This is a great example of how cool instrumental surf rock can be. Those echoey, twanging guitars evoke exotic locales, the frenzied drums inject a potent dose of energy into the song, and the bass relaxes into the song like a mai tai cocktail on a warm tropical evening…
It isn’t the longest song, clocking in at around 2 minutes. But it packs a lot into that time, moving from theme to theme quickly without losing the overall feeling.
The Ventures were a very influential band, especially in terms of inspiring guitarists. The interplay of guitars on their songs makes for wonderfully engaging listening, from the wobbling rhythm guitar to the sharp lead guitar.
At the time this was recorded, fuzzy, distorted electric guitars and other effects were not widely used. This gives the track a real vintage quality.
“Blue Moon” was released in 1961, as a single. The B-side was “Lady Of Spain”.