Rating : - Gypped Again
Let's enter the realm of fantasy. I'm the producer of this CD and I decide to limit the contents to 12 selections. No problem. After all, the group only HAD three charted singles, and since they weren't exactly world leaders in album sales it shouldn't be a problem coming up with 12 songs.

But wait a minute. I suppose what those annoying "completists" out there would REALLY like is to see all three hit singles plus their B-sides, along with six album cuts or failed singles. So the best way to approach this is to give them NO B-sides, and only two of the three hits. Yeah. That'll do it.

And that's exactly what they gave us. They couldn't very well do a Golden Classics and leave off Short Shorts [# 2 R&B/# 3 Billboard Top 100 early in 1958 for ABC-Paramount], nor would it do to omit their only other Top 40 hit, Believe Me [# 26 Billboard Hot 100 in late 1959 for Capitol]. But they did contrive to overlook Harvey's Got A Girl Friend which peaked at # 78 in August 1958. And no flipsides at all [Planet Rock, Hangin' Around, and Little Cricket]. WHY? It's not like we're ever going to see Volume 2!

The fact is, this quartet from New Jersey [Bob Guadio, Bill Crandall, Billy Dalton, and Tom Austin] had a very ordinary sound, and it was only the quirky novelty description of a late Fifties fashion statement [Short Shorts - first released unsuccessfully in 1957 on the small Power label which had limited promotional capability and probably no funds for Payola] that attracted mass attention. The low ranking of their second hit proved that and ABC-Paramount dumped them.

By the time of Believe Me for Capitol in 1959 Crandall had been replaced by Larry Qualiano and a fifth member added in vocalist Joseph "Joe Villa" Francavilla. Later that year it was extended to a sextet when Al Kooper came aboard. It didn't matter. No further hits ensued.

Guadio would have greater success as a keyboardist/songwriter with The Four Seasons, a group he joined in 1960.

With these glaring omissions there is no way I can go higher than one star.