THE VENTURES 1966 SPECIAL - Caravan

[payitforwardeddie]

I don't know what it is but this sounds different to the version on the double album I've got. Still, its good.

[museack]

This is the only version that's worth watching & listening to & we don't even get to see Mel "The Genius" Taylor do his thing on the drums. Never seen a man demonstrate such a command of those instruments as he does. Simply amazing!!!!

[musubiyoga]

初代はやはり若さもあってベンチャーズの真髄を感じられる。新し­いメンバーで聞き始めた方はそれなりに感じるでしょう。比較して­聞くのも一興です。弁茶図魂を探すのがたのしみです。

[TheFunkydrumz]

Mel and this solo were the reasons I started drumming 35 years ago ...thanks for the posting !

[Evolutionnisme]

It is unfortunate that we cannot see Taylor mastering the solo drums.

[Vincek88]

Holy schnikies, I never saw this film - the camera work, the SOUND - this NEEDS to be available on video, with the money going to the right people. I'll be first in line to buy!

[GuitarBuyerGuide]

That drummer has mad skills.

[mlkemper]

i know Nokie and he wasnt very happy about this because it was largely ''bootlegged '' in the states and they got nada for the copies sold of this video ...

[m1kewithaone]

i was 10 years old, and guess where i was. in JAPAN!!! 1965, and i had a REEL to REEL tape of their LIVE concert there, and it was soooo awsome the crowd could not stop screeming and whistling even through the songs, and it was the most Incredable thing i dont even have the words to discribe the awsome energy and power of the ventures, and those japanese!!! i've never forgotten that live concert, the announcer would start laughing because the crowd was sooo loud, they couldnt hear him, .....

[sonzoomspark1]

Mel Taylor was a vastly underrated and under appreciated drummer ...

[m1kewithaone]

@sonzoomspark1 all i know is that they brought the house down in japan, and that's when i started learning the drums

[tomlangedrums]

Mel Taylor with his 4 piece Gretsch kit, hi-hat, and one cymbal - amazing!

[ArtemiusMV]

Awesomest!



[marrrrrrks]

this is the only drum solo that is actually good

[rw5791]

the ventures hit japan like an atom bomb.They were huge over there,man.

[turtleman1146]

SIMPLY GREAT--MEL TAYLOR AT HIS BEST.

[HortHawg]

Incredible-just incredible. Mel Taylor-one of the absolute best drummers ever. Thumbs way up!

[Finobini]

What I hear is ABSOLUTELY not what I see... But anyway AWESOME DRUMMING

[possumverde]

@Finobini I'm not sure about the original movie, but almost every upload I've seen of this concert has the video a beat or two out of sync with the audio depending on the song. The only way I caught it was by watching Nokie (the lead guitarist). Mel's sticks are just too damn hypnotizing for me to follow...

[possumverde]

@possumverde This is by far the worst sync of all...some of the parts are dead on but most look like they just stole footage from elsewhere and spliced it in. I guess they got all screwed up when they added the "meet and greet" scenes. I would have loved to have actually seen the part where Mel is playing the bass with his sticks...

[payitforwardeddie]

@possumverde I have to smile. Who gives a shit about the sync. Just enjoy the music. 

[KingHopeMusic]

Man...I HAD to sign in just to give my 2 cents worth....hahaha...WOW! Killer guitar work and Mel!!! Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich rolled into one!! LOVE that classic drumming style!! Bass drum on the steady four...off beat shots....flams...hi hat goin....triplets.... latin style cymbal hits.....absolutely stellar!!!! What a GREAT post and thanks!!!! ~KK

[lioncurlew]

Awesome! Mel was indeed a great Drummer and unlike some modern day groups, these guys stuck together and remained good mates.

The Japanese obviously have good taste and realised the level of talent the Ventures had... A++

[zerohero99]

totally stunning drumming from Mel Taylor

[christiansoldiersos]

I think that Mel Taylor was one of the greatest drummers in the world. Yet was never given proper credit for it. Too many only recognized the great guitar of Nokie Edwards (and he is indeed great). I looked up the top 100 drummers in the world and Mel was not even listed (so sad). He should have been at least in the top 20.

[toomanyfords]

Man,that Mel Taylor was really something else on those drums.

[7isunlucky]

Has anyone else noticed how the video doesn't actually match up with the sound in a lot of places?

