

Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled 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 90: Too Many People by The Leaves
Release Date: 1966
From: San Fernando Valley, California
Rating: 8/10
‘Too Many People’ is the second song from The Leaves on Nuggets. They’re best known for their cover of ‘Hey Joe’, recording their version before Jimi Hendrix or The Byrds. ‘Too Many People’ was their debut single, and it’s a worthy addition to the set.
The Leaves formed in 1964, inspired by The Beatles. They played their first gig at a school gym in 1965, on the same bill as Captain Beefheart. They replaced The Byrds for a residency at Ciro’s on Sunset Strip, where they were discovered by Pat Boone and offered a recording contract. The band only stuck around for two albums and are mostly known for the two songs on Nuggets.
‘Too Many People’ is a solid song with a nice bassline, and vocalist Jim Poms is a cut above most Nuggets singers. Pons is the band’s most notable member – he went on to play with The Turtles and Frank Zappa, before embarking on a long career as a football video director.
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Nuggets II: Love Hate Revenge by Episode Six

Nuggets: A Public Execution by Mouse

Nuggets: You Burn Me Up and Down by We The People

Nuggets: It’s A-Happening by The Magic Mushrooms

Nuggets: Talk Talk by The Music Machine

Nuggets II: The Madman Running Through The Fields by Dantalian’s Chariot

Nuggets: Going All the Way by The Squires

Nuggets: Farmer John by The Premiers

Nuggets: Romeo and Juliet by Michael and the Messengers

Nuggets: Outside Chance by The Turtles

Nuggets: I Ain’t No Miracle Worker by The Brogues

Nuggets II: Come On by The Atlantics

Nuggets: Psychotic Reaction by Count Five

Nuggets: Let’s Talk About Girls by The Chocolate Watchband

Nuggets: I Think I’m Down by the Harbinger Complex

Nuggets: Fight Fire by The Golliwogs

Nuggets: Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock

Nuggets: 7 and 7 Is by Love

Nuggets: At the River’s Edge by New Colony Six

Nuggets: Bad Little Woman by The Shadows of Knight

Nuggets II: No Presents For Me by The Pandamonium

Nuggets: Maid of Sugar – Maid of Spice by Mouse and the Traps

Nuggets: I’m Gonna Make You Mine by The Shadows of Knight

Nuggets: I Wonder by The Gants

Nuggets: You’re Gonna Miss Me by The 13th Floor Elevators

Nuggets: Run, Run, Run by The Third Rail

Nuggets: A Question of Temperature by The Balloon Farm

Nuggets: Jack of Diamonds by The Daily Flash

Nuggets: Little Girl by Syndicate of Sound

Nuggets: My World Fell Down by Sagittarius

Nuggets: Steppin’ Out by Paul Revere & the Raiders

Nuggets: I Need You by The Rationals

Nuggets II: But You’ll Never Do It, Babe by The Boots

Nuggets: Stop! Get A Ticket by Clefs of Lavender Hill

Nuggets: Don’t Look Back by The Remains

Nuggets II: I’m Your Witchdoctor by Chants R&B

Nuggets: Pushin’ Too Hard by The Seeds

Nuggets: Put the Clock Back on the Wall by The E-Types

Nuggets: Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) by The Hombres

Nuggets: Oh Yeah by The Shadows of Knight

Nuggets: Too Many People by The Leaves

Nuggets: Diddy Wah Diddy by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Nuggets: Out Of Our Tree by The Wailers

Nuggets II: Why Don’t You Smile Now by Downliners Sect

Nuggets: Live by The Merry-Go-Round

Nuggets: Why Pick On Me by The Standells

Nuggets II: Kicks and Chicks by The Zipps

Nuggets: Open My Eyes by Nazz

Nuggets: Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl by The Barbarians

Nuggets: Just Like Me by Paul Revere & the Raiders

Sugar and Spice by The Cryan’ Shames

Nuggets: Double Yellow Line by The Music Machine

Nuggets: Sit Down, I Think I Love You by The Mojo Men

Nuggets: Little Bit O’Soul by The Music Explosion

Nuggets: Laugh, Laugh by The Beau Brummels

Nuggets: Love's Gone Bad by The Underdogs

Nuggets II: Bat Macumba by Os Mutantes

Nuggets II: My Life by Thor’s Hammer

Nuggets: Strychnine by The Sonics

Nuggets: Blackout of Gretely by GONN

Nuggets: I See the Light by The Five Americans

Nuggets II: How Does It Feel to Feel by The Creation

Nuggets: Sweet Young Thing by The Chocolate Watchband

Nuggets: Why Do I Cry by The Remains

Nuggets: An Invitation to Cry by The Magicians

Nuggets: Journey To The Center Of The Mind by The Amboy Dukes

Nuggets: Psycho by The Sonics

Nuggets: Voices Green and Purple by The Bees

Nuggets: Lies by The Knickerbockers

Nuggets: I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time by The Third Bardo

Nuggets II: Rosalyn by The Pretty Things

Nuggets: Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White by The Standells

Nuggets: Johnny Was A Good Boy by Mystery Trend

Nuggets: You Must Be A Witch by The Lollipop Shoppe

Nuggets: Hey Joe by the Leaves

Nuggets: Knock, Knock by The Humane Society

Nuggets: Respect by The Vagrants

Nuggets II: No Good Without You Baby by The Birds

Nuggets: Optical Sound by The Human Expression

Nuggets II: The Train to Disaster by The Voice

Nuggets: Open Up Your Door by Richard & the Young Lions

Nuggets II: Here Come the Nice by The Small Faces

Nuggets: The Witch by The Sonics

Nuggets II: Get Yourself Home by The Fairies

Nuggets II: Break It All by Los Shakers

Nuggets: Action Woman by The Litter

Nuggets: Spazz by The Elastik Band

Nuggets: (We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet by the Blues Magoos

