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Chantays - Two Sides of the .._

Two Sides of the Chantays

Move It / Maybe Baby / It Never Works Out For Me / Love Can Be Cruel / I'll Be Back Someday / Only if You Care / Three Coins in the Fountain / Greenz / Space Probe / Continental Missile / Retaliation

The Chantays

// 1963 on Dot Records (DLP 25771 / DLP 3771)

2.5

Album Review:

Released just a few months after their hit 'Pipeline', Two Sides of the Chantays revealed the group's vocal side in addition to keeping with their instrumental side. 

Side one (the vocal side) opens up with 'Move It,' which really wouldn't be a vocal number if it weren't for the short shouts and hollers throughout. A cover of Buddy Holly's 'Maybe Baby' is a commendable effort though it doesn't come anywhere close to the original. The strange 'It Never Works Out for Me' suffers from some lackluster vocals both from the lead and background singers. 'Love Can Be Cruel' meets a similar fate while 'I'll Be Back Someday' and 'Only If You Care' follow the same path of empty two-part harmony over top of a minor chord progression. While the first side stands as a bit of a downer, side two (the instrumental side) does a much better job of sustaining interest. The wonderfully arranged 'Three Coins in the Fountain' is a breath of fresh air after the lackluster vocal side, and 'Greenz' rocks as hard as can be expected of 1963. The other-worldly 'Space Probe' treads on some familiar Markets territory while 'Continental Missile' was undoubtedly influenced by the loom of nuclear war centered around the Bay of Pigs fiasco from earlier the year. 'Retaliation' possesses some overdriven guitars.

The Chantays' second (and final) album is a strange duck. With the only relation to surfing being the style in which the instrumentals are played, it's apparent that the group was already trying to move on from the fun-in-the-sun themes of its original genre into the moodier territory. With that in mind, the only real interest for this release is the second side, as the vocal numbers are painfully dated.

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CHOICE CUTS:

THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN / CONTINENTAL MISSILE

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