Very Best Of

Great voice-blending and solid vocal work by all four of them! Early arrangements by Hank Levine, among others, are lush and beautifully done as are Chuck Girard's wide-ranging lead vocals. His vocal excellence in these years defied his youth. After secretly recording the lead vocal for the hit single, "Little Honda" by the Hondells, he went on to found LoveSong, one of CCM's (Contemporary Christian Music) pioneering pop performing acts. Their hits, "Sacred" and "So This Is Love," are here but the vocal work on other tunes is sometimes much more spectacular. Interestingly, the single, "I Do,' produced by Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame, is not the only cut NOT from the original "So This Is Love" album. Their recordings on Warner Brothers Label are also included so there is a taste of what have been called "The Gary Usher productions" which includes some terrific writing by Usher and Raul Abeyta. If you're interested in this period or this group, this is a way above average assemblage of a lot of their work.

I found the great sound of the Castells on an oldie staion playing So This is Love and I fell in love with the rich beautiful sound this group produced. I went on to get this CD and my friends this is living large in perfection. I found their fallow up hit Sacred to be just as amazing. All the tunes are A plus and will transport you back to a time of DA haircuts, fast American cars and buttery smooth harmonies. Each song has its own personallity and is very well produced to fit the very talented band members. I was about 5 when these were made but trust me you are in for a treat no matter what age, that will take the edge off of modern living. I highly suggest you get this album!

Talk about harmony and male vocal groups. The Castells are truly exceptional in the likes of Lettermen, Vogues, and Brothers Four. This is a great collection of excellent tunes, and one of the best for easy listening. Glad I found it.

Harmonizing voices and great songs. The very best music!

This is right at the top of my list of beautiful, and pleasant music, songs, and listening.All that is wanted in soft rock is here in wonderful form.This cd is easily worth more than the price, it can't help but to be enjoyed, over and over.It is extremely difficult to find better music, and I am not sure if I have any better than this.Completely outstanding!

Given the age of the recording the quality was quite good

great to here them again!

the castell was an excelent buy I bought the used one it came an was surprised no scratches ecelent buylook brand new I do Listened to it

キャステルズは、50年代の後半に北部カリフォルニアのサンタ・ローザでリード・ヴォーカルのチャック・ギラード（ジャケット写真左右から3番目の真ん中に写っているのがチャック。女性はフォト・セッションのみでメンバーではない）を中心に結成されたヴォーカル・グループです。"SACRED"(61年20位）や"SO THIS IS LOVE"（62年21位）のヒット曲を持つグループと言うよりは、64年にビーチ・ボーイズのブライアン・ウィルソンのプロデュースによる"I DO"というビーチ・ボーイズでボツになった曲を出したグループと言ったほうが通りがいいかも知れません。それほどまでにこの"I DO"は素晴らしい曲なのですが、この曲のスタイルはザ・キャステルズの本質ではなく、むしろイレギュラーな作品。彼らのスタイルは、ヒットした2曲に見られるような爽やかな正統派のヴォーカル・グループ。ロックン・ロールでもなく、もちろんホワイト・ドゥー・ワップでもなく、どちらかというとレターメンのような上品で爽やかな作品を多く残しています。どこか懐かしい、郷愁への想いを誘うようなサウンドですね。中には17.のようにティーン・ポップスをホワイト・ドゥー・ワップ・グループ風味で味付けしたような曲もありますが、"I DO"の路線を期待すると「.....」となってしまいますのでご注意下さい。なお、チャック・ギラードと、グループの他のメンバーであるジョー・ケリーとヴァン・クルーゲルは、グループ活動と並行しながらゲイリー・アッシャーのサーフィン・サウンドのヴォーカリストとしても活躍しました。特にチャックはアッシャー関連の有名なグループ、ホンデルズなどでリードを歌っています。（もちろん、ホンデルズの大ヒット"LITTLE HONDA"も！）ブライアンとはアッシャーを通して知り合い、タイマーズというグループ名で発売されたビーチ・ボーイズのカヴァー曲、1963年発売の"NO GO SHOWBOAT"のセッションで初めてブライアンと仕事をしたそうです。当時キャピトルの契約下にあったブライアンの声を隠すために、高いパートをブライアンと一緒に歌ったのでした。こうした縁でブライアンから"I Do”をプレゼントされ、プロデュースまでしてくたのです。本盤にはヒットを出したERAレーベル時代を中心に、次に移籍したWARNER時代の"I DO"がオマケ的に収録されています。本CDには残念ながら未収録ですが、"I DO"のB面だったリー・アンドリュース＆ハーツのカヴァーである"TEARDROPS"もなかなか良いし、他にワーナーから出た2枚もフォー・シーズンズのようなスタイルで良い内容の作品です。さらにワーナーの次に移籍したDECCAの2枚はゲイリー・アッシャーのプロデュースで、またまたフォー・シーズンズ・スタイルだし、チャック・ギラードとジョー・ケリーがCHUCK AND JOE名義のデュオで同じくデッカから出した2枚（またまたアッシャーのプロデュース。これはライチャス・ブラザースとそっくり！）なんかもまとめて聴けるCDが出ると助かるのですが...発売期待します(笑)追伸....2015年にキャステルズのワーナー、デッカ時代、チャック＆ジョー、その他の音源をまとめたThe Castells/And Beyond(The Gary Usher Productions1964-1966)という３４曲入りのCDが、Teensvillという会社から発売になっています。興味ががある方には、こちらも是非おすすめします。

