The 30th Anniversary - The Ventures - Super Session
In 1989 the Ventures could celebrate their 30th anniversary as a band. To mark this occasion the Japanese company Toshiba-EMI released a DVD entitled Super Session. The super session, where the band is joined by several artists, was recorded in New York in 1983 (although this fact is not mentioned anywhere).
For more information about the band, see Del Halterman, Walk Don't Run: The Story of the Ventures (2008, 2009). The super session in New York is mentioned on pp. 268-269.
The quality of picture and sound is excellent, considering that the recording was done many years ago. The total running time is about 59 minutes.
On this album the line-up of the band is as follows:
** Bob Bogle (died in 2009) - bass guitar
** Nokie Edwards (died in 2018) - lead guitar
** Mel Taylor (died in 1996) - drums
** Don Wilson (died in 2022) - rhythm guitar
The band and their guests perform in front of a small audience. Sometimes we see some people dancing to the music, sometimes we see some people watching the musicians in action.
There are 17 tracks, including the introduction which contains brief statements from band-member Bob Bogle and three persons who do not play on this album: the Italian-American guitarist Al Di Meola, Elliot Easton from the Cars, and Ray Ramone from the Ramones.
Throughout the album, between the musical tracks, there are brief statements from the other band-members, from some of the guests, and from four persons who do not play on this album:
In 1989 the Ventures could celebrate their 30th anniversary as a band. To mark this occasion the Japanese company Toshiba-EMI released a DVD entitled Super Session. The super session, where the band is joined by several artists, was recorded in New York in 1983 (although this fact is not mentioned anywhere).
For more information about the band, see Del Halterman, Walk Don't Run: The Story of the Ventures (2008, 2009). The super session in New York is mentioned on pp. 268-269.
The quality of picture and sound is excellent, considering that the recording was done many years ago. The total running time is about 59 minutes.
On this album the line-up of the band is as follows:
** Bob Bogle (died in 2009) - bass guitar
** Nokie Edwards (died in 2018) - lead guitar
** Mel Taylor (died in 1996) - drums
** Don Wilson (died in 2022) - rhythm guitar
The band and their guests perform in front of a small audience. Sometimes we see some people dancing to the music, sometimes we see some people watching the musicians in action.
There are 17 tracks, including the introduction which contains brief statements from band-member Bob Bogle and three persons who do not play on this album: the Italian-American guitarist Al Di Meola, Elliot Easton from the Cars, and Ray Ramone from the Ramones.
Throughout the album, between the musical tracks, there are brief statements from the other band-members, from some of the guests, and from four persons who do not play on this album:
** Marky Ramone from the Ramones
** Jeff Cook, founding member of the
country music super group Alabama
** Mike Kuhn, president of the Ventures
fan club
** Gerry McGee, a former studio musician who was sometimes a member
of the Ventures. He was in when Nokie was out (and vice versa). Gerry McGee died in 2019.
[During a live concert in Japan in 1984 Gerry and Nokie shared the stage when they played a cover version of Yesterday by the Beatles and other acoustic tunes.]
[If you want to see Gerry McGee in action, turn to this title: The Ventures: Live in Japan 1990.]
[Please note: the names of some persons are spelled one way on the album cover and another way on the screen. In this review I have tried to ignore the mistakes (or misprints) and to spell all names correctly.]
Four guests appear once on four different tracks:
# 05: Rick Derringer from the McCoys appears on Memphis where he plays the guitar and sings. The McCoys had several major hits in the 1960s with songs like Hang on Sloopy and Fever (of which the Ventures made excellent cover versions).
# 07: The Raybeats - an instrumental group from New York City - appear on Out of Limits.
# 10: American musician David Johansen - also known as Buster Poindexter - appears on House of the Rising Sun where he sings.
# 14: American musician (and actress) Josie Cotton appears on Secret Agent Man where she sings.
Five guests appear two times on nine different tracks:
# 02 & 15: American musician Max Weinberg appears on Wipe Out and Hawaii Five-O where he plays the drums. For many years Weinberg was the drummer of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
# 03 & 11: American musician Jeff Baxter appears on Tequila and Sleepwalk where he plays the guitar and the steel guitar. Baxter played with bands like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.
# 04 & 16: British musician Peter Frampton appears on Apache and Pipeline where he plays the guitar.
# 06 & 16: British musician Chris Spedding appears on Telstar and Pipeline where he plays the guitar.
# 08 & 12: American musician Robby Krieger appears on Perfidia and Bumble Bee Twist where he plays the guitar. Krieger was a member of the legendary band the Doors and composed some of their major hits.
