by Stephen Cook
The "two" of Two Sides of the Chantays points to the album's mix of instrumentals and vocal numbers. The Santa Ana boys responsible for the surf hit "Pipeline" get into some appealing marginalia with both formats. On the instrumental end, there's the shindig-stomp "Move It" (whoops, hollers, and distorted guitars), the driving, go-go surf number "Greenz" (screaming organ, steely guitar notes), and "straight" surf material like "Space Probe" and "Continental Missle" (Tornadoes-style, outer-space effects mixed with player-piano solos). The exotica even gets a bit rarefied on a nursery-rhyme version of "Three Coins in the Fountain" (there's a coin-in-the-water sound on the fourth beat for emphasis). The playing is great on all these cuts, especially the guitar and keyboard work. On the vocal side, there's everything from good covers (Buddy Holly's "Maybe Baby") and good approximations (British Invasion numbers like "It Never Works Out for Me" and "Love Can Be Cruel") to the just plain mediocre ("Only If You Care"). A fun and worthwhile album for those into the campier elements of mod, '60s music, and best purchased as part of Dot's two-fer that also includes the Pipeline album.