It’s nearly impossible to imagine now, but there really was a time—beginning in the mid-‘60s and lasting not nearly long enough—when it seemed that every city harboring a significant population of groovy young people (OK, let’s call them hippies) housed at least one club-sized space where major rock bands, or those about to be, blew minds on a nightly basis. In the U.S., those included L.A.’s Whisky a Go Go and New York’s Electric Circus, but the phenomenon wasn’t strictly American: London, too, birthed its share of psychedelic dungeons—as Frank Zappa called them—not the least of which was known as Middle Earth. Located at 43 King Street, it opened in 1967 and, in time, hosted top British bands like Pink Floyd, the Who, the Yardbirds and Traffic, along with up-and-comers Yes, Free and the Incredible String Band, as well as visiting Americans like The Byrds, the Fugs, Canned Heat and Captain Beefheart. Many of those artists are represented on this three-disc collection from England, but the set also goes way beyond the more established names. Perhaps you’re not familiar with the Riot Squad, but you might know a member who went by the name David Bowie, here offering his version of The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man.” And then there’s the Knack—no, not the American power pop group of “My Sharona” fame, but a British combo whose contribution, “(The Man From The) Marriage Guidance and Advice Bureau,” didn’t make much of an impact but is certainly worth a listen. The 64 tracks collected here are not, unfortunately, live recordings made at the club but rather studio-cut singles and album tracks from the Middle Earth era. The extensive liner notes by journalist Jon Newey, and brightly colored graphics put it all into perspective, succeeding in making one wish that a time machine were parked outside the door, ready to blast off back to the Summer of Love.