The Ventures

One Way reissued the Ventures' second and third albums, The Ventures and Another Smash, on a single disc in 1996. The two records wrote the blueprint that the Ventures followed throughout the years – balancing a hit single with a number of covers of contemporary pop and rock tunes, plus several traditional pop songs…

One Way reissued two albums the Ventures cut in 1966, Go with the Ventures and The Batman Theme, on a single disc in 1996. Like many Ventures albums, the records are quite uneven, filled with competent covers of familiar rock and pop hits of the era, which are all given the familiar, reverb-heavy Ventures treatment…

The ultimate instrumental rock band, boasting a dual-guitar lineup and tight rhythms that earned them several big hits throughout the '60s…

Not the first but definitely the most popular rock instrumental combo, the Ventures scored several hit singles during the 1960s – most notably "Walk-Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" – but made their name in the growing album market, covering hits of the day and organizing thematically linked LPs…

Not the first but definitely the most popular rock instrumental combo, the Ventures scored several hit singles during the 1960s – most notably "Walk-Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" – but made their name in the growing album market, covering hits of the day and organizing thematically linked LPs. Almost 40 Ventures' albums charted, and 17 hit the Top 40…

The Ventures Play the "Batman" Theme looks like a crass record company attempt to cash in on the hits of the moment, then knocks you flat like a bottle of Thunderbird in a plain brown paper bag. A sure sign of a great Ventures record is an inordinate amount of original compositions, and The Ventures Play the "Batman" Theme has eight, with every one of them a winner…

This CD features two albums by the Ventures.
Underground Fire was released in 1969. It featured a very different sound for the Ventures, as they adopted more of a late-'60s hard rock sound. This was also the first Ventures album to features the Ventures originals on one side and the covers on the other side…

The fourth studio album from the Ventures, 1961's Colorful Ventures was the first in a long line of releases the band built around album title themes. Here the theme is colors, and so listeners get such songs as "Blue Moon," "Yellow Jacket," "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," and so on…