Nuggets: Dirty Water by The Standells

Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the two-album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from 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 2: Dirty Water by The Standells
From: Los Angeles, California
Aphoristical Rating: 9/10

DIRTY WATER – The Standells [2:40]
(Ed Cobb)
Personnel/DICK DODD: vocals, drums * TONY VALENTINO: guitar, harmonica, vocals * LARRY TAMBLYN: organ, vocals * GARY LANE: bass
Arranged by LINCOLN MAYORGA
Produced by ED COBB for GREENGRASS PRODUCTIONS
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA
Tower single #185 (11/65); Pop #11

The Standells are one of the better-known acts on Nuggets, with three songs on the set. They’re led by Larry Tamblyn, whose brother Russ Tamblyn is a notable actor. Drummer Dick Dodd sings lead vocals on ‘Dirty Water’.

Other notable musicians passed through the band’s ranks. Early drummer Gary Leeds would later join The Walker Brothers, Dewey Martin would briefly replace Dodd in 1965 before joining Buffalo Springfield, and Little Feat’s Lowell George was briefly a member in the late 1960s.

Boston, You’re My Home

Producer Ed Cobb wrote ‘Dirty Water’ after a visit to Boston, during which he was robbed on a bridge over the Charles River. Despite the song’s association with Boston, none of the Standells had been to the city before the song was released. Cobb also wrote ‘Tainted Love’, a hit for Gloria Jones and Soft Cell.

It’s not a flattering portrait of Boston. As well as the robbery, there’s a reference to the Boston strangler and to the women’s curfew at Boston University (“Frustrated women … have to be in by 12 o’clock”). The title “dirty water” refers to the pollution in the Charles River and in Boston Harbour.

The song became a slow-burning #11 hit. Tamblyn later told Boston.com “It was recorded in 1965, but it didn’t hit the charts until 1966. It started getting play in Orlando. It went toward the top of the charts there, and spread into Miami, and it slowly spread its way up the coast…. There was such a long lag between recording that we had forgotten it. We basically had to relearn it.’’”

Despite the Boston belittling, it became a popular song for Boston sports teams, starting in the 1990s. The Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox play it after victories, as well as Liverpool F.C..

Verdict

Simple and effective, ‘Dirty Water’ is a deserved staple. The guitar riff, bluesy and direct, is played by a Fender Telecaster through a Vox AC30 amp. Dodd is a charismatic vocalist, delivering Cobb’s witty lyrics with gusto.

The Standells are still a going concern, although Tamblyn is the only 1960s-era member in the current band. They released four LPs in the 1960s and Bump in 2013.

Read More

• Nuggets Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews

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