Search - Ventures :: Gold

The Instrumental Chameleons...

Keith Hannaleck | Adams, MA | 07/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Ventures are back in America on Pat Boone's Gold label. The group couldn't have signed with a more focused and dedicated organization. Quality attracts quality. It's seems so fitting, with the group celebrating their fortieth anniversary, that they come full circle and then turn the clocks back on their greatest hits and re-record them in all their glory utilizing today's exceptional recording technologies. The end result is magical. All of these songs sound better than they ever did! The renditions of some of their most well known songs starts a whole new life for each one, and hopefully attracting a new audience. Beginning their fiftieth decade of recording literally hundreds of albums and touring endlessly, these fine musicians have made an indelible mark upon music and our culture. The sounds perfected during the Gold sessions are just outstanding. Each song has some new an interesting twists and turns that make it a thoroughly entrancing experience. Nokie Edwards returns as a guest on fourteen tracks. Edwards still has what it takes. Those cat quick fingers go right to work, making melodious twang filled notes that strike like lightning, stoking the fire that once burned in the sixties. Bob Bogel, who normally plays bass, steps in on lead guitar on four tracks; "Walk Don't Run", "Perfidia" , "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" and "Wipe Out." On "Wipe Out", Leon Taylor shows why he is Mel's son. What a nice job he does with that classic song. Taylor adds some of his own style and percussive variation, while the diverse Bogel cuts loose with some tasteful and well placed lead guitar notes. It's not as powerful as "Wipe Out 2000", nevertheless just as intriguing as any version I have ever heard. You can tell when Gerry McGee steps back in on lead guitar, his sound is very distinctive. He plays with more of an r & b flavor, with fatter chords, where as Nokie has a more twangy reverb style. It's Nokie's trademark sound of instro-surf that inspired an entire new genre in the sixties. The late great Mel Taylor does one of his best numbers ever, and one of my personal favorites, called "Bongo Rock." What an exciting rocker it turns into, thanks to the lightning fast hands of one of music's greatest drummers. We miss him dearly. After forty years The Ventures haven't lost a step, in fact, I think they have gained a few on their contemporaries. A truly amazing and wonderful group that always puts out a consistently excellent sound. If it's a new song or a remake, it all sounds like heaven to me. Nobody does it like The Ventures. They are like the "The Beatles" of instrumental rock and pop. They are living legends in every sense of the word. They seem to command more energy and electricity than groups half their age-just amazing. The Ventures are an original slice of Americana making history with every performance and every recording. Yes, this is pure gold. Keith Hannaleck June 14, 2000 MuzikMan's Sound Script"

Every song in this CD is remake of the original hits!

Keith Hannaleck | 10/01/1998

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Ever bought a CD and when you played it, the songs were not at all like the original hits? That's this CD! To make it worse, these remakes sound like they were done by an Elementary School Band. There is nothing on the cover that says these songs are remakes. There should be a law against doing this! Don't make the same mistake I did and purchase this CD. There are other Ventures CD that do have their original hits, not remakes. Find those CD's because they are a great group."

You Can't Go Home Again

Keith Hannaleck | 05/05/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't a "bad" retrospective, but it's not the same as the original stuff. Maybe I wouldn't be so hard on this cd if I didn't also have some old "real" Ventures tapes with the original cuts. The Gold version of songs like Walk Don't Run and Apache are oddly "off" -- the reverb isn't right, the slides aren't right and the rhythm lines are too crisp. I'm not sure, but I think the guitars aren't tuned quite the same, either. The notes might be OK but the music isn't the same. Perfidia is pretty good but Telstar stinks -- it's too "digital". To me, part of the magic of the original was the mushy cymbals and guitar reverb, you know, early "surround sound" stuff. If you're into early surf guitar music, go with the Dick Dale "King of the Surf Guitar" cd and leave the golden oldie Ventures on the shelf..."