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Mustangs - Dartell Stomp

Dartell Stomp

Dartell Stomp / Milord / Foot Stompin' / Rumpus / Little Honda / Green Onions / Topsy 65 / Sunrise / Wipe Out / Run Run Run / Hot Pastrami / Lazy Love

The Mustangs

// 1964 on Providence Records (PLP 001)

4.5

Album Review:

The Mustangs started life out as Sandy & the Beachcombers. Comprising of schoolmates John Beach (Guitar) and Tommy Wright (Bass), Paul Amadio (drums), and Jack Fernandez (Cordivox). The group had been playing together since they were 12 and 13 years old and recruited by the small Providence Records label to re-record the Viceroys' 'Dartell Stomp,' which had been previously released under the recently-defunct Bolo label. The original recording was a b-side by the actual group, the Dartells, the previous year. Curiously, the tune was written by Gary Usher session veteran Dick Burns who could be heard on Super Stocks, Hondells, and Silly Surfers recordings. With all members barely over 16, the group apparently got snowed over in their deal with Providence, receiving none of the promised royalties from the Dartell Stomp album or single. The aforementioned single got some airplay around Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detriot, and San Fransisco before dipping into obscurity. The Beachcombers continued playing until 1970 when the band split up so its members could pursue other careers. 

'Dartell Stomp' is okay enough with a prominent Cordivox (organ). 'Milord' sounds like a cross between an old west and New Orleans jazz with a tack piano, and ... is that a banjo? The Flares' 1961 single 'Foot Stompin' gets a pseudo-surfy makeover. 'Rumpus' is anything but. Of interest to surf collectors is a passable rendition of 'Little Honda' which had been originally recorded by the Beach Boys and proven its hit power by being the Hondells' breakthrough single. 'Green Onions' is a tight cover version. 'Topsy 65' and 'Sunrise' are typical mid-60s instrumental fare. The Surfaris 'Wipe Out'  makes an obligatory appearance here as well. An album original, 'Run Run Run' is not much more than a jam. 'Hot Pastrami' manages to be a delightful session. 'Lazy Love' is a sax-driven slow ballad with some strings that sounds as if it had been recorded five years earlier. 

Dartell Stomp is a predictably mediocre album. While the playing is admirably tight from a group of 16-year-olds, there's nothing here of much interest to the collector or casual listener. 

Further information on the Mustangs (Sandy & the Beachcombers) can be found here:

https://www.the60sofficialsite.com/CQHams/The-Mustangs-Found-and-Rediscovered.html

CHOICE CUTS:

Little honda /Lazy love

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