Posted on May 22 2023 09:13 PM
Well, here's my review.
I listened to it twice on vinyl, on my classic console, and 3 times on CD.
I also listened to the LP's "Pipeline" and "2 Sides of" for some comparison.
The bad- I read the liner notes during the first listen on vinyl.
As much as I love what Bob Dalley has done for the surf world, he still needs an editor. His writing is all over the place. Sorry Bob. I might be more confused about this record after reading the liner notes?
He claims this is a project thought up by Richard Delvy (of The Bel-Airs and The Challengers fame) from 1969, as producer, using Bob Spickard and Rob Marshall, the guitar player and keyboard player of The Chantays. So not really The Chantays, but a couple of guys from the band. Fine. Some studio guys names get tossed in. Cool. But still it's not recorded in 1966, as the Sundazed website claims, and it's not really The Chantays. OK.
I guess I can live with that, although I wonder why Sundazed promoted this as recorded in 1966, by The Chantays. Seems kind of sneaky to me.
The good - there are several cuts that I really like. I think side 2 is WAY better than side one. The highlight for me is a rocking version of Mr. Moto, with a 12 string electric lead and a fuzzy guitar solo. But, in 1969, who really cares?
And there's the rub. in 1969, the Chantays were not on anyones list, and this type of music wasn't either. There are a couple of vocals that probably owe more to The Association (Windy) than surf music. And there are a few melodic instros that I won't call surf, but they are nice. I do like the reverb driven 12 string guitar, which I guess is a bonus. (12 string build to follow.)
So, I guess, as excited as I was to get this I am with ElMonstroPorFavor, a little let down. I don't know what I was expecting, but a little more honesty would have been nice. But, I might not have bought it if it was advertised and The Bob And Rob experience, or something like that.
Still, I'm happy that I bought it, in both formats. The CD has a couple bonus tracks from 1994, which I assume is more of the original band than the LP.
I really like The Chantays. I think Pipeline is the best surf song ever recorded, and I rarely get tired of hearing people play it. Bob Spickard is a heck of a nice guy, and I'm glad for him that this saw the light of day. He wrote most of the songs, and they are very cool.
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"You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
Last edited: May 22, 2023 21:15:55
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