The Kingston Trio are arguably the defining group of the American folk revival. Woody Guthrie was the grandfather and Pete Seeger and the Weavers would pass the tradition down to a new generation for which Bob Dylan would be the poet laureate. But when you talk about who made folk music popular you are talking about the Kingston Trio. From 1957 to 1963 (in other words in the period before the Beatles) they were the most popular music group around. This CD from 2000 pairs up a couple of classic albums from the Kingston Trio from the year 1960 and you should know going in that the album that makes up the second half of the CD is the better one.
You would think that "Sold Out" is a live Kingston Trio album, but it is not, and the album made it to #1 on the Billboard charts. The common denominator for the dozen songs is that they are mostly fast tempto songs, most notably "El Matador" and "Don't Cry Katie," one of the group's better songs featuring banjo playing. For those that like the Trio's humor "Sold Out" offers up "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm." This is not to suggest that there are not some nice ballades included in the mix as well, namely "The Mountains O'Mourne" and an alternative version of "Raspberries, Strawberries." Otherwise what makes this album stand out is that you will not have run across most of these songs because they have not popped up on the sundry Kingston Trio hits collections.
Also making it to #1 on the album charts in 1960 was "String Along," which offers "Full Dimension Stereo." I am sure someone can give an appropriate technical explanation for why this album literally sounds a bit different than previous Kingston Trio albums, but I cannot do anything other than say it is noticeable to my ear (I can only hear out of one, which would be the right and not the wrong one, so it is not too bad). This album also offers the last pair of charting singles by the original Kingston Trio lineup, "Bad Man's Blues" and "Everglade." But the two songs that really stand out are "Leave My Woman Alone," a Ray Charles composition, and, of course, "The Tatooed Lady." Otherwise, attention should be paid to the group's original compositions "When I Was Young" and "Buddy Better Get On Down the Line," and a couple of tunes that have the distinction of having lyrics by Carl Sandburg, "This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon" and "Colorado Trail." This is a great mix of tunes that showcase the group in the last stages of its first and arguably best incarnation.
See all 28 tracks on this disc
