THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN
Return Of The Red Baron/Snoopy For President (Collectables)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Even if you weren't around in the 60s, you've probably heard The Royal Guardsmen's classic bubblegum hit, "Snoopy Versus The Red Baron," at least a hundred times. Didja know the Ocala, Florida band made more records after that? Full albums, too. Seriously. Collectables brings us the 2nd and 3rd albums on one CD. 1967's Return Of The Red Baron is a mixed bag of lighter than air pop ("Airplane Song"), odd instrumental covers ("So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star"), a sure bet for air play ("The Return Of The Red Baron"), an attempt at original psychedelia with so-so results ("Om"), a very nice pop tune of unknown origin ("Searchin' For The Good Times") and a surprisingly hot version of "I'm A Man." The big surprise is that Return gets better on repeat listening.

The same can't be said of 1968's Snoopy For President. They drag the dog out for the title track in hopes he'll drag 'em up the charts by the leash one more time, but the song is lame and lifeless. The rest is cover this, cover that. Remember those commercials that touted all the big hits as recorded by The Sound Effects? Who bought that? Who wanted to pay good money for recordings of a band doing other people's songs? Strange how it seemed so much less annoying on Return Of The Red Baron. Strange what a difference a year makes. But here it was 1968 and we got this album AND Nixon. If you're looking for something positive, though, their cover of Tom Paxton's "Bottle Of Wine" was... well, a whole lot better than their cover of Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey."

So is it worth buying? Well, the label is called Collectables, and that should be your hint. If you want to own all the Royal Guardsmen albums in CD format, this is fantastic because it's a 2-fer. You get the surprisingly decent Return Of The Red Baron without having to seek out or shell out for Snoopy For President. Just comes down to what you're into.

© 2001 - DJ Johnson