Nuggets II: Vacuum Cleaner by Tintern Abbey

Nuggets: No Time Like The Right Time by The Blues Project

Nuggets: Complication by The Monks

Nuggets: Nobody But Me by The Human Beinz

Nuggets II: Nothin’ by Ugly Ducklings

Nuggets: Night Time by The Strangeloves

Nuggets: Liar, Liar by The Castaways

Nuggets II: When The Alarm Clock Rings by the Blossom Toes

Nuggets: The Trip by Kim Fowley

Nuggets: I Live in the Springtime by The Lemon Drops

Nuggets II: One Third by The Majority

Nuggets: Follow Me by Lyme & Cybelle

Nuggets: Codine by The Charlatans

Nuggets II: Flight from Ashiya by Kaleidoscope

Nuggets II: I’m Just A Mops by The Mops

Nuggets: Falling Sugar by The Palace Guard

Nuggets: Tobacco Road by Blues Magoos

Nuggets: Mr. Pharmacist by The Other Half

Nuggets: Run, Run, Run by The Gestures

Nuggets II: It’s My Fault by The Rattles

Nuggets II: Touch by The Outsiders

Nuggets II: No More Now by The Smoke

Nuggets: Bad Girl by The Zakary Thaks

Nuggets: Mindrocker by Fenwyck

Nuggets: Get Me to the World on Time by The Electric Prunes

Nuggets II: You Can Be My Baby by The Red Squares

Nuggets: Dirty Water by The Standells

Nuggets II: The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane by Timon

Nuggets: I Want Candy by The Strangeloves

Nuggets: Primitive by The Groupies

Nuggets: Last Time Around by The Del-Vetts

Nuggets: Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love) by The Swingin’ Medallions

Nuggets: So What! by The Lyrics

Nuggets: Beg, Borrow, And Steal by The Rare Breed

Nuggets: She’s My Baby by The Mojo Men

Nuggets II: Bad Little Woman by The Wheels

Nuggets: Mirror Of Your Mind by We The People

Nuggets: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) by The Electric Prunes

Nuggets: The Little Black Egg by The Nightcrawlers

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Nuggets: Story of My Life by The Unrelated Segments

Nuggets: What Am I Going to Do? by The Dovers

Nuggets II: Glendora by Downliners Sect

Nuggets: (Would I Still Be) Her Big Man by The Brigands

Nuggets II: I Wish I Was Five by Scrugg

Nuggets: Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) by The Chocolate Watchband

Baby, Please Don’t Go by The Amboy Dukes

Nuggets: Shape of Things to Come by Max Frost & The Troopers

Nuggets: No Friend of Mine by The Sparkles

Nuggets II: Real Crazy Apartment by Winston’s Fumbs

Nuggets: Time Won’t Let Me by The Outsiders

Nuggets: Blue's Theme by Davie Allan & the Arrows

Nuggets: Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

Nuggets: You Ain’t Tuff by The Uniques

Nuggets II: Sad by The (Australian) Playboys

Nuggets: Louie Louie by The Kingsmen

Nuggets II: Pictures of Matchstick Men by The Status Quo

Nuggets: Who Do You Love by The Woolies

Nuggets: One Track Mind by The Knickerbockers

Nuggets: Hold Me Now by The Rumors

Nuggets: She’s About A Mover by Sir Douglas Quintet

Nuggets: Can’t Seem To Make You Mine by The Seeds

Nuggets II: Dance Around the Maypole by Acid Gallery

Nuggets: It’s Cold Outside by The Choir

Nuggets: Moulty by The Barbarians

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Catchy tune. Don’t know it but like it. And is ‘Hey Joe’ such a great song that everybody has to record it? Pons has quite the interesting unknown story. His bass playing is pretty propulsive in this but he must be pretty good technically because Zappa’s music is complex. And then he becomes a football movie director? Well, like many of us, he finds out that rock and roll doesn’t always provide a living wage. He should write a book. Oh, wait!
https://www.jimpons.com/
I didn’t know about Pons until this post but he seems cool – able to excel in two different fields.
I almost blogged this one a few years ago. The rhythm section is fluid in this and yes I do like his voice. I really like the album cover…you can’t beat paisley.
That is a delightful album cover. Have you heard anything else except Hey Joe and this one?
It was one called Words that I liked also.
I can definitely hear the Beatles influences here.
Yup, there are other British Invasion bands that the garage bands were mimicking too – The Animals, The Stones, The Kinks, etc. But The Beatles hitting in early 1964 was a watershed moment for a lot of those bands I think.
That’s a great origin story – where did you play your first gig? Oh, on the same bill as Captain Beefheart!
I have this old Rolling Stone collection of articles and the Captain Beefheart interview is pretty amazing – paints him as psychic etc.
I really like those guitars.
I like the music on this but the song is just kind of okay. A couple weeks ago I was comparing the original two disc Nuggets with the four disc Nuggets and trying to decide which tracks I would take from each one to make an ideal Nuggets. To tell the truth, most of the best ones are on the four disc version, but I think there’s way too much on it that isn’t that good. If I was making an ideal Nuggets I would put The Leaves other nuggets track on it, which would be Hey Joe. But probably not this one. I don’t think there’s anyone who has two tracks on Nuggets where I would put both of them on. Not that I can remember anyway.
I’ve spent way more time with the fourth disc than the others so far. It is long, but I haven’t found any tracks that are outright bad so far – just range from decent to excellent. I do feel like I’m giving a lot of listening time to white male baby boomers though.
I liked the hostory lesson, and I dig the tune. Definitely hear the Beatles influence. Nuggets FTW!
It fits the Nugget vibe.
For sure, it’s a good solid Nuggets track.