[hayabusa5151]

何度聞いても飽きません。この頃はみんな若かったなー。

[DougPatton1]

AND those O-riginal U.S. Rockin Choppin Boppin Venture dudes still had proper Rockin hair do's right thru the puddin basin moptop yeah yeah Brits era !

[stupullen]

This is the coolest ,shows how the ventures had & still have a following in japan even after 50 years!

as far as the unknowing pups here...if they do not like it then they do not have to watch it.

Excellent upload my friend.

[museack]

This guy that thinks this playing is fake must've grown up during the milli vanilli era where it was accepted that everyone lies and are fakes. In the days before "lying" was legislated by governments as the "norm" (pre-1990), people made an honest attempt to be real. This little shit probably wasn't even born, much less thought of, during the era of the Ventures, so what the hell does he (it) know.

[AZspaceGUY]

Why did they leave out the film of Mel tearing up the drums?????????? :-(

[Vodichka9]

Great music, horrible camerman.

[Cheguri2010]

También escuchen CARAVANA por "LOS IRACUNDOS" de Uruguay OK

[cachinksink]

This is a nice rendition of their play on Caravan. I was just wondering, the comment about Gatton playing "those licks" instead of the Ventures... I presume that was to be humorous, correct?

[jmymck]

that has got to be Danny Gatton playing the soundtrack.....obviously not nokie or bob playin those licks!!! HELLO!!

[Building529]

@jmymck  Why would it "obviously" not be Nokie Edwards? Are you saying they faked playing this? HELLO!!! And who the h is Danny Gatton? "Never heard of him"

[museack]

@Building529

Some of these "younger" guys can't relate to the fact that in the days of the Ventures rock & roll groups did their own live on-stage performances. They practiced and "rehearsed" until they knew the song inside and out. In other words musical groups used to be real at one time. Not the fake studio made groups that people that we have today like this guy is probably used to. Nokie Edwards is playing the lead on this cut. He's just that damn good.

[tetet57]

Subarashii!!!

[zerohero99]

Absolutely awesome! Is this version of 'Caravan' available anywhere? I know its different to the 'Live In Japan '65' version.

[mlkemper]

i know Nokie well ...the ventures were not pleased to say the least on the BELOVED INVADER knock offs that are /were being sold worldwide ....for some reason LIBERTY made this docu /video but didnt release it very well and the demand was met by counterfieters ..i played it for Nokie at CHETS meeting in NASHVILLE and he just walked away ....the video drew a crowd to see this young guitar genius play so effortlessly ....he is a national treasure for sure ....he is getting better with age .....

[Zac360TURN]

You can download free sound recorder and just record this video for this specific version. I think they have this on a The Ventures Live album that they put out in the 60s that had a mixture of Japan, US, and England concert audio. I think the live in 65' version is alot cooler personally.

[zerohero99]

Thanks for that info Zac360TURN

[venturesagogo]

THE VENTURES ROCK!!!!  God bless Mel Taylor!! The Ventures are my all time favorite band in history. GREAT SELECTION!!!

A+A+A+A+A+A+A+A+

five stars for you

[shatinterry]

The video is a failure, it cut off Mel Taylor's fantastic solo drumming and played that tour scenes !!

[Zac360TURN]

We missed the greatest part...the bass solo! Any footage of them now has him getting up to play it and he stops playing the drums which is a shame. they should have stuck to a small kit

[shatinterry]

@Zac360TURN That's the scene when Mel Taylor hitting on Bob Bogle's bass guitar with the drum sticks, a scene Ventures fans always enjoy watching...

Did anyone mentioned to you Mel died of cancer in 1996.

[Zac360TURN]

Yes I'm well aware of his death as well as Bob Bogles :(. I'm glad to see Leon took over but I'm not much of a fan of Bob Spalding. Its just not the same without Bob and Mel

[shatinterry]

I didnt know much of Bob Splading ,I still had to find how much influence he had to the Ventures itself, one thing for sure Mel's absence was a great lost, Leon to me, he just keep up the beat & loss the power his father had to the Ventures....

[Zac360TURN]

They sound so much more mellow with Leon playing than they did with Mel.

[museack]

Leon is a good drummer in his own right, but I agree that he doesn't deliver the power that his father did.

