The Ultimate Collection by the Ventures was released by the British label See For Miles in the year 2000 (and by the Japanese label Toshiba in 2007).
There are 2 discs and a 40 page booklet (to which I will return later).
There are 23 tracks on each disc; the total number of tracks is 46, and the total running time is about 130 minutes.
On this album you will not find all the famous songs which have been released several times, occasionally in a new version.
Instead, you will find a fine collection of songs, which are rare, because they were released only once before this album and/or because they were released only on the Japanese market.
If you ask me, the title of this album is highly appropriate. This is indeed “the ultimate collection” of the Ventures.
Here are the titles (with the names of the composers and the year of recording in brackets):
Disc one
01. Walk Don't Run '77 (Johnny Smith, 1977)
02. Amanda's Theme (Don Wilson/Bob Bogle/Nokie Edwards, 1982)
03. Warm Hearts (Joe Sousa, 1982)
04. Papa (Joe Sousa, 1982)
05. Nightly News Theme (Don Craig, 1982)
06. Summer Concerto (Don Wilson/Bob Bogle/David Carr, 1982)
07. I will Never Leave You (David Carr, 1982)
08. Speeding Through Space (Earnie Chavez, 1982)
09. Really Something Nice (Joe Barile, 1982)
10. Don't Say Goodbye (Nokie Edwards, 1982)
11. Mizu Wari (Marco Carlieri, 1982)
12. Hollywood Punk (Joe Barile, 1982)
13. Tomorrow (Don Wilson/Bob Bogle, 1982)
14. Victoria Station (Nokie Edwards, 1982)
15. Springtime Love (Nokie Edwards, 1982)
16. I'll Be Yours Forever (Don Wilson/Bob Bogle, 1982)
17. The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise (music: Ernst Seitz/lyrics: Eugene
Lockhart, 1976)
18. How High the Moon (Morgan Lewis/Nancy Hamilton, 1976)
19. Suzukake No Michi (Y. Haida, 1976)
20. Kimi To Itsumademo (K. Dan, 1999)
21. Hey There Sunshine (Ray Charles, 1967)
22. Dick Tracy (Don Wilson/Bob Bogle/Nokie Edwards/Mel Taylor, 1980)
23. Beautiful Sunday (vocal version) (Daniel Boone/Ronnie McQueen, 1976)
Disc two
01. La Dernier Train de l'Espace (A.
Raiser, 1979)
02. Movin' (Lee Hazlewood, 1979)
03. Last Tango in Paris (Gato Barbieri, 1973)
04. Prima Vera (Bob Bogle/Don Wilson, 1973)
05. Oh
My Love (N. Masunaga/A. Saito, 1973)
06. Haunting Memories (Bob Bogle/Don Wilson, 1977)
07. The Theme of "Airport 1975" (John Cacavas, 1974)
08. The Man with the Golden Gun (J. J. Barry/Don Black, 1974)
09. Wonderful Land (Jerry Lordan, 1979)
10. Sun & Moon (S. Soltesz, 1979)
11. Dance On (Valerie & Elaine Murtach-Adams, 1979)
12. Things Have Got to Get Better (Joe Barile, Diana Barile, 1976)
13. Keep Japan Beautiful (T. Umegaki, 1975)
14. Beautiful Sunday (instrumental version) (D. Boone/R. McQueen, 1976)
15. Karelia (C. Kaparow, 1980)
16. Minyo Disco North to South (traditional Japanese tune, arranged by the
Ventures)
17. Green Hornet Theme (Billy May, 1966)
18. Secret Agent Man (P. F. Sloan/Steve Barry, 1966)
19. Ten Seconds to Heaven (F. Perry, 1965)
20. Let Your Love Flow (Larry E. Williams, 1976)
21. Storefront Lawyers (M. Stevens, 1970)
22. The Savage (Norrie Parimor, 1963)
23. Peter & the Wolf (the Russian composer Prokofiev, adapted by the
Ventures, 1972)
During the long period when these tracks were recorded the line-up of the band changed several times. The basic line-up was as follows:
** Lead guitar = Nokie Edwards (1935-2018)
** Bass guitar = Bob Bogle (1934-2009)
** Rhythm guitar = Don Wilson (1933-2022)
** Drums = Mel Taylor (1933-1996)
During the years 1968-1972, lead guitar player Nokie Edwards was replaced by Gerry McGee (1937-2019)
During the years 1972-1979, drummer Mel Taylor was replaced by Joe Barile.
