Guest Reviews - 7

The Christmas Album

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's a seventh guest review of Ventures albums. Again by fellow Ventures fan Tony Meloche.]

When one considers some of the artists that have recorded the "obligatory" Christmas album over the years, it is not at all suprising that the Ventures should have contributed in this special-market area, too. What may suprise many people is that "The Ventures Christmas Album", released in 1965, immediately joined an arsenal of who-knows-how-many other Christmas albums, before and since - but today, (1999), actual sales figures show that this Ventures recording is - and has been for many years - consistently among the top 50 selling Christmas albums *of all time!* Not bad for a lil' ole rock band from the Seattle area! Even more interesting is the unique approach the Ventures took to this recording, and their high success rate with the material (10 hits and two misses, one of them not really their fault). So read on for the whole story . . .

The concept for this recording was that each Christmas tune would begin with the unmistakeable "intro" to some other standard hit. The foursome leads off side one with the intro to their own "Walk Don't Run", sliding seamlessly into the biggest hit of the disc (the only tune that sometimes turns up in other "rock Christmas collections"), Leroy Anderson's famous "Sleigh Ride". A lovely realization of the tune by Nokie Edwards, which does not sound a bit "contrived" for a tune better known in orchestral and theatre organ versions. A light background touch of glockenspiel and sleigh bells add to the atmosphere, as they will in a number of cuts on the album. Largely, the Ventures let the music speak for itself. And this brings us to one of the most fascinating aspects of the disc: Which Christmas songs "work" as rock tunes? And which don't?

Track two is kicked off with a Christmasy intro to "She's Not There", but immediately becomes an absolutely beautiful Nokie Edwards interpretation of "What Child is This" which the Ventures dub "Snowflakes" for this recording. Nokie loved the tune - he recorded it again years later. Organ also appears in this tune, but well to the back. I believe the relative simplicity and understatement of the arrangements is part of what ultimately made this album succesful.

Track three begins as "Wooly Bully", and just as quickly becomes "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" This works - just - but I believe the Ventures took a bit too heavy approach to the tune. There is even a bit of overdrive in the tone. It is interesting to note that in this, and many other cuts on the recording, Nokie is using both neck and bridge pickups simultaneously - a rounder, mellower tone, heard best in "Sleigh Ride". We must be a bit more sedate than usual, after all - this is a dress-up holiday! But don't worry - Nokie does plenty of bridge pickup wailin' too!

The infectious rhythym of "I Got A Woman" kicks off track four, immediately becoming "Jingle Bells", in one of the most satisfying "genuine Rock 'n Roll" arrangements on the whole album! Again - simple, straightforward and very effective.

Track five uses Johnny River's version of "Memphis" as it's intro, and while unhampered by any second-rate playing (the playing is superb), again, the approach is just a bit heavy. This is "Jingle Bell Rock", one of the most ubiquitous Christmas tunes of the entire 1957-1970 era. It was too well ingrained in people's minds as an easy-going pop tune to fuel inject it. I like this one better today than I did in 1965, but still think the tempo is a bit pushed in it.

Side one closes with with the incredibly lovely intro to "Only The Young", sliding easily into "Silver Bells". Soft rock it may be, but "beautiful" is the only way to describe the playing here. Listen to Nokie harmonize the melody - marvelous. The only thing that keeps this track from being perfect is the totally uneccesary (in my opinion) entrance of the Heil "talk box" on the key phrase. I cannot understand that to this day - perfection, aside from that one stale variety-show trick.

Side two begins with the intro to the Beatles "I Feel Fine", leading in to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". This is well done, and works fine as a Christmas rock tune. Owners of the original album (at least the mono one), who have not heard the CD transfer should take note: On the album version, Nokie's lead part is doubled at the interval of a sixth throughout - that doubling is not on the CD version - the melody line is played solo. Interesting.

Track two of this side has the unlikeliest of intros - the Champs' "Tequila", which settles perfectly into "Frosty the Snowman". Here is a nice suprise - "Frosty" is a *super* rock tune! (the composers are probably turning in their graves). Again, a no-frills, straightforward arrangement, and unless this one has an octave-doubled melody line, Nokie played it on a 12-string electric. Very satisfying number!

With track three, we grant the Ventures a pass. After all, if you have one of the 50 top selling Christmas albums ever, you are allowed a "faux pas", I should think. "Scrooge", a Ventures original, sounds like recycled material from the "Batman" album (my least favorite of all their albums). With the exception of the word "Humbug!", this sounds exactly like kiddy cartoon show Halloween music! Even Nokie's lead is - Nokie, how could you? - *boring!* A waste of good recording tape.

The fourth cut on this side is a good rendition of "Blue Christmas", popularized mostly by Elvis. The intro is from "When You Walk in the Room", which they had recorded probably only weeks prior to this session (Christmas album sessions are almost always March - August to allow full prep time to market the album by the end of October). It is an interesting take on what is, basically, a ballad, but it works, and holds together well.

Track five is the only well-know Christmas song that uses itself as an introduction: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". A doubled lead in this also, and aside from some basic rock technique "tricks", the tune is done pretty much as would be expected - more's the better. This hackneyed tune could easily have been the biggest throwaway of the album, but works out just fine in this treatment.

The recording closes with the other "miss" (besides the wretched "Humbug"). I would love to know if recording this tune was the Venture's idea, or producer Joe Saraceno's (I strongly suspect the latter). I do not blame the Ventures for this one at all - try as they might, and they did, you simply *cannot* rock some tunes, and White Christmas is one of them. The introduction is from "Stranger on the Shore" (unfortunate in itself), and knowing Nokie Edwards technique and musicianship like I do, it is heart-rending to listen to him *desperately* try to do *something* with the beautiful - but very languid - melody. Oh, he could have - but he would have made a mockery of the song at the same time, and Nokie, being a class act, was not about to do that, so he fell on his sword bravely. Perhaps the most telling thing in the whole number is Mel's drumming, especially in the intro. Listen, if you can, and see if you hear what I do - contempt. Not for the song, but for the Ventures trying to "rock" a Tin Pan Alley ultra-classic.

At the bottom line, however, the Ventures "trademark" still comes through. Program this 12 song CD for the ten good-to-great renditions on it, and you have a much higher batting average for the thorny genre of "Christmas album" than almost any other rock artist - past or present - you can name. You can't tackle an assignment like this and go ten-for-twelve with any other group you can think of - you need the Ventures for that! Good listening to you until next time.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003