Gold

The Ventures | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 20, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Gold Label
• ASIN: B00004TD2Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,262 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Walk, Don't Run

2. Telstar

3. The Cruel Sea

4. Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

5. Yellow Jacket

6. Apache

7. Perfidia

8. Diamond Head

9. House of the Rising Sun

10. Secret Agent Man

11. Bumble Bee Rock

12. Pipeline

13. Wipe Out

14. Caravan

15. Tall Cool One

16. Red River Rock

17. James Bond Theme

18. Guitar Boogie Shuffle

19. Bongo Rock

20. Honky Tonk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Instrumental Chameleons..., July 16, 2000

By 

Keith Hannaleck (Adams, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

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

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You Can't Go Home Again, May 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

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...

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 40 years of listening joy!, July 26, 2000

By 

John Kannel (Eau Claire, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gold (Audio CD)

I was 12 years old when I first heard that magical instrumental, "Walk-Don't Run", while riding in our '49 Buick. I was hooked, for 40 years!

I can't quite believe my good fortune of having 40 years of listening pleasure. These guys have allowed me to grow with their everchanging, improving and innovating sound.

This album is just what we would have heard during the 60's, using the latest technology.

I recently purchased 2 live concert tapes of the late 90's. My first viewing ever of a group who's music has carried my through good times and less pleasant life experiences.

Can we possibly see another 40 years?