Various Artists

With its long bohemian history, San Francisco became the Meccafor the American counterculture in the 1960s. But even as hippies flocked tothe bay wearing flowers in their hair, the big city to the south never fellsilent. Los Angeles was the West Coastheadquarters for the major labels; the proximity of Hollywood and the population density resultedin a healthy climate for live music. The Doors, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfieldand Love were only a few of the biggest names from the ’60s Los Angeles scene represented in the newcollection Where the Action Is!

A four-disc set in a hardcover-book format, filledwith photos and brief artist histories, Wherethe Action Is! successfully covers the full musical spectrum of the era,from the sublime to the silly. Included is Iron Butterfly, sounding like anenergetic garage band one year before they became an eternal joke with“In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” and the psychedelic pop of Lowell George, several yearsbefore Little Feat. Captain Beefheart, when he was still only a slightly bentbut already distinct blues rocker, is featured here, along with many tracks byforgettable (and forgotten) acts. The jangle of folk rock echoed in many of thenumbers assembled in this collection, but the tougher swagger of garage punkcould also be felt. Even students of the period will find a few surprisesbetween the covers of Where theAction Is!