Ventures In The Vaults, Vol. 3 CD

Although the Ventures' popularity in the U.S. peaked in the early to mid-'60s, they've remained extremely popular overseas, particularly in Japan, and it's been enough to keep this versatile instrumental group going after 40-plus years. This is the third in a series of vault releases from the band, and it won't surprise anyone, although the variety of genres -- including country, psychedelic rock, funk, disco, reggae, and Latin -- that the combo rolls into its instrumental guitar palette is pretty impressive. Among the highlights here are single (as opposed to album) mixes of vintage surf tunes like "The Ninth Wave" and the classic "Kickstand," indescribable rambles like "The Chase" (which sounds like nothing so much as an interstellar polka masquerading as a drag race), the heavily phased and psychedelic "Dreams of Yesterday," the pretty "Wait for Me," and the punchy, aggressive "Bullet Train." Die-hard fans will be happy to see both sides of the group's privately issued first single here from 1960, "Cookies & Coke" b/w "The Real McCoy." Although the Ventures have essentially been guitarists Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, and Nokie Edwards (Edwards and Bogle have both handled bass at various junctures) down through the years, it is amazing to realize how many other fine musicians have worked with the band at different points, including Steve Douglas, Larry Knechtel, Tommy Tedesco, David Gates, Billy Strange, Leon Russell, James Burton, Glen Campbell, Red Rhodes, and Sneaky Pete Kleinow, not to mention the various group drummers. There's something to be said for longevity, particularly in the narrow-yield genre of instrumental pop, and the Ventures -- who have outlasted the Beatles by some 30 years -- have done it by offering the same guitar-based template, although they've shaken it and stirred it in countless little ways. ~ Steve Leggett

The long overdue third volume in our highly successful series delving into The Ventures' rare recording. 2005.Uncut (p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "America's most enduring guitar group. The Venture survived by adapting to every new style and passing fad...without noticeably changing the formula."