Years before Loggins & Messina hit the airwaves of soft rock radio, a very young Jim Messina recorded a one-off album with a group of friends dubbed the Jesters. At just 16, the future folk guitarist shreds away in a highly-energized, ear-splitting, and just plain loud concoction of 14 (!?) infectious surf rock tunes.

​

The sleepy 'The Breeze and I" shed it's Cuban roots and sports a new, much faster sound courtesy of Messina's heavy guitar twang. 'Raunchy' also receives a loud rendering, complete with various shouts and hollers in the background.  The first direct car reference title, 'No Name Dragster,' is yet another electric performance, while the Astronauts-influenced 'Strange Man' introduces some new reverb to the mix. 'High-Voltage' delivers some fine guitar work overtop some wild drumming. The oddly titled 'Yang Bu' adds some exotic flavor to the record as 'The Thing' boats some extremely fast picking ala Messina. 'Hollywood Sound' continues the fast-paced, hard-hitting Jesters sound. The eponymic 'Jester' does a fine job of culminating everything that defines the band, from the twangy-rapid guitar plucking to the loud cymbal-heavy drumming style. 'Suspense Run' is an enigmatic track at a good walking tempo. Both 'The Cossack' and 'Mazatlan' showcase other cultures and styles while the 'Honky Tonk' returns to familiar territory. 'Chihuahua' sets itself apart from the other tracks harmonically and rises through some creative chromatics before the album's closing song, 'Tamale Wagon,' closes out the album on a strong note.

​

With a total of 14 tracks without one weak moment, The Dragsters is a must-have album for any lover of 1960s instrumental or surf music fan. Albeit many of the songs fall shy of the two-minute mark, they remain strong, concise, and extremely well executed. Considering the ample number of tracks and how strong the material is here, I have no choice but to reward this album with a perfect total.