Album Review:

Coincidentally, the Road Runners were a real group that had a minor hit with 'Road Runnah' in 1963. It seems though (according to the album jacket) that London Records was set on having the first Mustang-related album out on the market, thus; Usher and crew were called in to complete it with a few lackluster vocal arrangements ... oh right, Gary Paxton is somewhere in here too ...

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'Cute Little Colt' is a fair-enough original composition, though the execution leaves much to be desired. A poor cover of the Beach Boys' 'Little Deuce Coupe' barely reaches the 1:40 mark, and 'Hey Little Cobra' pales in comparison to the original. Yet another Beach Boys cover, '409', actually has an overdubbed lead vocal which helps fill out the thin sound.  Usher takes the lead on a passable rendition 'Competition Coupe' though it's obvious the usual  "burn rubber off your hood" is handled noticeably sloppily. A version of 'Shut Down' is a bad closer to side A. Possibly the album's worst moment, 'Super Torque', suffers from a bad mix and extremely thin falsetto. While the first 7 tracks were vocal, the final 5 is where the real Road Runners have their moment in the sun. 'Mighty Mustang' is a chugging instrumental and, I might add,  a welcome break from the vocal numbers. 'The New Mustang' rolls along well, and 'Detroit Filly' swings along at a comfortable pace. One of the more interesting numbers musically, 'Stompin' Steed' flies through a series of tempos and styles before finally landing on one last chord. The album's only minor hit, 'Road Runnah,' makes an appearance, closing out a very uneven album.

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Gary Usher was part of a lot of rushed albums. Nevertheless, most of these still warranted passable production quality and still hold up somewhat well 50+ after their initial releases. Unfortunately, The New Mustang (And Other Hot Rod Hits) doesn't do either well. Stereo copies are somewhat easier on the ears, but mono pressings are far more common. Yes, the musical quality still lacks in the vocal department, and the snare sound the Road Runners employ is super thin, but the stereo mix kind of melts those issues into the background. While the 5 instrumentals that close the albums aren't necessarily bad, the remaining 7 vocal numbers are unlistenably poor, making the high price it commands on collector markets really only justifiable for super fans.