Still in their relative prime and releasing no less than three albums a year, surf stalwarts
the Ventures' 1964 album
Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2 is the standard
Ventures experience, though a bit on the livelier side in its song selections. The strongest point comes in "Walk Don't Run '64," a reworking of the band's first hit that would go on to be the second time the band cracked the Top Ten with the same song. A spirited fuzz guitar arrangement on the endlessly covered public domain number "House of the Rising Sun" perks things up a bit, as do the pre-psychedelic echoey drum production and menacing undertones of "The Creeper." All said, most
Ventures records are pretty similar, but the bright moments on
Walk, Don't Run, Vol. 2 hint at the band relaxing and having a little bit more fun than usual.