Golden Greats – THE VENTURES*****

Telstar/The Lonely Bull/Rebel Rouser/Honky Tonk/Let’s Go/Pipeline/Walk Don’t Run/Tequila/Apache/Wipe Out/ Memphis/Out Of Limits

Golden Greats was the first compilation package from the US premier guitar instrumental group The Ventures. Brits will be more familiar with the tunes performed by other artists. (US:50)

"The perception is that The Ventures are 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."

"The Ventures are a band I've heard of through the years. This is the first LP of theirs I have owned and I find myself listening to it over and over. Just a few guitars and a drummer, and I've always been a big fan of instrumental anyway. I'd recommend this one if you are curious about The Ventures music, they are really quite good." "This shows the great talent these guys had in guitar playing, before everything got 'teched-out' by just pushing a few buttons to get whatever sound effect one wants. These guys mastered it creatively by hand effects on the guitar-strings."

"The Ventures were a group that consisted of two guitars, bass and drums. There isn't all that much that could be done with that limited instrumentation in the days before all the sound processing gear became available to today's guitarists. But what The Ventures did was to make the most of that line-up. They had minimum instrumentation combined with maximum talent. This is the band that, in 1960, single-handedly made the guitar the dominant rock instrument. It took almost a decade for keyboards and horns to return to prominent places in rock bands. Before these guys, most instrumental solos in popular music records were either sax or piano. After these guys a sax or piano solo was a rarity."

"Yes, instrumental guitar music has been dying a slow death for years, but why not try keeping it alive with this great album? All The Ventures best hits are represented."

"I have always liked The Ventures. I know that much of their work was covers of other groups, but they always seemed to cover the very best and they really were excellent musicians. Often their version was better than the originals."