During the years 1969-1972, keyboard player John Durrill was a member of the band.
For more information about the band, see the book
Walk Don’t Run: The Story of the Ventures
by Del Halterman
(First edition 2008)
(Second edition 2009)
The Ventures are known as an instrumental band. They almost never sing, but there are a few exceptions. On this album there are four cases: tracks # 21 and 23 on disc one plus tracks # 12 and 20 on disc two.
Several tracks on this album are original compositions written by different members of the band: tracks # 1, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 22 on disc one plus tracks # 4, 6, and 12 on disc two.
Tracks # 1-16 on disc one are lifted from The Last Album on Liberty recorded in 1977 and released in 1982. There are 18 tracks on this album. In other words: we have all but two tracks from this album here. I do not know why two tracks were left out.
Walk Don't Run has been released in several versions.
The first version was the first hit for the band in 1960.
The second version, released in 1964, is known as Walk Don't Run '64.
The third version from The Last Album on Liberty is known as Walk Don't Run '77. This is the one we have here.
The fourth version, released in 1999, is known as Walk Don't Run 2000. It can be found on the album Walk Don't Run 2000.
Joe Sousa was a bartender and a pianist. The Ventures liked the songs he played on the piano when his work was done and decided to record some of them. Two of his songs are included on this album: tracks # 3 and 4 on disc one.
Marco Carlieri was an Italian guitar player who lived in Japan for a while. He met the Ventures during one of their concert tours in this country. Later he moved to the US where he met them again.
Eventually, he played with them for a while and did some recordings with them as well. He composed track # 11 on disc one. Mizu Wari is the Japanese term for alcohol mixed with water.
David Carr (1943-2011) was a British keyboard player. As a young man he was a member of the British band the Fortunes, who had an international hit with the song You've Got Your Troubles in 1965.
Later, he moved to the US where he worked with the Ventures on several occasions, for instance the album Acoustic Rock which was released in the year 2000. He composed track # 7 on disc one.
Two tracks are famous hits for the Swedish band the Spotnicks: La Dernier Train de l'Éspace and Karelia.
Two tracks are famous hits for the British band the Shadows: Wonderful Land and Dance On.
Hollywood Punk (track # 12 on disc one) is also known as Surfin' USA '78.
As stated above, the album comes with a 40-page booklet, which is placed between the two CDs.
What will you find there?
** A list of tracks on disc one = 1 page
** A list of tracks on disc two = 1 page
** Pictures which show members of the band and some album covers = 18 pages.
Some pictures are in black-and-white, while others are in colour. The
Last Album on Liberty appears two times: the front cover on page 21, the
back cover on page 24.
** An essay by Gerry Woodage, who was for many years the secretary of the
official Ventures fan club in the UK (he died in 2009) = 20 pages
His essay is divided into two sections:
The first section covers the long history of the band, while the second section deals with the current album. On page 7 he writes the following paragraph:
“The year 2000 celebrates 40 years of Ventures' success since their world-wide smash guitar instrumental Walk Don't Run in June 1960 and we thought it pertinent to come up with a suitable fortieth anniversary album if you like, and one that by its nature, could well be considered the 'ultimate' Ventures' CD.”
The essay is informative and interesting.
There is a small mistake on page 32 where he says:
“The biggest coup must be issue of the entire Last Album on Liberty set.”
As already explained, we do not have the entire album here; we have only 16 of 18 tracks.
The booklet is an impressive document, but I wish the producers had chosen to print it with some larger letters. The letters are so small I almost need a magnifying glass to read the text!
The Ultimate Collection is a great album. Some songs are soft and slow, while other songs are faster and have a harder beat. The combination of slow and fast makes a good variation. Different types and different styles of music demonstrate the versatility of the Ventures.
This album with 2 CDs and a 40-page booklet was (and is) a wonderful way to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the band.
It is highly recommended.
*****
The Ventures,
The Last Album on Liberty
(Recorded in 1977)
(Released on vinyl in 1982)
*****
The Ventures,
Walk Don't Run 2000
Don Wilson, Bob Bogle,
Gerry McGee, and Leon Taylor
(Released on a CD in 1999)
*****
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