Well, We Had San Diego's Cascades, Richland Minnesota's Castaways, But Before Them, We Had Santa Rosa, California's Castells. ( Although Lead Chuck Girard Was Born At Los Angeles, As A Teen Moved To Santa Rosa )Like So Many Others, The Boys Practiced When And Wherever They Could ( And They Were Better Than Most )A Few Paid ( Mostly Unpaid ) Gigs Led To Interest From KJAX Radio Man Dan Dillon.Chuck's Mon Gave The Boys $100 To Record A Demo At Sound Recorders In San Francisco Where They Did Four Songs." Dan ( Dillon ) Suggested We Shop The Demo To Three Labels All In Hollywood."CRYSTALETTE ( Owned By Carl Burns ) " By The Time We Got There, They Had Sold Out To DOT Records "ALADDIN ( Owned By Eddie, Leo And Ira Mesner ) " We Considered Our Group To Be R&B, So We Were Very Excited To Learn That ALADDIN Records Was Interested In Us "ERA ( Owned By Herb Newman ) " We Knew About ERA, And We Met Herb Newman At His Office "" People Always Think That We Were Signed Right Away, But Herb Newman Said He had Enough Acts On ERA "" We Were About To Leave, When Another Exec Walked In And They Listened To The Demo Again "" Herb Newman Seemed To Have A Change Of Heart And Signed Us To ERA "" We Started By Losing Our Pianist Because Herb Newman Wanted To Have Only The Best Hollywood Musicians On Our Sessions. "" After A Slow Start, We Had " Sacred " Which Went Top-20 "" After One More, We Hit With Our Biggest " So This Is Love " That Went Top-20 Too, But It's Funny, There Were So Many Records Around, We Never Had A Top-10 " ( Nationally )After Leaving ERA, The Boys Found Their Way To WARNER BROTHERS, Then DECCA ( Shades On The Innocents ! )After A Few Years, The Boys Called It A Day And Went Their Seperate Ways ( Uncle Sam Also Came Calling )As Far As Chuck Girad Goes, That's Not The End Of The Story By Far." I Worked With Brian Wilson At Western ( Recorders ) And I Was Given A Copy Of " Hey Little Honda " And We Worked Into A Group Called The Hondells And Were Placed With MERCURY Records With Nick Venet Producing "( As Soon As CAPITOL Got Wind Of The Session, They Released The Version By The Beach Boys Which Had Only Been A Track On Their " All Summer Long " LP )During And After His Tenure With The Hondells, Chuck Was Also Present On Many Los Angeles Outings Under Names Such As The Ghouls, Mr. Gasser And The Weird Ones, And The Revells ( NOT Of " Church Key " Fame=The Revels )Today, Chuck Girard Is A Christian Music Artist. He Heads Up The Group Love Song.His Solo LP Contained Backing By The Band Ambrosia.The Rest Of The Original Castells Have Gone On To Lead Productive And Successful Lives.If You Want To Spot The Hondells On Film, They Appeared In The Following:" Beach Blanket Bingo " And " Ski Party " Both From 1965 From American International Pictures ( Who Else ? )" Beach Ball " Also From 1965 From Paramount PicturesAnd They Sang The Title Track On " Winter A Go-Go " Also From 1965 For Columbia Pictures.Quite A History, And A Great CD !My Thanks To The Hollywood Phantom For The Information On ALADDIN And CRYSTALETTE Records.