The Ventures in Space is an
LP album by the guitar-based instrumental group
the Ventures, released in 1964. Information on its jacket states that "All of these unusual & other-worldly sounds have been created with musical instruments rather than electronic gimmicks". It was one of the first albums on which the group played the new
Mosrite brand guitars instead of their traditional
Fender instruments. The album was released in 1964 on the
Dolton label, and reissued in the late 1970s by
Pickwick Records (with a new cover depicting an
astronaut performing a
spacewalk).
In his review for
Allmusic, critic
Richie Unterberger wrote of the album "Few listeners need to dig deeper than a greatest-hits collection for the Ventures, but this early effort is an arguable exception... The British instrumental group the
Tornados (of "
Telstar" fame) did this kind of stuff better, but Ventures in Space is a fun diversion from their usual sound that holds up well."[1]