Paper Airplane

“Paper Airplane” was originally a track on the Ventures 1967 album, “Guitar Freakout”.  Songwriting credit was shared by all four members of the group, Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Mel Taylor and Don Wilson.

Signet

“Signet” is another original instrumental composition in which I try to combine the feel of 60’s instrumental guitar rock with a somewhat more complex musical and harmonic language than was typical for that genre. With this one I tried to get a feel similar to the early 60’s style of surf rock and the Ventures.

My Own True Love (Tara’s Theme)

“My Own True Love (Tara’s Theme)” was composed by Max Steiner for the movie “Gone with the Wind”. With lyrics by Mack David, the song has been successfully recorded by many artists. It was a top twenty hit for the Duprees in 1962.

The Ventures included an arrangement on their first album “Walk Don’t Run” in 1960. My version was inspired by theirs.

Driving Guitars

“Driving Guitars” was the first track on the Ventures 1961 album, “Twist with the Ventures”. Subtitled “Ventures Twist”, song-writing credit is given to Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards and Don Wilson.

I would describe my version as a loose cover.

Poem

“Poem” first appeared on the 1968 album “Established 1958” which featured Shadows instrumentals as well as tracks with the Shadows backing up Cliff Richard. It was composed by Shadows drummer Brian Bennett.

The Shuck

This is my cover of “The Shuck”, a rockabilly, country swing instrumental written by Don Markham and Gary Paxton and first released by Don Markham and the Marksmen in 1960. The Ventures included the tune on their second album “The Ventures”. Anyone who thinks the Ventures were mainly surf-rock should listen to this (and many other tracks) to hear how much they were influenced by country music and rockabilly. This would only increase over time with the addition of Nokie Edwards to the group.

My arrangement was very much inspired by the Ventures’ version.

South of the Border

“South of the Border” was written by Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr in 1939 for the film of the same name starring country star Gene Autry. The list of artists who have recorded it is very long.

The Shadows included an instrumental version on their 1962 album “Out of the Shadows”. This is the basis for my arrangement.