Zombies’ ‘She’s Not There’. It’s arguable that the song itself doesn’t deserve a 10, but there’s an excellent guitar solo at the end that elevates the song and takes it in a different direction. This band could play well – there’s a sophisticated bassline giving the song momentum.

The band never released another single – two members left, while songwriter and lead vocalist Mike Bouyea was drafted into the Vietnam War. Bouyea later tried to start a solo career, with some singles in the late 1970s and a theme song for the Toronto Blue Jays, but found more success as a radio personality.

While the band barely released anything, a compilation of their complete recordings was released in 1986. The song’s b-side, ‘Go Ahead’, was later covered by Pop Art Toasters, a New Zealand indie supergroup featuring The Chills’ Martin Phillipps and The Clean’s David Kilgour.

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11 Comments

msjadeli

July 23, 2023 / 9:19 am Reply

Very cool sounding song. It looks like 4 of the 5 are carrot tops unless that’s creative colorization on the image. What a shame they disappeared with little left to hang their hat on.
- Aphoristical
  
  July 24, 2023 / 4:49 pm Reply
  
  Looks like a Weasley family portrait, right?
kingclover

July 23, 2023 / 12:02 pm Reply

I like the ending too it’s the best part. And the drums sound really good too and the organ.
- Aphoristical
  
  July 24, 2023 / 4:50 pm Reply
  
  There’s a pretty good guitar solo on the earlier track too – it’s a shame he didn’t get picked up by another band.
kingclover

July 23, 2023 / 12:18 pm Reply

Oh yeah, I’d give it a high rating too like probably 8/10. And there’s another Top 10 coming next week. As a matter of fact, a Top 5. Although sometimes I think it’s not really a true nugget cuz it’s more like a regular old 60s oldie. It’s like too familiar to be considered a true nugget because everybody knows it. A nugget should be a little bit obscure I think.
- Aphoristical
  
  July 24, 2023 / 4:51 pm Reply
  
  I don’t think I’ve heard the next Nugget, although I see it was a top 5 hit.
  - kingclover
    
    July 24, 2023 / 6:53 pm Reply
    
    I tried to listen to it recently and it was hard to find the original because there was like 80,000 re-recorded versions on the streaming services.
Badfinger (Max)

July 23, 2023 / 5:46 pm Reply

Going All the Way is really good. That guitar solo was inventive especially at the time. It’s the Same All Over is not as good but a good. Whoever the guitar player was…I liked his style of playing.
- Aphoristical
  
  July 24, 2023 / 4:53 pm Reply
  
  Yeah, it’s a shame the guitarist didn’t get picked up by another band, he’s one of the best parts of the band.
  - Badfinger (Max)
    
    July 24, 2023 / 5:01 pm Reply
    
    Not only his playing but he had a cool sound also. I always zero in on that. The other song…you can tell he is the same guy.
christiansmusicmusings

July 24, 2023 / 4:06 pm Reply

That’s one helluva tune and one of the best if not the best you’ve presented from “Nuggets” thus far.