Lucille/Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)/Hernando’s Hideaway/Mashed Potato Time/Summertime/Hot Summer (Asian Mashed)/Poison Ivy/The Wah-Watsui/Instant Mashed/Scratch/Hully Gully (Baby)/Spudnik
The potato as a theme seemed an unlikely choice for an album. The Mashed Potato was a very short lived dance craze but on Mashed Potato & Gravy it is milked for all it was worth by The Ventures. (US:46)
“Mashed Potatoes & Gravy was released to capitalize on the popularity of the Mashed Potato dance craze. The album features nine cover versions of other people's songs and three original tunes. Some immortal Ventures tunes are here, including Spudnik.”
“For an album that yielded not a single hit, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy is an enjoyable and substantial album. The group's sound was lean and mean all the way through, whether doing a respectful cover of Summertime or raucous renditions of Lucille and Poison Ivy. Even the seeming throwaway numbers, such as Hot Summer (Asian Mashed), with its faux-Eastern embellishments, and the soaring Spudnik, are played with such virtuosity and spirit that they demand attention.”
“After the Twist faded away the record companies tried to capture 'the next big thing'. Well, the Mashed Potato was Dolton's stab at it and The Ventures were just the guys to do it. The music includes bad potato puns and is executed in typical instrumental surf fashion. Although this album is specially designed for the Mashed Potato, the tempos are great for many other dances.”
“A bunch of songs for people to dance the 'Mashed Potato' to. Apparently this dance is performed at a much slower rate than the Twist, because all these songs are midtempo. They're nice tunes though - classic 60s tunes like Lucille and Poison Ivy, as well as some lesser known but equally fun tunes like Mashed Potato Time. Another three band originals grace the stage this time - only one is remarkable, the classic surf/spy original Spudnik, one of The Ventures' most incredible original compositions, it is so awesome.”
No comments:
Post a Comment