While they existed before the terms "surf guitar" and "surf rock" arrived (they don't consider themselves a surf music group). They were an important foundation of "surf music", if not the first to play your style.
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| Dolton BST-8003 / BLP-2003 (1960) |
Guitar Player, in an article entitled "20 Essential Rock Albums", mentions that its elements from the 1960 album, "Walk Don't Run", contain presages of surfing trends.
The Ventures pioneered the use of special effects on these songs, such as "2000 Pound Bee" recorded in late 1962, in which guitarist Nokie Edwards employs a distortion pedal "Fuzz", foreshadowing as "King of Fuzz Guitar", Davie Allan (The Arrows), three years later.
Nokie Edwards was also one of the first to use twelve-string guitars in rock.
The 1964 album "The Ventures In Space" was the first to use special effects, and made pioneering use of "reverse-tracking", a technique used very effectively by The Beatles in post '60.
"The Ventures In Space" due to its surreal and spatial effects, was considered an influence on the psychedelic generation of San Francisco, after '60. As well as being named as a favorite by the late Keith Moon (The Who).
The version of the song "Telstar" (The Tornados), released in January 1963, included one of the first cases of "flanging" in a pop recording.
The Group was one of the first rock representatives, able to sell albums based on "style and sound" without the need for "hit singles" on the albums.
The Ventures are also credited by "The All Music Guide To Rock" as the beginning of the formulation of the "concept album".
"Encyclopedia Britannica On-line" states that The Ventures "served as a prototype for guitar-based rock groups".
