San Francisco Nights (1991)

The big stars of 1960s San Francisco, like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, are still household names to rock fans. But how about the Great!! Society!!, Grace Slick's pre-Airplane launching pad? Or the Vejtables? San Francisco Nights provides a tantalizing introduction — unavoidably sketchy, given the scope and variety of the city's music — to some of psychedelia's folkie precursors and rocking relatives. There are songs by national hit makers (the Youngbloods, Sly & the Family Stone) as well as local heroes (the Charlatans, Country Joe & the Fish). B-