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Surf's Up, Ventures Style

Mike King | Taunton, MA United States | 06/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those of you who thought that this CD was a repackaging of songs recorded in the sixties, let me set the record straight. "Surfin' And Spyin' " was recorded by the Ventures in 1981, and all of the remaining tracks were recorded between 1996 and 2000. For those of you who thought that the Ventures might have lost something with age, let me set your mind at ease. "Walk Don't Run '64" starts the CD off on a strong note, and the music never falters from first song to last. A particular standout is "Baja" from 1996, featuring Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, Gerry McGee and Mel Taylor. "Diamond Head" and "Pipeline" are outstanding surf instrumentals. Those versions were recorded with original member Nokie Edwards instead of Gerry McGee on guitar, and with Leon Taylor replacing his late father Mel on drums. "Surf Rider," written by Nokie Edwards but here credited to Wilson/Bogle, is alone worth the price of the CD. Voting members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should buy this CD. I guarantee after one listen, they would vote to induct the Ventures immediately!"

Good but not the original recordings

Mike King | 01/16/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Good stuff, but these are from 1990's sessions, not the original recordings of these tunes. These lack the energy (and distortion) of the originals. It's the 5,000th time they've played these songs, so the differences are significant. If you were looking for the originals, try a differrent Ventures collection...."

The musicians preserve the original style.

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 06/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Walk Don't Run '64 is an astonishing composition, and abundantly easy on the ears. Like many of the tunes by the Beatles, Walk Don't Run '64 is simple, and playable by countless high school students. Moreover, as with the Beatle tunes, the sum of what is set forth in Walk Don't Run '64 is greater than its parts. Walk Don't Run '64 on this compilation is slightly different than the original, and I tend to prefer the original. In the current version, the opening bass line is essentially a series of percussive notes, with a sound similar to the percussive notes found in Kraftwerk's Computer World. In other words, the opening bass notes tend to lack a clearly defined position on the musical scale -- the bass player's palm was pressed against the string, muffling it to a greater extent in the current version than in the original. Another difference is that the opening drum beat contains a subtle triplet, and the guitar arpeggios contain an added trill. Moreover, in the ending in the current version, the expected "signature" tremelo is absent. Continuing with the description of the current version of Walk Don't Run '64, the bass line is a bit beefier than found on the originally recorded vinyl. Fortunately, the subtle accompaniment of the second guitar is preserved, and the chirpy, Del Shannon-style organ accompaniment and organ lead are magnificently preserved. By preserved, I mean the current style is the same as in the original release of Walk Don't Run '64.



Most or all of the other songs are a wonder, and best of the genre -- the musically simple and musically primitive genre known as: "surf songs." Even impatient teenagers will have little trouble learning by heart the fine, jazzy, lead guitar riffs from this album. Out Of Limits contains the castanets that you remember from the original. Penetration and Pipeline are guitar powerhouses. The Ventures' Wipe Out does justice to the whimpy version originally done by the Surfaris. A final note: This is not a recreation of the entire, original Ventures' Surfin' album, so please don't expect to find all the songs found on that album. Only a couple of songs from the Ventures' Surfin' album are found in the present production. I do miss Windy and Warm, and Diamonds, from that earlier album. Lonely Surfer, noted for its catchy but tediously repeated tune, is a fine member of this compilation. The Ventures' version lacks the instrumental buildup found in Jack Nitzsche's original (strings and horns), thus making one more aware of this number's repetitiveness.



Again, it came as a relief that the musicians had preserved the original style of these surf songs. Thankfully, there was no attempt to convert the songs into dance, disco, or techno numbers. I only saw the Ventures once. This was at Merlyn's on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. During intermission, Nokie Edwards made his way through the audience and, in passing by, politely placed his hand on my shoulder and then continued on through the crowd. And so, it was at that one, brief moment in 1982 or 1983, that I had the hand of an actual Rock-God on my shoulder.



Children tend to like the Ventures due to the catchy tunes, the pleasant bell-tone sound of the Mosrite guitars used by the Ventures, and the total absence of mushy lyrics."