Nuggets II: No More Now by The Smoke

Guitarist Brett Tauri bought some killer gear back to New Zealand and used it to shred on ‘No More Now’.

No More Now—The Smoke

• Track 97, disc 4
• Year: 1967
• From: Auckland, New Zealand.

9/10

More about Nuggets II

Credits

4/17. NO MORE NOW – The Smoke (New Zealand)
(Brett Tauri)

PERSONNEL/RAY NIXON: vocals * BRETT TAURI: lead guitar * “ROLY” NIXON: guitar * LEN MONK: bass * LESTER DEMPSTER: drums
Produced by WAHANUI WYNYARD
Recorded in Auckland, New Zealand
RCA single #60438 (1967) [New Zealand]

The Smoke

There are two bands named The Smoke on Nuggets II – this band is from Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city.

Guitarist Brett Tauri spent time abroad in the 1960s, first as a guitarist on a cruise ship, then in a San Francisco club band. He returned with an early Gibson fuzzbox, a pre-1966 Fender Strat, and a rare Gibson 335 gold-topped fretless bass.

The band played their first gig at the 1967 Battle of the Bands. They caught the ear of promoters and were quickly in the studio with acclaimed NZ producer Wahanui Wynyard.

No More Now

Tauri used his imported gear to create the violent guitar outbursts on ‘No More Now’. He wrote ‘No More Now’, and it’s a strong bluesy number, but it’s most notable for Tauri’s shredding.

After a violent cymbal-crashing opening, “No More Now” takes off at breakneck speed and features some of the most vicious, overdriven guitar performances ever to be unleashed in the Southern Hemisphere. The shouted “No more now” refrain and steadfast “I know just what I am” chorus cement the song’s hook, but it’s Brett Tauri’s savage slash ‘n’ burn guitar–including a strangled raga break–that makes this track one for the ages.

Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

The Aftermath

The original band disintegrated during the photo shoot for ‘No More Now’. The photographer included a nude model called Christine.

It was the photographer’s idea, and the wives and girlfriends had to stay outside. To stop them coming up the stairs, he locked the doors, but they found out about it afterward. They said they wouldn’t have minded if they’d been able to come up, but objected to the underhanded way it was done.

Roly Nixon, Audioculture

Roly Nixon and Len Monk, the married members of the group, left. Organist Peter Sanford replaced Nixon, giving them a fuller sound but overshadowing Tauri’s guitar. Their second single was a cover of Procol Harum’s ‘Following Me’, with another Tauri song on the b-side.

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