Album Review:

While purists may forever hold that the Ventures were never truly a 'surfing' band (having predated the genre's rise by four years), their influence on first-wave surf groups can't be underestimated. The band had released a total of eight albums and ten singles since their Surfing Lp in 1963, the most successful of which had been a retread of their 1960 hit called "Walk, Don't Run 64'. By 1965, however, the musical landscape had altered drastically since the band's beginning, so why not give Christmas music a shot? The gamble worked out well as The Ventures' Christmas Album peaked at number 8 on Billboard during the holiday season in 1965. Sixty years later, the offering has become surprisingly evolved into a bit of a classic. I mean, familiar Christmas tunes set to surf arrangements sandwiched between popular guitar riffs circa 1965? It sounds like it should be a three-car pileup at the beach. Nevertheless, the summation of these three actually works! Call it a yuletide miracle.

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The opening chords of the band's signature 'Walk Don't Run' morph into an infectious rendition of 'Sleigh Ride' with some excellent whammy bar bends. 'Snow Flakes' lightly samples the Zombies' 'She’s Not There' and is basically 'Greensleeves'. Such copying is forgivable - after all, it is Christmas. Santa Claus comes to town with a 'Woolly Bully' beat on track three. The popular surf cover tune 'What I'd Say' gives way to a bouncy version of 'Jingle Bells'. Brenda Lee's classic 'Jingle Bell Rock' also receives a new setting, owing a lot to Chuck Berry's 'Memphis'. Is that a sprinkle of overdrive I hear? The cheerful 'Silver Bells' is a perfect side 1 closer. (Incidentally, if you were curious as to where this one receives it's opening from, it borrows from the little-known Chris Crosby single 'Only the Young', which was also recorded by Ricky Nelson in early 1965.) The iconic George Harrison guitar riff from 'I Feel Fine' launches us into the memorable (yet extremely brief) 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'. Tequila and snowmen mix in 'Frosty the Snowman'. Much like every Christmas gift exchange, I imagine that the original 'Scrooge' is the equivalent of receiving socks. Infamously the most-skipped track on this release, it's the fruitcake on this album. The lonely 'Blue Christmas' never felt so joyful as it does here, perhaps due to its ironic pairing with Jackie DeShannon's 'When You Walk In The Room.' 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' was inspired by Dobie Gray's 'The "In" Crowd' and could've been a good album closer if it weren't for 'White Christmas' adding just the right amount of sparkle to this collection. This fianl tune pulls from the band's own 'Blue Star.'

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Despite the cards stacked against them, the Ventures actually came up with a fantastic little Christmas offering. While it may not have the ubiquity of Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas, the mainstream classic charm of Michael Buble's Christmas, or even the sugar-coated familiarity of the Carpenters' Christmas Album, like the aforementioned releases, this Christmas package does possess the magical power to transport you back to another era; and if we're honest, that's what most of this seasonal music is trying to do. Most of our musical underscore for the season is steeped in deep nostalgia. The Venture's Christmas Album is truthfully perfect holiday listening - even if it's just as background music for your tree decorating.

CHOICE CUTS:

SLEIGH RIDE / SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN /blue Christmas /  Silver Bells / Snow Flakes / Rudoplh the red-nosed reindeer