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I'm a little late to the game here, but I decided to pick this up, given the
classic status I hear people talking about. On first listen, I am surprised
by the energy and dare I say passion that is evident in the Ventures
playing. Something I don't always hear in their work. The guitar tone is a
bit too hot, almost harsh, though. Is this the Mosrites, or just the
recording technique of the time? Just wondering what others thought of this
album. My favorite so far is "Bulldog". I never understood why so many hyped
up Nokie, but on this particular album he (and the rest of the band) are
smoking.
I understand there is a video of this performance? Anyone see it or know
where to get it?
BN
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bneal@i...> wrote:
> On first listen, I am surprised by the energy and dare I say
> passion that is evident in the Ventures playing. Something I don't
> always hear in their work. The guitar tone is a
> bit too hot, almost harsh, though. Is this the Mosrites, or just the
> recording technique of the time?
I'm almost completely sure its the guitars. They could've done with
some
reverb--even just a little--during that set, but man, it's still
killer. The tone on their albums drastically changed when they
switched to Mosrites for "The Ventures In Space." I think. I'm pretty
sure it was for that album. Anyone 100% sure?
(I for one prefer the Mosrite tone. The Fabulous Ventures and Guitar
Freakout are my favorites of their studio stuff.)
> Just wondering what others thought of this
> album. My favorite so far is "Bulldog". I never understood why so
many hyped
> up Nokie, but on this particular album he (and the rest of the
band) are
> smoking.
I think as a whole it's their best release. Like you said, the energy
is surprising, considering it *is* the Ventures. (The Japanese
Surfin' Deluxe comp's pretty great as well.) Granted, since there's
almost 30 songs a few are begging to be skipped, with the Beatles
cover and "Love Potion #9" standing out in that sense. I was pretty
down on them until I picked this one up as a sort of last chance, and
since then it's been one of my favorites.
The lead on "Bulldog" blows me away. I don't know what the effect is,
I don't know what most of the notes are, but I love it nontheless.
Other favorites are "Driving Guitars (Ventures Twist)," "Yellow
Jacket," "The Cruel Sea," "Journey to the Stars," "Rap
City," "Bumblebee Twist," and "Slaughter On 10th Avenue."
Outside of "Journey to the Stars," I prefer the '65 live version of
each of these to the studio cuts.
I love the dissonance on the cover of the Pink Panther theme, and I
really like the extremely loud mistake on "Wipeout." Same with the
tuning problems on the first chorus of that song. It shows off their
human side, which is kind of rare for them. Nokie's playing
throughout is downright impressive, to boot.
Did he always do this live? On a lot of the studio stuff it seems
like he's holding back.
> I understand there is a video of this performance? Anyone see it or
know
> where to get it?
Anyone? I'm intrigued ...
-Warren
I think this is what happens when you take a Mosrite and plug it into
a Showman and turn it up. The Ventures had been using Jazzmasters
and the Mosrites have much hotter pickups, which by the way, can't be
lowered like Jazzmaster pickups, the Mosrites having just individual
pole pieces. I certainly don't think they used any effects, except a
fuzz tone stomp box occasionally. All photos I have seen show them
plugging straight in.
I had a Mosrite Ventures model in the 60's and the pickups were
very "overwound" without much "sparkle" and lots of output.
I am obviously a huge fan of The Ventures since I named my band after
them (The Beloved Invaders) - but if you want to get some inspiration
for a DRIVING band, just listen to Mel ROCKING AWAY back there and
you can't miss Don Wilson's rhythm guitar - which is an integral part
of The Ventures sound, and it's on every cut if you pick it out.
If you listen to records made in the 60's many of them sound kind of
wimpy (check out "Fresh Cream, for example)compared to today's angry
stuff - The Ventures were rarely, if ever, angry like Link Wray. But
they rock, in a VERY WHITE kind of way. Which really is the essence
of surf music, isn't it?
As far as a video, the only one I know of is "The Beloved Invaders"
which has a huge amount of lame Japanese dialog and "plot" with some
real "speed metal" Ventures tunes interspersed. If you do a google
on "The Beloved Invaders" you might find it, as well as finding my
band.
If you want to listen to practically every Ventures album ever made,
including an interesting live recording from 1962, check out
www.freddie.spb.ru
you will also find virtually every Chet Atkins record ever made and
can find the version of "Walk, Don't Run" that inspired the Ventures.
....plus The Shadows, but that's a whole 'nother subject...
I recently saw Nokie play live with The Ventures (Mel passed away a
few years ago but his son does a great job) and he is a great player
and still a big inpsiration to a lot of players today, in a "Chet
Atkins" kind of way. And Don Wilson is 70 and still plays the same
rhythm guitar style he did 40 years ago.
