The album Chameleon – produced for the Japanese market - was released on vinyl in 1980 and on a CD in 1992 and in 2000. It is also available as an MP3 download.
There are three bonus tracks on the CD which was released in the year 2000. This brings the number of tracks to 15.
The running time of the long version with 15 tracks is 50 minutes, while the running time of the short version with 12 tracks is 39 minutes.
At the time of recording, the line-up of the band was as follows:
* Bob Bogle (1934-2009) – bass guitar
* Nokie Edwards (1935-2018) – lead guitar
* Mel Taylor (1933-1996) - drums
* Don Wilson (1937-2022) – rhythm guitar
The music on this album is inspired by the popular trends of the time, such as ska, calypso, reggae, techno pop, punk rock or new wave.
In his book about the Ventures, Del Halterman explains that the Japanese record company Toshiba wanted the band to do an album which reflected some of these trends:
“The project combined nine Japanese songs with Ventures’ arrangements of Goldfinger, Washington Square and a new version of their Ginza Lights.”
Since the Ventures had - once again - been able to embrace new trends in popular music and change their style like chameleons, the record company decided to call the new album Chameleon.
During the 1980 tour of Japan, the band played some old hits from the 1960s as well as several tracks from the recent album Chameleon.
Walk Don’t Run: The Story of the Ventures
By Del Halterman
(First edition 2008)
(Second edition 2009)
(page 237)
Here is some background information about the tracks:
# 1: Goldfinger (by John Barry) is a calypso or reggae style version of the theme from the 1964 movie starring Sean Connery as James Bond (007).
The theme is also found on the album Your Hit Parade II, released in 2006, but it is not the same version.
# 2: Theme from “No Smoking,” is written by Umebayashi Shigeru, a Japanese composer who was born in 1951. This fast-paced tune is, in my opinion, the best track on the album.
# 3: Mushuku, is written by Sakamoto Ryuichi, a Japanese musician and actor who was born in 1952.
Sakamoto composed the soundtrack for the 1983 movie Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence starring Tom Conti and David Bowie.
# 4: Surfin’ USSR, written by Suzuki Keiichi, a Japanese composer who was born in 1951, sounds like surf music with a Russian flavour. The title is well chosen.
# 5: Washington Square (written by B. Goldstein) has a steady beat.
# 6: Octopus Tree, written by Hosono Haruomi, also known as Harry Hosono, a Japanese composer who was born in 1947, has a steady beat.
# 7: Beautiful Teacher from the Swimming Pool, written by Takahashi Yukihiro, a Japanese musician born in 1952, has a steady beat.
# 8: Mecca, written by Imai Yutaka, sounds like surf music, but the Arab flavour, that you would expect from the title, is missing.
# 9: Sutekina Flamingo, written by Takeda Kazuo, a Japanese composer and guitarist who was born in 1952, is a happy reggae song.
# 10: Salty Dog, written by the Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer Kato Kazuhiko (1947-2009), is a sad reggae song.
# 11: Ginza Ska is a new version of an original composition by the Ventures.
The first version, known as Ginza Lights, is found on the album Go with the Ventures which was released in 1966.
The new version was named Ginza Ska in order to fit the musical trend of the album.
# 12: Pike, written by Yamashita Yasushi, is another fast-paced tune, which is similar to Theme from “No Smoking” (track # 2).
The Bonus tracks
# 13: Pike (live) is a recording from the last day of the 1980 tour of Japan. Towards the end of this tune, we hear someone singing. Who is it? Del Halterman explains:
“Near the end of the six-week run, local group Hikashu opened an outdoor concert for the Ventures, and both groups joined on some Ventures sixties hits.
“The combination worked so well that Hikashu was invited to appear on the last night of the tour, recorded at Tokyo’s Shibuya Public Hall.
At this show, bassist Kouichi [sic!] Makigami stepped up to sing Pike.”
Walk Don’t Run: The Story of the Ventures
By Del Halterman
(page 238)
[The name of the bassist is spelled Koichi.]
# 14: Slaughter on 10th Avenue, written by Richard Rodgers, is a famous instrumental tune, often played by the Ventures and first recorded by them for the album The Ventures Knock Me Out which was released in 1964.
# 15: Telstar, written by Joe Meek, is another famous instrumental tune. It is found on the album The Ventures Play Telstar, Lonely Bull and Others which was released in 1963.
Chameleon was produced by Kato Kazuhiko, who came to the US to work with the band.
An additional contribution was his composition Salty Dog (which has no relation to the song by Procul Harum recorded and released in 1969).
Chameleon is not a well-known album, and the music is definitely not the traditional style, like Walk Don’t Run. But “different” does not have to be bad.
It is interesting to see how the band is able to change their sound and their style.
Like a chameleon, they adapted to the trends of the time and managed to survive.
In the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Ventures were still giving concerts and recording new albums; sometimes material written by others, sometimes original compositions. Sometimes they would return to their roots, sometimes they would try to do something new.
Chameleon may be a rare album, but it is highly recommended.
PS. For more details about this album, please visit the following sites on the internet:
Hikashu Appreciation Society
29 January 2010
The Ventures - Chameleon (1980)
NeoSamzpoke
9 May 2016
*****
Walk Don't Run:
The Story of the Ventures
By Del Halterman
(First edition 2008)
(Second edition 2009)
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment