The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years

Chad Mitchell Trio | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 17, 1998)
• Original Release Date: March 17, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Island
• ASIN: B000006121
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,074 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not a great collection, May 28, 2003

By 

Donna Davis (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years (Audio CD)

The Chad Mitchell Trio (CMT) was far and away the best folk group of the 60's, and being trained as classical singers probably had a lot to do with that. Like many of their peers, the members of CMT (Chad Mitchell, Joe Frazier and Mike Kobluk) met in college, but despite their young ages, their arrangements and harmonies are the most stylized and professional of all the artists of that era, outclassing fellow folk groups such as The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary by an extremely wide margin.

While their first three albums on the Kapp label are good, they were just appetizers for what was to come. The CMT really came into their own when they moved to Mercury, greatly expanding their range, which this collection covers fairly well. Some wonderful examples of this incredible part of their career include "Four Strong Winds", "African Song", and "Bonny Streets of Fyve-IO", and biting satires like "Barry's Boys", "Alma Mater" and "Your Friendly Liberal Neighborhood Ku-Klux-Klan" are good but sound somewhat dated today.

Unfortunately, this CD is missing several outstanding tracks from the Mercury albums, particularly the many traditional folk, gospel and blues tunes they recorded (like "Tell Old Bill"). It's great to see "Marvelous Toy" and "Draft Dodger Rag" here, but other classics such as "The Last Thing On My Mind" and "The Hip Song" are sorely missed. Even when Chad Mitchell left the group to pursue a solo career in 1966, the group soldiered on with John Denver, who although he could never replace Chad, still managed to create stunning efforts with the group. Their version of The Beatles' "She Loves You" is a prime example, and the best cover of that song I've ever heard!

The Kapp records have all been re-released on CD, but unfortunately the ones from Mercury have not, which is most unfair. If you're not familiar with any of the CMT's catalogue, either "best of" collection is a good place to start (see also The CMT Collection: Original Kapp Recordings), but I would highly recommend spending some time in used record shops looking for copies of the Mercury LP's. You'll have to dust off that phonograph that's been sitting in your closet for years of course, but it's well worth the effort.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, politically-savvy songs including early JD recordings, October 6, 1999

By 

Tom Rinke (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years (Audio CD)

Since John Denver is my favorite recording artist, I thought it would be good to get an album that contained some of his very early recordings. Boy, was I surprised! The CMT recordings without JD are excellent as are the early ones with JD. A good blend of serious & humorous songs. Many of the songs are right on track with the serious political issues of the era. I recommend this CD to CMT, JD and non-CMT fans alike.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great folk collection, November 26, 2003

By 

R. Mcelroy (Shoreline, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years (Audio CD)

My first exposure to this great, under-appreciated group was hearing "Lizzie Borden" on the Dr Demento radio program. I then made a point of searching out the album on which that song appeared. When I finally found it and listened to the rest, I was hooked. I eventually obtained all the Kapp albums but never heard any of the Mercury recordings until this collection came out. What a gem! This quickly became one of the most played CD's in my collection. Their voices blend so beautifully, it's like they were born to make music together. I disagree with another reviewer who says they were a cut below the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary. These guys are every bit as good, if not better in some ways. And the musicians backing them were among the best in the business. I find it difficult to understand why they never really enjoyed the popularity and fame that other folk artists achieved.
This collection is a delightful blend of their whimsical pieces (Dubarry, Stewball, a Dying Business), their political songs (Barry's Boys, Friendly Liberal Neighborhood KKK, What Did You Learn in School) and their more touching, sentimental songs (Marvelous Toy, Four Strong Winds, In the Summer of His Years). I see now they have released the full albums from which some of these songs were taken. You can bet they'll be on my Christmas list this year.