Phil Dirt will say the Ventures aren't Surf and I won't argue. But
they certainly inspired much of the first wave.
> As far as a video, the only one I know of is "The Beloved Invaders"
I've got one of them doing Surf Rider. Pretty good piece of video. I _think_
I got it from their site?
--
Malcolm <<-- not a signature
"They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
"It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
"My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
Hi again, Boulder Bob -
'Bout your comments, as follows...
>...but if you want to get some inspiration
> for a DRIVING band, just listen to Mel ROCKING AWAY back there
and you can't miss Don Wilson's rhythm guitar - which is an integral
part of The Ventures sound, and it's on every cut if you pick it out.
I couldn't agree with you more. Mel Taylor sure did rock! He was
the perfect drummer for the band. The only other guy at the time
that would have sounded as good could have been Hal Blaine, but he
was way too busy playing on all the hits recorded in L.A. (including
some by The Ventures!)
> If you listen to records made in the 60's many of them sound kind
of wimpy (check out "Fresh Cream, for example)compared to today's
angry stuff
I gotta disagree with you there. Fresh Cream just sounds dated in
the recording department - all that midrange, very little nice bottom-
end punch, etc. But Cream most assuredly were a monstrous wall of
sound live. Although I missed seeing them live in their heyday, I
did shortly thereafter get to see Blind Faith, which was 2/3 of Cream
plus Steve Winwood. And they sure enough kicked serious butt. In my
opinion, if you stuck Cream on the same stage as most of today's hard
rock bands, they would give them a good scare.
>- The Ventures were rarely, if ever, angry like Link Wray. But
> they rock, in a VERY WHITE kind of way. Which really is the essence
> of surf music, isn't it?
Now, I do agree with you here. For me, that's what makes them so
fabulous. They created this certain style of music (well,
concurrently with The Shadows). And that's also what I love when I
watch them in concert on the Beloved Invaders video. They just STAND
THERE AND PLAY, and it's sufficient and wonderful. There are certain
tunes that were covered by The Ventures which I consider the best
versions ever recorded. An example is their version of Needles and
Pins, which just destroys me.
There was (and is) something uniquely magical about The Ventures,
analogous to the way the Beatles were magical.
- Eric Up North
Dear Eric
No No No! you misunderstood me.
Cream was a wall of thick, detailed, fascinating sound. A Jazz band,
almost. Practically created a genre.
It is the RECORDING that was wimpy. Mainly Fresh Cream in a Stereo
mix - like so many albums from the 60's, I want the mono mixes. They
have a lot more power.
Boulder Bob
--- In , "Bob Cannistraro"
<cannistraro@e...> wrote:
> Dear Eric
>
> No No No! you misunderstood me.
>
> Cream was a wall of thick, detailed, fascinating sound. A Jazz band,
> almost. Practically created a genre.
>
> It is the RECORDING that was wimpy. Mainly Fresh Cream in a Stereo
> mix - like so many albums from the 60's, I want the mono mixes. They
> have a lot more power.
>
> Boulder Bob
Bob -
Now I understand what you meant, and I agree totally. And I also
agree about the power of MONO, which made so many records from the
50's and 60's sound so good and so powerful. I am a huge fan of the
work of the great Phil Spector, whose slogan was "Back To Mono." I
even have a button that says that.
But you know - there's a flip side, or a good side, to the coin of the
primitive, low-tech recording technology of 40 or 50 years ago. To my
ears, anyway, part of the charm of listening to the vintage Ventures
records is all the tinny midrange on those records, especially the
guitar sounds. I'll admit that sometimes I EQ in more bottom end when
listening, depending on which of their records it is, but I actually
LIKE all that midrange, same as I do on many classic 60's records.
And you know, there are some modern day acts which deliberately mix
their records with lots of shelving and emphasis on midrange. Two
good examples are many of the records produced by the great Pete
Anderson for Dwight Yoakam, the alt-country guy, or some of the
records done by the Canadian root-rock band Blue Rodeo.
BACK TO MONO!! Bring on the midrange!! And TURN UP THE REVERB!!
Eric
> like so many albums from the 60's, I want the mono mixes
You are wise, sir! At that time, stereo was considered in the UK to be a
short-term fad. The Beatles spent 2 weeks on the mono mix and 2 days on the
stereo. It's for this reason that the first CD releases were the mono versions.
--
Malcolm <<-- not a signature
"They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
"It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
"My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
--- In , "Bob Cannistraro"
<cannistraro@e...> wrote:
>
> If you want to listen to practically every Ventures album ever
made,
> including an interesting live recording from 1962, check out
>
> www.freddie.spb.ru
>
> you will also find virtually every Chet Atkins record ever made and
> can find the version of "Walk, Don't Run" that inspired the
Ventures.
>
> ....plus The Shadows, but that's a whole 'nother subject...
