The Ventures A Go-Go – THE VENTURES****

Satisfaction/Go Go Slow/Louie Louie/Night Stick/La Bamba/The In Crowd/Wooly Bully/A Go Go Guitar/A Go Go Dancer/The Swingin’ Creeper/Whittier Boulevard/I Like It Like That

The Ventures A Go-Go featured a combination of seven instrumental interpretations of vocal hits, including The Stones’ Satisfaction, plus five original compositions. (US:16)

"It was released to capitalize on the popularity of go-go dancing. It features seven cover versions of recent hits, and five original tunes. The album has a lot of organ on it. I was surprised that the vocal lines in Satisfaction were played by an organ, instead of a guitar like they normally do when they cover a song with lyrics. Out of the original tunes, the great The Swingin' Creeper is a favourite among Ventures fans, although A Go Go Dancer is pretty terrific too, and the rest are also solid."

"The album opens with their cover of The Rolling Stones Satisfaction, as they playfully bring in an organ for the melody line once the guitars have established the groove. The band's three go-go-themed originals are far from mere filler and show a band at the peak of their powers."

"This album starts off with an instrumental version of The Rolling Stones' Satisfaction. a very difficult song to do instrumentally, but with a few changes in the melody, rhythm wise, they pull it off. Another highlight is Drums A Go Go. Mel's hot drumming is the best part of this number. The Swingin' Creeper is also very good, and the album as a whole is tremendous."

"Party music. This LP, especially Guitars A Go Go, makes me want to dance. Growing up, I used to play this and just go crazy dancing."

"There were lots of instrumental groups in the sixties, but for sheer productivity and longevity, nobody touched The Ventures. Their trademark hard-driving drumming and twanging guitar made them the most successful instrumental group of the decade."

"The perception is that The Ventures were merely a cover group. That is ¼ true. They do perform a lot of covers, but they do something better - they improve the songs they cover. They have that energy and spark that illuminates their music."