In a brief statement Krieger notes that the Ventures have been around for a very long time, which is rather unusual in the world of rock and roll. He knows what he is talking about. The band he played with - the Doors - was an explosion of great ideas and great talent, but it did not last for long.
The Ventures play three tracks on their own:
# 09 Slaughter on 10th Avenue
# 13 Let's Go
# 17 Walk - Don't Run
For the Ventures and their guests making music is not a boring routine. When you look at them performing here on this album, you can see they enjoy making music. They put their heart and soul into it. They give it all they've got, and they've got a lot to give. The title of the album is well chosen: it really is a super session.
In a brief clip placed just before track # 17 Bob Bogle says:
"I guess as long as people love rock and roll, we will keep trying to play it for them."
He kept his promise. He played with the band until shortly before his death in 2009. He was replaced by Bob Spalding (who had, in fact, been filling in from time to time since 1981). Mel Taylor played with the band until his death in 1996 (except for the years 1973-1978). He was replaced by his son Leon Taylor. The Ventures are still playing today, more than fifty years after the band was founded. I think their fans are grateful for this.
PS. Beloved invaders: The Ventures (1966): The Golden Era of the Ventures was recorded in black-and-white in Japan in 1965 and 1966. It was shown as a movie in Japan in 1966 (total running time 82 minutes). It was released on a DVD in 2004 (EMI Toshiba, TOBW-3168).
[During a live concert in Japan in 1984 Gerry and Nokie shared the stage when they played a cover version of Yesterday by the Beatles and other acoustic tunes.]
[If you want to see Gerry McGee in action, turn to this title: The Ventures: Live in Japan 1990.]
[Please note: the names of some persons are spelled one way on the album cover and another way on the screen. In this review I have tried to ignore the mistakes (or misprints) and to spell all names correctly.]
Four guests appear once on four different tracks:
# 05: Rick Derringer from the McCoys appears on Memphis where he plays the guitar and sings. The McCoys had several major hits in the 1960s with songs like Hang on Sloopy and Fever (of which the Ventures made excellent cover versions).
# 07: The Raybeats - an instrumental group from New York City - appear on Out of Limits.
# 10: American musician David Johansen - also known as Buster Poindexter - appears on House of the Rising Sun where he sings.
# 14: American musician (and actress) Josie Cotton appears on Secret Agent Man where she sings.
Five guests appear two times on nine different tracks:
# 02 & 15: American musician Max Weinberg appears on Wipe Out and Hawaii Five-O where he plays the drums. For many years Weinberg was the drummer of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
# 03 & 11: American musician Jeff Baxter appears on Tequila and Sleepwalk where he plays the guitar and the steel guitar. Baxter played with bands like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.
# 04 & 16: British musician Peter Frampton appears on Apache and Pipeline where he plays the guitar.
# 06 & 16: British musician Chris Spedding appears on Telstar and Pipeline where he plays the guitar.
# 08 & 12: American musician Robby Krieger appears on Perfidia and Bumble Bee Twist where he plays the guitar. Krieger was a member of the legendary band the Doors and composed some of their major hits.
In a brief statement Krieger notes that the Ventures have been around for a very long time, which is rather unusual in the world of rock and roll. He knows what he is talking about. The band he played with - the Doors - was an explosion of great ideas and great talent, but it did not last for long.
The Ventures play three tracks on their own:
# 09 Slaughter on 10th Avenue
# 13 Let's Go
# 17 Walk - Don't Run
For the Ventures and their guests making music is not a boring routine. When you look at them performing here on this album, you can see they enjoy making music. They put their heart and soul into it. They give it all they've got, and they've got a lot to give. The title of the album is well chosen: it really is a super session.
In a brief clip placed just before track # 17 Bob Bogle says:
"I guess as long as people love rock and roll, we will keep trying to play it for them."
He kept his promise. He played with the band until shortly before his death in 2009. He was replaced by Bob Spalding (who had, in fact, been filling in from time to time since 1981). Mel Taylor played with the band until his death in 1996 (except for the years 1973-1978). He was replaced by his son Leon Taylor. The Ventures are still playing today, more than fifty years after the band was founded. I think their fans are grateful for this.
PS. Beloved invaders: The Ventures (1966): The Golden Era of the Ventures was recorded in black-and-white in Japan in 1965 and 1966. It was shown as a movie in Japan in 1966 (total running time 82 minutes). It was released on a DVD in 2004 (EMI Toshiba, TOBW-3168).
*****
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