Boulder Bob:
I really can't thank you enough for turning me on to Freddie's
website. The guy is amazing... I've never seen a website with more
music on it, totally playable, complete, and sounding good. I wrote
him and told him how thrilled I am by his site. Jeez, I've heard so
much great stuff that I'd never heard before, and obviously I could
going for weeks or months... fabulous... a spectactular
infringement of copyright probably, but our cordial host should be
quite safe, living where he does... What a find that was!!
Thank you, my man!!
Eric B.
Video from the Ventures Live in '65 era is on a Japanese import VHS called
"Beloved Invaders" - part tour documentary, part live performance - Mosrites
and Blond Showmans all around. Not as many songs as on the album/disc, but
still a must have. Check EBay
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Neal
To:
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 6:52 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Ventures Live In Japan '65
I'm a little late to the game here, but I decided to pick this up, given the
classic status I hear people talking about. On first listen, I am surprised
by the energy and dare I say passion that is evident in the Ventures
playing. Something I don't always hear in their work. The guitar tone is a
bit too hot, almost harsh, though. Is this the Mosrites, or just the
recording technique of the time? Just wondering what others thought of this
album. My favorite so far is "Bulldog". I never understood why so many hyped
up Nokie, but on this particular album he (and the rest of the band) are
smoking.
I understand there is a video of this performance? Anyone see it or know
where to get it?
BN
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
groups.yahoo.com/group/SurfGuitar101 for archived messages, bookmarks, files,
polls, etc.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I'm telling you, it may look like a Showman, but it's not.
BUY THE "BELOVED INVADERS" DVD!!!
(bottom of the page):
You know what else RULES about this recording? The M.C.!
Where did they find that guy? ~Mike
--- In , "TFJ" <toofastjim@m...> wrote:
> Video from the Ventures Live in '65 era is on a Japanese import
VHS called "Beloved Invaders" - part tour documentary, part live
performance - Mosrites and Blond Showmans all around. Not as many
songs as on the album/disc, but still a must have. Check EBay
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Brian Neal
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 6:52 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Ventures Live In Japan '65
>
>
> I'm a little late to the game here, but I decided to pick this
up, given the
> classic status I hear people talking about. On first listen, I
am surprised
> by the energy and dare I say passion that is evident in the
Ventures
> playing. Something I don't always hear in their work. The guitar
tone is a
> bit too hot, almost harsh, though. Is this the Mosrites, or just
the
> recording technique of the time? Just wondering what others
thought of this
> album. My favorite so far is "Bulldog". I never understood why
so many hyped
> up Nokie, but on this particular album he (and the rest of the
band) are
> smoking.
>
> I understand there is a video of this performance? Anyone see it
or know
> where to get it?
>
> BN
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> groups.yahoo.com/group/SurfGuitar101 for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms
of Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hi All,
I believe the Ventures used an amp of the Brand "Guytone"
This is a Japanese company that made Fender Alikes.
They had a Showman amp as well. I also believed they made a twin amp.
They are very simelar to their Fender counterparts.
Although I'm not 100% sure of this, Guytone made these kind of amps
t'ill the mid seventies.
Kind regards,
Jerry S.
-----Original Message-----
From: gunkadisc [mailto:]
Sent: zondag 11 januari 2004 4:53
To:
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Ventures Live In Japan '65
I'm telling you, it may look like a Showman, but it's not.
BUY THE "BELOVED INVADERS" DVD!!!
(bottom of the page):
You know what else RULES about this recording? The M.C.!
Where did they find that guy? ~Mike
--- In , "TFJ" <toofastjim@m...> wrote:
> Video from the Ventures Live in '65 era is on a Japanese import
VHS called "Beloved Invaders" - part tour documentary, part live
performance - Mosrites and Blond Showmans all around. Not as many
songs as on the album/disc, but still a must have. Check EBay
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Brian Neal
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 6:52 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Ventures Live In Japan '65
>
>
> I'm a little late to the game here, but I decided to pick this
up, given the
> classic status I hear people talking about. On first listen, I
am surprised
> by the energy and dare I say passion that is evident in the
Ventures
> playing. Something I don't always hear in their work. The guitar
tone is a
> bit too hot, almost harsh, though. Is this the Mosrites, or just
the
> recording technique of the time? Just wondering what others
thought of this
> album. My favorite so far is "Bulldog". I never understood why
so many hyped
> up Nokie, but on this particular album he (and the rest of the
band) are
> smoking.
>
> I understand there is a video of this performance? Anyone see it
or know
> where to get it?
>
> BN
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> groups.yahoo.com/group/SurfGuitar101 for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms
of Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
groups.yahoo.com/group/SurfGuitar101 for archived messages, bookmarks,
files, polls, etc.
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
