The Chantays - Two Sides Of The Chantays / Pipeline

Formed in Santa Ana in 1962, the Chantays were five high school buddies -- Brian Carman (guitar, vocals), Bob Spickard (guitar, vocals), Bob Marshall (piano, keyboards), Warren Waters (bass), and Bob Welch (drums) -- ranging in age from 13 to 17. Playing local dances, they specialized in surf music, and at least in the beginning were primarily an instrumental outfit. They were spotted and signed up by manager Dale Smallins, and in 1962 Carman and Spickard composed and published a piece entitled "Pipeline," which went on to become one of the biggest and best instrumental surf hits ever recorded.
Two Chantays albums on one CD, comprising much of the surf band's early '60s repertory. The "Move It" that opens the disc is not the Cliff Richard song but a slower, raunchier number with vocal choruses carrying a lot of the melody. "Maybe Baby" is the Buddy Holly song, however, and the group does a decent job of singing it. Unfortunately, not a lot of what else is here is exactly first-rate material -- "It Never Works Out for Me" is a tuneless bore, and much of the rest is similarly uninteresting, and generally vocals were not this band's strong point, based on the evidence here. "Beyond" is a follow-up to "Pipeline" with a similar opening, and it is far and away the best track off of that album. The rest of the album is 60's vocal crap drek.

The Pipeline album includes several attempts to emulate that hit, repeating its introduction and mimicking passages, but without much of the vitality or excitement of "Pipeline." The best parts of the album are the band's instrumental cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway," which is a tense, exciting workout for the entire band -- and that goes double for lead guitarist Bob Spickard and pianist Bob Marshall, and "Blunderbus," an almost bluesy number that, if not for the piano, could almost pass for a Yardbirds demo. "El Conquistador" gives Spickard a chance to play an electric version of Spanish guitar. The sound is excellent these remasterings of the Chantays' releases for DCC have that hard edge.The Pipeline part is all instro and worth it.
1. Chantays - Move It (2:21)

2. Chantays - Maybe Baby (2:02)

3. Chantays - It Never Works Out For (2:27)

4. Chantays - Love Can Be Cruel (2:15)

5. Chantays - I'll Be Back Someday (2:28)

6. Chantays - Only If You Care (2:03)

7. Chantays - Three Coins In The Fountain (2:15)

8. Chantays - Beyond (2:07)

9. Chantays - Greenz (2:10)

10. Chantays - Space Probe (2:24)

11. Chantays - Continental missile (1:54)

12. Chantays - Retaliation (2:15)

13. Chantays - Pipeline (2:23)

14. Chantays - The Lonesome Road (3:20)

15. Chantays - Tragic Wind (2:12)

16. Chantays - Runaway (2:55)

17. Chantays - Blunderbus (2:49)

18. Chantays - Banzai (2:04)

19. Chantays - Sleepwalk (2:36)

20. Chantays - Night Theme (2:22)

21. Chantays - Wayward Nite (3:01)

22. Chantays - El Conquistator (1:51)

23. Chantays - Riders In The Sky (2:57)

24. Chantays - Last Night (2:33)

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