Search - Ventures :: New Depths

Like Rock n Roll, The Ventures will never die!

Dick K | Centreville, VA United States | 04/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're already a Ventures fan, stop, read no further. Just buy the CD, you're going to love it. Its as good as anything they've done, the sound quality is superb--and, yes, you did enter a time warp and its now 1963 again! Enjoy and have fun, I am. Oh, yeah, don't forget to buy the other one in the set too!Casual fan of the Ventures -- you've heard of them, heard some of their music and wonder about another CD or two? Well, you could do a lot worse than this one, for sure (and its companion Wild Again 1, Adventures with the Ventures). Their catalog is large so its hard to choose, but this CD is so good and so much fun I'd have to recommend it even over most of the real classics. Purists will argue that this isn't "pure" Ventures because of the various other artist that join them for a cut or two. But every one of the guests is nearly as much a part of Ventures history as the basic 4 or 5 guys. And this CD is very much a return to the classic style of rock instrumentals these guys pioneered (some argue invented). Like most of the Ventures' hundreds of releases, this one is a mix of original material and covers. The liner notes include the interesting comment that the working title for the 2 CDs was "Hits We Missed" -- things they either never did before, tracks never on US released or for a few of them, Ventures' standards updated, redone and fresh. New to the Ventures entirely? Hmmm... tough choices. First you should try out one of the compilations -- there are many but I like "Stars On Guitars" (2 CD set) and EMI's "Walk Don't Run, the best of the ventures" for an excellent single CD compilation. Like what you hear there? Well then, come back and get this refer to the paragraph above--in other words get this one!Got the idea that I liked this one? then the message came across just fine!"

A Good Album

Dick K | 08/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"People who complain that today's music doesn't offer much should take a look at some of the great surf music. Most people probably think that surf music is dead, but this is simply not true. In addition to revivalist bands like Los Straightjackets, artists such as the Ventures and Dick Dale are still coming out with great material, like the album you are now reading about. "New Depths" is not nearly as good as the first "Wild Again," but it is still a very decent album. It was a must have for me because the Ventures are one of my all-time favorite bands. The average listener might find this stuff a little cheesy, but if you are a Ventures fan or a surf music fan you will love it. No, not all of the songs are surfing songs, but remember that the Ventures are not actually a surf band. This CD is well worth the price and, while it is nothing spectacular, it is a lot of fun."

This CD ROCKS!! A great mix of nostalgic AND new tunes

David Linderman | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 11/25/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are 20 tracks (listing in amazon catalog only lists 11) and each one of them is superb. This cd was originally released a year ago in Japan, as Wild Again 2. This U.S. release adds 5 songs, one of which is a vocal of a Japanese girls trio called The Rice Girls. There are several guest artists playing on one or more tracks, including Jeff Baxter (of Doobie Brothers fame) who also co produced this cd,and Duane Eddy. I liked all the tracks, but one of the best was a Ventures original, Blue Dawn, which the excellent descriptive booklet that comes with the cd says dates back to 1982: It was the "B" side of the 1982 45 release, Stars on Guitars.Another favorites were Peter Gunn, AxekF/Miami Vice Theme, I Fought the Law, and the opening track Hurricane. The Ventures celebrate 40 years together in 1999. I have only attended two of their concerts 30 years apart! One on Guam Island touring with the USO when I was in the Navy and last March, in Detroit. It was great to see "the boys" again. Their long time drummer Mel Taylor passed away a couple years ago, but his son Leon Taylor has taken over very very well. One of the tunes on this cd (I think I Fought the law) has been nominated to be nominated for a Grammy. The actual nomination listing is not until early next year. The Ventures are the longest lasting, highest selling rock instrumental group of all time (ranked 26th I believe, of all time sales) yet they are not in the Rock Hall of Fame. Undeservably, they are the Rodney Dangerfield's of instrumental rock...they don't get the respect that they deserve! A grass roots effort by Ventures fans the last few years has engaged in a campaign to get them into the Hall of Fame, but thus far have not achieved success. There are several great Venture's fan's web pages out there.Buy this cd! Long live the Ventures !"