Nuggets: You Ain’t Tuff by The Uniques – Aphoristic Album Reviews

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 to 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 79/118
From: Louisiana
Aphoristic Rating: 8/10

YOU AIN’T TUFF – The Uniques [2:19]
(Knox Henderson/Lawrence Puckett)
Personnel/JOE STAMPLEY: vocals, organ * RAY MILLS: lead guitar * BOBBY SIMS: guitar * BOBBY STAMPLEY: bass * MIKE LOVE: drums
Produced by DALE HAWKINS
Recorded in Tyler, TX
Paula single #231 (12/65)

This Louisiana band clearly liked ‘Gloria’ by Them – ‘You Ain’t Tuff’ has a very similar bass-line and garage rock feel. But the band actually earned the name The Uniques via irony – they couldn’t settle on a signature sound, and this slice of garage rock isn’t typical of their oeuvre. The AllMusicGuide note that “The Uniques, when it came down to it, were a band content to deliver whatever the audiences wanted”. The group also had a regional blue-eyed soul hit with a cover of ‘All These Things’, written by Allen Toussaint under the pseudonym of “Naomi Neville”.

Lead singer Joe Stampley went onto a very successful career in country music – he enjoyed four country #1s in the 1970s, including a remake of ‘All These Things’. Along with Stampley, the other members were Ray Mills (lead guitar), Bobby Sims (rhythm guitar), Bobby Stampley (bass), and Mike Love (not THAT Mike Love, drums).

10 Comments

Jim S.

February 27, 2022 / 7:23 am Reply

Another good “Yardbirds meets Them” tune from Nuggets. Also another one I never heard before. I think this may be one of the first where there was someone from the group who went on to something bigger. And it would be funny if it were the hated Mike Love but that’s another story.
- Aphoristical
  
  February 27, 2022 / 6:55 pm Reply
  
  There was another band I covered recently, We The People, where the songwriter went onto a country career with the band Cowboy. Interesting they both went on to country.
christiansmusicmusings

February 27, 2022 / 2:55 pm Reply

Fun tune. And, yes, admittedly, I also thought of Them as I started listening to it.
- Aphoristical
  
  February 27, 2022 / 6:56 pm Reply
  
  That bassline is pretty much the same as ‘Gloria’, I think.
badfinger20 (Max)

February 27, 2022 / 5:38 pm Reply

Yea it has that Gloria feel. It’s amazing how many of these bands have a Jagger/Morrison sounding singer. Not as many copied the Beatles vocals because they are not easy. We would do 10 Stones songs to one Beatles because of those harmonies.
Nice song though.
- Aphoristical
  
  February 27, 2022 / 6:59 pm Reply
  
  Yup, can’t be easy to sing harmony and play an instrument at the same time. I can barely sing in tune at the best of times…
  - badfinger20 (Max)
    
    February 27, 2022 / 8:23 pm Reply
    
    Thats all I do…barely. I won’t dare post anything I do because of that.
kingclover

February 27, 2022 / 8:04 pm Reply

How weird that he’s Joe Stampley the country singer. This song ain’t bad for one of those Nuggetsy bluesy harmonica songs. I listened to their greatest hits album and it’s true that they would do any kind of song. I couldn’t believe the tracklist. They did Let’s Spend the Night Together, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying, 96 Tears, House of the Rising Sun and Don’t Bring Me Down. And even a couple of songs on Nuggets like Time Won’t Let Me and Double Shot of My Baby’s Love. At least they’re two of the very best ones. Both Top 10 Nuggets.
- Aphoristical
  
  February 28, 2022 / 10:35 am Reply
  
  I haven’t got to those Nuggets yet!
  
  There’s also another band called The Uniques from the same era, from Jamaica.
  - kingclover
    
    February 28, 2022 / 5:22 pm Reply
    
    I like bands who aren’t afraid to do any kind of material. It makes you more versatile!! It also makes you more likely to get hired to play in bars, cuz you gotta be able to play any request that you might get. And you’re more likely to get hired to play at weddings too!! LMAO