The Ventures' Christmas Album

The Ventures | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002Z9K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,123 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #25 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Surf Guitar

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great, hilarious ... just a wee bit short, December 11, 2004

By 

mark harlan "http://www.RedsDeal.com" (silicon valley, california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ventures' Christmas Album (Audio CD)

i ordered this from amazon and am just now giving it my second listen through ... nothing quite puts you in that xmas spirit like "walk, don't run," blending into "sleigh bells." (unless it's james brown's, "santa claus, go straight to the ghetto.")

everything that every reviewer said here is on the mark. if you're familiar with instrumental surf, this album is simply a *must*. if you're intimate with the ventures, i challenge to listen to this album and not laugh out loud at least once.

the ONLY reason i ding it a star is it clocks in at 27 minutes. say what? even in the vinyl days this would be considered a short board on the big wave of music.

so yeah, maybe the original was just that long, but hey, the publisher could've put *something* else on that space ... other ventures, other surf band xmas songs, a 2-fer with something cool, dick dale's "hava nagila," SOMEthin' ...

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Christmas Classic, November 21, 2004

By 

Danno (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ventures' Christmas Album (Audio CD)

This is one of the few must-own Christmas discs of the rock era. The Ventures (probably the most creative of all the 1960s instrumental bands) took a handful of Xmas chestnuts and blended them with mid-1960s riffs and licks. The result, while probably dreamed up by an executive to squeeze some cash from those 60s teenyboppers, definitely stands the test of time a lot better than most subsequent Xmas albums by other artists. Why? No matter what material the Ventures recorded in the 1960s, they approached the task with fuzzed out Mosrite guitars, nimble drumming, generous reverb, and no-nonsense bare-knuckled gusto. The result is one of the few holiday CDs you might play once the holidays are over. I can't recommend this one enough. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Blue Christmas" are the standouts.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rockin' Christmas with a sense of humor, November 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ventures' Christmas Album (Audio CD)

I have my original copy of the vinyl LP (my version is in mono, not stereo) and I am glad to see it has now been issued on CD (and in stereo--WOW! ). The Ventures start most every song with a riff from a popular 60's song before seguing into the Christmas tune. I didn't know this when I originally bought the album, so it came as quite a shock to hear "Walk Don't Run" segue into "Sleigh Ride". But it's all pretty cool and it brings a smile to the face of everyone I've every played my worn LP for.

I've always wanted these songs in stereo, but the stereo LP is hard to find and pricey, and you have to deal with those annoying pops and scratches. Look for this great album in stereo AND on CD with little or no surface noise looks like a good deal to me!