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Thanks for the authoritative info Ivan. I never knew one way or the other - but
it seemed much too outrageous for Dolton, and the Ventures producers to have
actually told a bald-faced lie about something you would think would come back
and bite 'em you-know-where!
I know Bob and Don, in an interview not too long ago, said they were never
consulted by Dolton, prior to the release of "The Ventures On Stage", and they
thoroughly disapproved of the album, and felt very uncomfortable with Dolton for
having released it, because it greatly offended their sense of ethics to have a
bunch of studio recordings faked-up into sounding like live performances. For
all that, they didn't mention the fictitious British appearances.
I would agree there was a lot of business-think involved in how The Ventures
planned and went about things. Still, they were, and are able to capture
musical moments that were pure magic - and for their sharing that magic with the
rest of us, I'll always be a big fan.
It's interesting to listen to any of Les Fradkin's CD's, from "Splash" to "A Day
at the Beach" he sounds so much influenced by the mid-60's Ventures sound, it's
eerie sometimes! But out of those 29 tracks, there ain't a single one I could
call "filler". Sad to say, there were few Ventures albums where at least
one-third of the tracks weren't utterly forgettable. Still they remain one of
my favorite bands of all time, if for nothing else than having given us their
original recording of "Walk Don't Run".
Bruce D
ipongrac <> wrote:
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@g...>
wrote:
>
> --- In , bruce d <wizzbangg2003@y...>
> wrote:
> > I don't think Dolton Records would have made the claim that The
> Ventures had toured Great Britain, if the claim couldn't be backed
> up - and yet, on their "On Stage" LP from the 1960's, are two or
> three songs, supposedly performed in G.B. - Ivan, do you want to
call
> this an outright lie?
>
> Yes. The On Stage LP was not actually live performances, and all
the
> MC and audience stuff was dubbed in. They never played in the UK.
> It was pure propaganda/promotion.
OK, I just checked the liner notes to the See For Miles issue of "On
Stage/Surfing". Here is what it says:
"What was different about The Ventures On Stage set was that... the
sleeve had along the top 'Recorded in Japan, the US and England"!
There were even photographs of these US and English gigs on the back
cover. For those of us still waiting after pushing forty years, we
can vouch that the guitar heroes never played on English soil! The
concert was an honest one, but the applause was partially dubbed in
from the response to a Japanese visit - the whole concert was in fact
recorded in Japan! What was even worse on the pressing itself was
this purported up-market English voice saying 'And now for their
first appearance in England...' Miraculously, by the time the album
got its release in the UK in November 1965, the sleeve had been
amended, deleting any references to English or US appearances.
Furthermore, the verbals on the record had been excised with the
exception of a Japanese announcer introducing the group, which we
were tempted to agree with. Still, it was 1965 and all's fair in
love and album sales, eh?"
So, I remembered wrongly that it wasn't recorded live, but everything
else I said is true. That's the thing about the Ventures - either
they or their management or record company would do whatever to make
a buck. It always seemed that the Shadows had much more integrity
and were INTO their music as a passion rather than as a business. My
impression was always that to the Ventures it was mostly a business.
Thus all the cuts where it was all studio players and no Ventures,
etc.
Ivan
PS God, it drives me crazy on that On Stage album when the announcer
says something like (for the England portion of the album, no less -
some nerve!!!): "And now with their giant hit, Apache!!!!" The
Ventures never had a hit with Apache anywhere, as far as I know, and
certainly not in England. Can you believe those cajones?
.
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