Search - Royal Guardsmen :: Best of

Identical to "The Royal Guardsmen Anthology"

fredtownward | Palatine, Illinois United States | 08/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is essentially identical to the earlier Anthology so only a real completist need buy both. However, even owners of both of the CD re-releases of the Royal Guardsmen's 4 albums: Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron/Snoopy & His Friends and The Return of the Red Baron/Snoopy for President will want to buy one of these anthology CD's because they contain two not included singles, "Mother, Where's Your Daughter?" and the last Snoopy song, "Smallest Astronaut". Unfortunately, the version of "Snoopy For President" included on these CD's is a defective one, the edited version, which cuts out the words "in '68", destroying the meter of the first line in a pathetic attempt to make the song appear less dated. In order to obtain a non-butchered version of "Snoopy For President", you will have to buy the second album re-release: The Return of the Red Baron/Snoopy for President. In addition, the "Story of..." fake radio broadcasts that precede the 3 Snoopy versus the Red Baron songs on the third album are missing. For those you must purchase either the first album re-release Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron/Snoopy & His Friends or for an indefective consecutive track version, an old CD re-release of the third album: Merry Snoopy's Christmas or Snoopy's Christmas."

Fun collection, but unexceptional sound

R. Kyle | USA | 11/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you enjoy the "Snoopy" songs and occasionally need a fix, this is a good collection to get, but clearly the producers didn't digitally enhance this CD. You could do about as well on your old transistor radio. Still, the material's fun to listen to."

Australian Import Comes Through With The Hit Sides At Least

R. Kyle | 08/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This EMI Music Australia 1996 CD delivers the goods on The Royal Guardsmen who will forever be associated with the little dog from Peanuts, thanks to their initial smash hit Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron [# 2 Billboard Pop Hot 100in early 1967]. Released on the Laurie label, it also appeared that year in Canada as "Squeaky Vs. The Black Knight" and if anyone knows the story behind that I'd sure like to hear it. Both flipsides were I Needed You.



Very quickly upon its release they came up with The Return of The Red Baron which settled in at a very respectable # 15 Hot 100 in March b/w Sweetmeats Slide and, continuing the theme, their third hit that summer was Airplane Song (My Airplane) which topped out at # 46 Hot 100 b/w the curiously-titled instrumental Om.



By the fall of 1967 they tried to deviate from their novelty sound with Wednesday [shown here as Any Wednesday] but it only reached # 97 Hot 100 b/w So Right (To Be In Love). By Christmas they brought the lovable Beagle back into the picture with Snoopy's Christmas and this soared to # 1 on Billboard's Christmas charts b/w It Kinda Looks Like Christmas [it would chart again in 1968 at # 15 and again in 1969 at # 11]. In the spring of 1968 I Say Love, another attempt to wean themselves away from the novelty genre, peaked at # 72 Hot 100 b/w I'm Not Gonna Stay.



Whereas, with the exception of Om, none of the foregoing B-sides are included here, they do provide the flip of Snoopy For President [Down Behind The Lines] which climbed only to the # 85 Hot 100 spot that summer, indicating that even their novelty approach was wearing a bit thin. Ironically, they then had their best hit since 1967 [and their last] when the ballad Baby Let's Wait made it to a quite respectable # 35 Hot 100 early in 1969 b/w Biplane Evermore.



Although they probably enjoyed considerable financial remuneration with their novelty act, such success can also be like an albatross around a band's neck. Because, this sextet from Ocala, Florida - Barry Winslow (vocals & guitar), Chris Nunley (vocals), Tom Richards (lead guitar), Bill Balough (bass), and Billy Taylor (organ) - could handle both straight ballads and rock tunes.



Examples of the former would be Any Wednesday, Mother. Where's Your Daughter, I Say Love, and Baby Let's Wait, while their ability on R&R is evident in their renditions of Bo Diddley's I'm A Man, Leaving Me, and Searching For The Good Times. They also do a very credible job on Mick Jagger's As Tears Go By, and demonstrate their instrumental prowess on OM and So You Want To Be A Rock 'N Roll Star.



In the insert you get two pages of liner notes written by Stephen Scanes, although there is no North American discography information. The sound quality - with the exception of track 12 which is a bit "wavy" on my disc - ranges from adequate to good. All renditions are original."