There is versatility, from the haunting, ghostly quality of "Fast Freight"; to the cocktail-type "Scotch and Soda" to the mournful cry of "Tom Dooley," a classic "do" of the Tennessee hill-folk.

There is also high humor and a feeling for the dramatic, along with sound knowledge of the gamut from sea chanteys to calypso rhythms to the inevitable western-type roundelay. And thee is the musicianship to put this knowledge into its most delightful expression.

As Dave Guard, who is considered the leader of the group, says, "We don't really consider ourselves folk-singers in the accepted sense of the word, but it was our interest in this type of singing that brought us together. We put only one restriction on the type of songs we do: they must have a basically intelligent thought and be founded in good taste."

Singing comes naturally to the boys, and all play guitar. Dave and Bob were brought up in Hawaii, where they learned to strum ukuleles about the same time they learned to swim -- at the age of seven. Both Dave and Bob play banjo in addition to guitar. Nick, who sings and plays the conga drums, was born in Coronado, California, but as the sun of a Navy career officer he traveled widely and picked up new songs each time the family moved. And each time Captain Reynolds returned from periodic sea duty, he taught his kids the songs of the lands he had visited. Says Nick of his father, "Dad plays a very swingin' guitar."

You don't have to be Deems Taylor to sense that these boys like to sing. Better yet, they sound as if they like to sing together. During their engagements at such bistros San Francisco's "The Purple Onion" and "the hungry I" and Chicago's "Mr. Kelly's," they have been heard, and roundly applauded by everyone from Bing Crosby to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

This album Gives you the chance to do the same.

MANUFACTURED BY CAPITOL RECORDS, INC., A SUBSIDERARY OF CAPITOL INDUSTRIES, INC., HOLLYWOOD AND VINE STREETS,
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. l FACTORIES: SCRANTON, PA., LOS ANGELES, CALIF., JACKSONVILLE, ILL., WINCHESTER, VA.