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The Ventures are always pretty darn fabulous, but they somehow sound especially nice on this tight little 60s set – a great batch of tunes that really catches them at the crossroads! The guitars here are still mostly in that super-clean style the group pioneered in their earlier years, but they're also playing with the sound a bit more – using some fuzzier touches and some odder echoey bits to abstract the strings even further – showing the tremendous power that could be unlocked on the electric guitar if you only used a bit of simple imagination! Titles include a few well-chosen covers next to some great original numbers – a set list that includes "Tall Cool One", "Scratchin", "The Cruel Sea", "Runnin Wild", "Only The Young", "Journey To The Stars", "Fugitive", and "Walkin With Pluto".

The Ventures were furiously productive in the early 60s – delivering gem after gem – and this is among the best! Telstar is somewhere near the ninth record by the group, offering a dizzying mix of covers of some of the most popular songs of the day. The guitar still leads as the main sound on these tracks but they do expand the instrumentation to include organ, trumpet, mandolins and harpsichord as well. They sing a little on some of the tracks but they mainly stay in the instrumental realm. Greatness! Tracks include "Telstar", "The Lonely Bull", "Mexico", "Calcutta", "Apache", "Never On A Sunday", "Tequila", "Green Onions", "Let There Be Drums", and "Red River Rock".

Heady sounds from the late 60s Ventures – as the group take on some of the fuzzed-up rock sounds of the time – most of which was arguably influenced by their own experiments earlier in the decade! There's actually a fair bit of original numbers on the set – some killer tracks that are heavy on guitar fuzz, and which would be right at home on the best biker soundtracks – stripped down here to the core sort of elements that really make them cook! Heavy drums, rumbling bass, and two sweet guitars over the top – on cuts that include "How Now Wild Cow", "Wildcat", "Wild Trip", "Fuzzy & Wild", "Wild & Wolly", and "Wild Child".

The legendary rock instrumentalists update their first hit song this killer set from '64 – and better it! Walk Don't Run Vol 2 is a peak period effort from The Ventures – with gritty, groovy covers that show their range as well as any of their early-to-mid 60s albums. Much more than surf rock band, though their surf rock songs are as great as any – with organ soul flavored numbers, proto-garage and psych stormers and more. This is the group in full stride, and in full recognition that they were at the top of their game. Includes "The House Of The Rising Sun", "Diamond Head", "Night Train", "Peach Fuzz", "Rap City", "Night Walk", "One Mint Julep", "Pedal Pusher", "The Creeper", "Stranger On The Shore" and more. 12 tracks in all.

The legendary rock instrumentalists update their first hit song this killer set from '64 – and better it! Walk Don't Run Vol 2 is a peak period effort from The Ventures – with gritty, groovy covers that show their range as well as any of their early-to-mid 60s albums. Much more than surf rock band, though their surf rock songs are as great as any – with organ soul flavored numbers, proto-garage and psych stormers and more. This is the group in full stride, and in full recognition that they were at the top of their game. Includes "The House Of The Rising Sun", "Diamond Head", "Night Train", "Peach Fuzz", "Rap City", "Night Walk", "One Mint Julep", "Pedal Pusher", "The Creeper", "Stranger On The Shore" and more. 12 tracks in all.

A cooking set of live performances by The Ventures – key proof that their searing guitar sounds weren't just the result of some studio trickery! The set features the group in three different settings – at home in the US, over in the UK, and in Japan – where they enjoyed a huge amount of fame in the 60s! All cuts are mighty smoking – core grooves that are heavy on tight, fuzzy guitar lines – and driven by drums that are arguably even more pounding than on the studio albums. The applause is quite high at times – possibly dubbed in – and titles include "Driving Guitars", "Yellow Jacket", "Wipeout", "Journey To The Stars", "Caravan", and a sweet medley of "Walk Don't Run/Perfida/Lullaby Of The Leaves".