The Ventures (4) 45th Anniversary (2004)

The Ventures - 45th Anniversary Live



The Ventures - 45th Anniversary Live was recorded at Hibiya Kokaido, Tokyo, Japan, on 18 January 2004. This concert was released on DVD in 2009. The quality of picture and sound is excellent. The total running time is ca. 1 hour and 22 minutes.

On this album the line-up of the band is as follows:

** Bob Bogle (died in 2009) - lead guitar and bass guitar
** Leon Taylor - drums and vocals
** Don Wilson - rhythm guitar and vocals

** Nokie Edwards (died in 2018) - lead guitar and bass guitar (special guest)

For more information about the band I refer to Del Halterman's biography: Walk Don't Run: The Story of the Ventures (first edition 2008, second edition 2009).

There are 21 tracks on this live album. Here are the titles:

01. Walk, Don't Run // Perfidia // Walk, Don't Run
02. Pipeline
03. I Gotta Woman
04. Penetration
05. Runaway (vocal: Don)

06. Johnny B. Goode (vocal: Leon)
07. Slaughter on 10th Avenue
08. Stranger in Midosuji // Reflections in a Palace Lake
09. Kyoto Doll // Paint it Black
10. Walk, Don't Run '64

11. Wipe Out
12. Bull Dog
13. Sleepwalk
14. Bumble Bee Rock
15. Out of Limits

16. Driving Guitars
17. Black Sand Beach
18. House of the Rising Sun
19. Hawaii Five O
20. Diamond Head

21. Caravan

Having played track # 20 (Diamond Head) the band says goodbye and leaves the stage. But the applause is so strong that the band has to return to the stage for one more song: Caravan. This is a long track, because it includes a long drum solo by Leon Taylor, who plays with the same energy and power as his father Mel Taylor.

The concert runs for ca. 1 hour and 10 minutes. After the concert, at the end of the disc, there is a short interview with the members of the band. Bob Bogle and Don Wilson explain how the band was formed in 1958 and how they came to Japan for the first time in 1962.

For the Ventures making music is not a boring routine. When you look at them performing here, you can see that they enjoy making music. After 45 years, they still put their heart and soul into it. If you ask me, the result is excellent.

Bob Bogle 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). Nokie Edwards had a solo career until his death in 2018. See, for instance, Live at the Sunhouse, a DVD from a concert in Holland in 2002 (released in 2003). See his website for information about his activities. When Nokie was not available, he was replaced by Gerry McGee (who played with the band 1968-1972 and again since 1984). Gerry McGee died in 2019.

The Ventures are still active. In 2013 they released two new studio albums:

** The Ventures Play Yuming

** The Ventures - Then, Now & Forever

If you like instrumental music, I think you will enjoy this concert which marks 45 successful years in the music business.

PS. Beloved invaders: The Ventures (1966): The Golden Era of the Ventures was recorded 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 DVD in 2004 (EMI Toshiba, TOBW-3168).

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