Walk, Don't Run (album)

Walk, Don't Run is the debut album by the Ventures, featuring cover versions of well-known songs and original compositions, released in 1960.[1]

Walk, Don't Run
Studio album by The Ventures
Released	December 5, 1960
Recorded	1960
Studio	Joe Boles Custom Recorders, Seattle, Washington
Genre	Instrumental rock
Length	27:00
Label	Dolton catalog number BLP (BST for stereo version)-2003
Producer	Bob Reisdorff
The Ventures chronology
Walk, Don't Run (1960) The Ventures (1961)

The LP was recorded at Joe Boles' home studio in Seattle, Washington, as was their second album, titled The Ventures. His was a local studio where other early Dolton artists also recorded.

Released on Liberty's Dolton subsidiary in December 1960, Walk, Don't Run became a big seller, peaking at #11 on Billboard and earning a gold record for The Ventures (their first of three) for over 500,000 copies sold.

Cover

The Ventures were on one of their first tours as Liberty Records began compiling their first album and were still on the road by the time of the front cover photo shoot.[2] As a result, four employees from Liberty's stockroom (with two wearing sunglasses) were posed as if they were falling or tripping over instruments with model Barbara Grimes walking in front of them. A photo of the actual Ventures was originally featured on the back cover, but to avoid possible confusion when compared to the "stand-ins" on the front cover, it was replaced with an outline-drawn version of the same photo.[3]

In 1969, the album was reissued by Liberty (having discontinued the Dolton label two years earlier but keeping the original stereo catalog number), featuring an updated photo of the group. By that time, the lineup consisted of Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor and John Durrill, though only the former two appear on the album. The back cover with the outline drawing of the original photo was kept intact.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

In his review for Allmusic, critic Bruce Eder wrote the album "is surprisingly good, considering that it was recorded in a huge rush during an era when all concerned couldn't help but know that rock & roll albums (apart from those by Elvis Presley) generally didn't sell very well; indeed, the fact that this is so good speaks volumes about the class and talent of the group at this early point in their history."[2]

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Morgen" (Peter Mosser, Noel Sherman) – 2:07
2. "Raunchy" (William E. Justis Jr.) – 2:16
3. "Home" (Harry Clarkson, Jeff Clarkson, Peter Van Steeden) – 2:18
4. "My Own True Love (Tara's Theme)" (Max Steiner) – 2:14
5. "The Switch" (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Howard Johnson, Don Wilson) – 1:56
6. "Walk, Don't Run" (Johnny Smith) – 2:03

Side 2

1. "Night Train" (Jimmy Forrest, Lewis Simpkins, Oscar Washington) – 2:50
2. "No Trespassing" (Bogle, Edwards, Wilson, Johnson) – 1:58
3. "Caravan" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) – 2:09
4. "Sleepwalk" (Ann Farina, John Farina, Santo Farina) – 2:04
5. "The McCoy" (Bogle, Wilson) – 2:07
6. "Honky Tonk" (Billy Butler, Bill Doggett, Johnnie Scott, Shep Shepherd) – 2:44

Personnel

Ventures

• Don Wilson – rhythm guitar (lead on track 4)
• Bob Bogle – lead guitar and bass (bass on tracks 1-2, 1-5, 2-1, and 2-2.)
• Nokie Edwards – bass and lead guitar (lead on tracks 1-2, 1-5, 2-1,and 2-2)
• Howie Johnson – drums
• Skip Moore – drums on Side One tracks 3 and 6

Technical

• Bob Reisdorff – producer
• Joe Boles – engineer
• Garrett-Howard Inc – photography (front cover)
• Pate/Francis & Associates – cover design

Notes

1. "Walk Don't Run" was recorded in 1959 but no record company would sign them so, in the end, they started up Horizon Records and produced it themselves. It wasn't until it gained airplay as a radio news signature tune that it finally made its way to No.2 on the US Billboard charts.
2. Eder, Bruce. "Walk, Don't Run > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
3. Walk Don't Run - The Story of The Ventures, 2nd ed. 2009, by Del Halterman (US), Lulu Press.