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 The Ventures
were the single most popular group of the instrumental
craze that ran from the late 50's to the early 60's. Their
guitar-driven rock was good, but others (Dick Dale, for
instance) had them beat hands-down when it came to originality
and fire-in-the-belly intensity. Still, their middle-of-the-road
sound served them well on The Ventures' Christmas
Album (Liberty, 1965). It rocks along in a jolly mood perfect
for the season - not too hard, not too soft, just right
for making spirits bright. What elevates it to greatness,
though, is the gimmick: each track integrates a hit song
from that year into the arrangement of a time-honored
Christmas standard. The effect can be charming ("Frosty
The Snowman" gets tipsy on "Tequila") or
poetic ("Endless Summer" woven into "White
Christmas"). But, once you've heard the Beatles' "I
Feel Fine" segue seamlessly into "Rudolph The
Red-Nosed Reindeer," you'll smile till February.
The Ventures' Christmas
Album has been reissued on CD a number of times - by Capitol in 1990; by Razor & Tie in 1995 (the definitive edition, I think); and by Toshiba/EMI in Japan in 2003 with a new cover and bonus mono mixes. More significantly, the Ventures released an album, Christmas
Joy, in
2002 featuring all new recordings, including some remakes from the 1965 album (reissued as Guitar Christmas in England the next year).
Completely unnecessary, perhaps, but a barrel of laughs all the same.
 Albums
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Songs
- Blue
Christmas
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Frosty The Snowman
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Jingle Bell Rock
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Jingle Bells
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Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
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Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
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Silver Bells
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Sleigh Ride
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White Christmas
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Further
Listening
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Top 20 Album
