Some ‘60s groups took an overtly poetic approach to writing lyrics that were able to confuse censors as well as the legion of concerned parents that grew up around the ever expanding cohort of kids getting high and diggin’ on beat combos, psych and jazz. While this obscure approach to writing may have saved a few groups some hassles, just as many bands decided to be heavy handed with either their name or their lyrics – the Mothers of Invention were initially called the Motherfuckers and that obviously wasn’t gonna fly. And while Zappa and his brethren were uniquely American, some Dutch players decided to forego any sort of decorum and boldly advocate the use of weed and LSD.

This move on the part of the Zipps earned one of their songs – “Marie Juana” – a trip back to the drawing board and required an obtuse rewrite that included the lyrics being changed from herb advocacy to a denial of the green jubi. Artistic license not withstanding, the track is still one of the groups better known efforts and along with it the other eight released tracks that the band worked out over a short career were reissued on an album entitled Be Stoned! Dig The Zipps.

The disc, which was engorged with live tracks, some work the Zipps did as a back up group and a even a few unreleased works ends up clocking in at about an hour. Unfortunately, the groups most well known single, “Kicks and Chicks,” gets a go three separate times. And considering that the song is only average at best, it seems like overkill – but collectors want what collectors want. Even with the slight repeato style of the track listing Be Stoned! Dig The Zipps cranks out some decent ‘60s beat music.

Taking up a full fourteen minutes “Beat and Poetry, Parts One and Two” seem like a good idea, but in practice ends up being nothing too much more than a plain rock workout with the Zipps’ singer, Philip Elzerman, aping an over confident psych rock literature professor vibe. Despite this conceptual and stylistic shortcoming, though, the Zipps are still more than capable of spewing out some gritty ‘60s music. It’s just a constant struggle for the band to balance its out and out distaste for the straight segment of the population and the weirdoes that band members no doubt associated with.

“Lotus Love,” even with that lame title, is able to combine some sugary vocals with a nasty guitar line and a few moments of tripped out studio work to result in an album highlight. But here again, the overt way in which the Zipps confronted square society ends up diminishing their work as a whole. If there were some nuanced approach to this all, each song might have come off a damn sight better. As it is, though, this collection is one of the better efforts from a non-English speaking act from the continent – which should explain the group’s inclusion on the second volume of Nuggets.