[emerpus01]

Bob Spalding has been associated with the Ventures musically for nearly 40 years. He was a member of Mel Taylor and the Dynamics, which although not the V's included Mel, Gerry McGee, and John Durrill (basically anyone who was a Venture EXCEPT Don, Bob, and Nokie). He toured with the Ventures as a fill in player in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and oddly enough, in 1962 as a teenage military brat, saw the Ventures on their first tour of Japan in 1962. He's got very strong Ventures credentials.

[shatinterry]

@emerpus01 Vow, didn't know Bod Splading had so much to do with the Ventures itself, that's part of the Ventures' inside story, thanks !!

[stupullen]

This was a different studio cut...I think you are thinking about LIVE IN JAPAN 65 solo...awesome to say the least.

[shatinterry]

@stupullen a bit confused with this video, not sure it was in 1965 or 1966 , may be the Ventures were in Japan in both years. it sound slighty differennt to my japan live 65' CD album, but the way they played this song had a similar pattern, with small gig on different tracks, but it sholdnt be too far off,...they were all awesome tracks...

[stupullen]

this video looks like '65, I have the same CD(Tinny ,but good)

I was a bit grunted when I first viewed this, until I spoke to "One of the guys"(They don't want me to say names) who cleared it up...heck it's all good to me.

[shatinterry]

@stupullen thanks for the help, it clears me off as well, different versions on CD & video really confused Ventures fans....

[Zac360TURN]

Does the video match the music? I just noticed that, it looks like the video is slower or music is faster. Maybe not, just in the begining there were a few spots where the music and the video didn't match up.

[divanola]

not a match...live recording from another gig.,...zac360turn..sounds like the Ventures Live album from the 60's

[Zac360TURN]

I have the Live in 65 album and its very similar but during the drum solo Nokie or Don is messing with their guitar and Mel shouts something in Japanese. I wonder how many different recordings of their concerts back then they had : ) ?

[dbbubba]

Interestingly enough, this is rocked up version of Jimmy Bryant's version.

The GTR work is VERY similar and is played with pretty much the same licks.

Still, it is awesome.

[MyTaiwan]

Great drum solo.

[payitforwardeddie]

The BEST instrumental band ever closely followed by the Shadows. Brilliant.

[museack]

Mel Taylor is awsome on the drums. Barely breaks a sweat after soloing all that time.

[sullivan28779]

I dont think Mel was capable of sweating! He was very fast for the times and still very technical at those speeds!

[milkman08abe]

I was fortunate enough to see The Ventures perform this live in the late 80's. It wasn't quite this long, but almost. Mel Taylor was amazing to watch.

[museack]

I'd like to see them play that same song at that time without the Tokyo scenes, especially Mel Taylor on the drums.

[mig1964ca]

This version is crazy fast. These guys are amazing.

[payitforwardeddie]

Got the original album with this and many other hits on it. Must digitize it before I wear it out.

[tetet57]

wondfull!!

[bigguy4570]

One of the greatest bands ever thanks for posting.

[k136224]

OssanHOYHOY, thank you for your posting these rare shots in Japan. Although I've been

a long time fun of The Ventues, I've never seen

this. Wonderful!! ありがとう。

[MyTaiwan]

Mel Taylor!

[fujiwarataku]

my hero

[spellbinder777]

FINE!!!!

[yourmaker74]

sickest intro in all of music.

[GHTIII]

Had the great privilege of spending time with them at a "Meet and Greet" in Orlando April 18 2009 and they remain as brilliant and nice as ever. Fine men, wonderful band.

[otogdeanwiguitar]

Super Cool,Straight to my favorites.555 Stars.

[lofi73]

I wonder why the japanese took to the Ventures like they did...I believe they are still huge over there.

[Discfiend69]

What's not to LOVE? ; )

[bdbc8572]

ベンチャーズは良く日本でライブ良くやってますよね。

相当メンバーはみんな日本が好きなんだなと、これ見て納得してし­まいます。

[kumasan1954]

光で、観ていても追いつかない。

[cotwo30]

Great band!

Personal character is also good!!!

[philou017]

Géant !

[OSCARDERAMASSAGE]

those guys were giants ... .G.I.A.N.T.S

[MyTaiwan]

Mel Taylor is the greatest drummer since the dawn of history.

[bigguy4570]

there are so many good rock drummers out there it is hard to pick the best but Mel Taylor is one ofe the best bar none.