line up 1 (1959-64)

- Andy Chilson -- guitar

- Dave Hill -- guitar

- Pat Lynch -- bass

- Dusty Stretch -- drums, percussion

- The Toads (Pat Lynch and Dusty Stretch)

Genre: surf rock

Rating: 2 stars **

Title:  Wanted!

Company: Gothic

Catalog: WA63-054
Year: 1963

Country/State: New Jersey

Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+

Comments: minor hisses in places, no skips

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 909

Price: $155.00

Just what you were looking for - another bunch of prep kids pooling their future family inheritances to form a garage band and record an album.   Featuring  guitarists Andy Chilson and Dave Hill, bassist Pat Lynch, and drummer Dusty Stretch, the group apparently came together in 1959 while attending The Lawrenceville Prep School.  In 1963 they released their debut album on the Princeton, New Jersey based Gothic label with Kenneth Raymond Wight & Associates producing.

"Wanted!" is one of those album's that's been mega-hyped with dealers purposely confusing rarity for quality.  There's  no doubt the album's rare.   On the other hand, quality and enjoyment are different things.   I can't tell you how many times  I've seen the album show up on dealer lists described in glowing terms such as growling garage, and killer early psych.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.   What you get here is a set of thirteen instrumental that showcased the band taking stabs at slightly rocked-up pop standards (I'm using the term pop in a real broad fashion to describe 'Blue Moon; and 'Porgy and 'Summertime' from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess).  The rest of the album focused on surf instrumentals (The Safaris and The Ventures) and a couple of apparently originals - 'The Original' and 'A Quicki'.   There were no writing or performance credits included on the album so it's hard to know for sure.   The results weren't bad; especially when you consider these guys had to be really young when the recorded the set; most of the tune were probably recorded in one, or possibly two takes, and the album was almost certainly recorded in a hurry, amidst primitive conditions.   Still, unless you were a major surf rock fan, this probably wasn't going to strike a chord with you.

"Wanted" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Blue Moon (instrumental)    (Richard Rodgers - Lorenz Hart) -    rating: ** stars

Their cover the chestnut 'Blue Moon' wasn't anything special.  Competent, any not much more than that.  

2.) Slow Relt (instrumental) -    rating: **** stars

I'm guessing 'Slow Relt' was an original tune, but given there were not writing, or performance credits who knows.   Musically in was actually one of the album's better tunes with a blues structure and some nice lead guitar, if slightly under-whelming drumming.

3.) Summertime (instrumental)   (George Gershwin -DuBose Heward - Dorothy Heyward - Ira Gershwin) -   rating: *** stars

I'm guessing they studied this tune in school ...  Regardless of where the inspiration came from, their cover of the  Porgy and Bess classic wasn't that bad with a nice bluesy edge.  

4.) Torture (instrumental) -     rating: **** stars

'Torture' was probably the closest thing on the album to a conventional rock song and it was actually quite good with an interesting melody and start-and-stop song structure.

5.) The Original (instrumental) -   rating: *** stars

Another original ?   The song certainly had a nice, bouncy  guitar driven melody.  Another one of the album's better performances.  

6.) 6 Come 11 (instrumental) -   rating: *** stars

Another bluesy-tinged number with some surprisingly accomplished lead guitar.    

(side 2)
1.) Lullaby of the Leaves (instrumental)    (Joe Young - Bernice Petkere) -   rating: *** stars

Nice cover of The Ventures, though I'm not sure why you'd want to listen to the cover rather than the original. 

2.) Runaway (instrumental)   (Del Shannon - Max Crook) -    rating: ** stars

Well their instrumental arrangement didn't stray too far from the original melody.  Guess that was something to write about ...

3.) Image of a Girl (instrumental)   (Richard Clasky - Marvin Rosenberg) -    rating: ** stars

The Safaris did the original and it's one of the prettiest surf instrumentals ever written.  Again, not sure why you wouldn't just find a copy of the original.   rating: ** stars

4.) Beat Feet (instrumental) -    rating: ** stars

Faceless surf instrumental ...

5.) Will You Love Me Tomorrow (instrumental)   (Gerry Goffin - Carole King) -    rating: ** stars

Hum, ever wanted to hear The Shirelles' 'Wil You Love Me' redone as a surf tune ?   Probably not.  

6.) Can't Sit Down (instrumental) -    rating: ** stars

The Dovells had the hit and this was a nice enough cover ...    

7.) A Quickie (instrumental) -    rating: ** stars

Well the title was at least accurate.   Surf guitar song fragment ...   

Lynch and Stretch subsequently hooked up with The Toads, recording an equally rare surf/garage album.