The Very Best Of

The Journeymen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collectables
• ASIN: B00000AF8E
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,629 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Greenland Whale Fisheries

2. Oh, Miss Mary

3. Mary Wore Three Links of Chain

4. I May Be Right

5. River, She Come Down

6. 500 Miles

7. Chase the Rising Sun

8. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

9. Fennario

10. Cotton Mill Girls [Live]

11. Dark as a Dungeon [Live]

12. Old Joe Clarke's Blues [Live]

13. The Wagoner's Lad [Live]

14. Stack-O-Lee

15. Bay of Mexico

16. All the Pretty Little Horses

17. Virgin Mary

18. Two Hoboes

19. Environment

20. Someone to Talk My Troubles To

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONLY THE MOST ARDENT FOLK ENTHUSIAST WILL REMEMBER, December 8, 1999

By 

Cal Wilson (Fremont, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Best Of (Audio CD)

The Journeymen. I pride myself on being a true lover of the folk genre, but I had not included them on my "master list" of artists that I wanted to upgrade from vinyl to CD. Recently, I found an old issue of "Smoke Signals," the Florida State University magazine, from 1962 which contained an article covering their appearance on campus. A light went on, and I recalled that their concert was one of the best folk music events I had ever attended.

That said, I checked out Amazon to see if, by any chance (slim I assumed), there might be a CD available. Lo and behold, there was this one lonely emission listed.

I had to have it, and I'm truly glad I ordered it. In my review of Bob Gibson's "Joy! Joy!," I stated that he was the forgotten man of the folk era. Well, trust me, this is the forgotten group. I've always thought that The Brothers Four had a more melodic and harmonius style than The Kingston Trio (althought The KT remain my favorites), I discovered that The Journeymen probably had a better style, both vocally and instrumentally, than the Bros IV.

Their renditions of "River, She Comes Down," "Fennario," "Dark As A Dungeon," "All The Pretty Little Horses," and "What'll I Do" may be among the best presentations ever recorded of those titles. Their offering of "Ja-Da" is extremely compelling. But above all, listen to "Make Me A Pallet," and see if you don't feel that this is one of the most beautiful and moving songs (folk or otherwise) that you have ever heard.

While The Journeymen may not be familiar to most folk music buffs, two of their members will long be remembered by pop afficianadoes. John Phillips later became a member of The Mamas And The Papas, and Scott McKenzie had a Top 10 hit in the mid-'60s with the immortal "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)."

Highly recommended. Buy this one and you'll buy many hours of blissful music that won't be heard by many of your friends (unless they visit your home)>

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long-forgotten gems once again available, April 29, 2003

By 

Richard E. "Nick" Noble (Southborough, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Best Of (Audio CD)

Of the three Journeymen, Dick Weissman-- perhaps the group's finest musician-- is the least known. John Phillips (later of The Mamas & The Papas, of course) and Scott McKenzie ("Are you going to San Francisco?") complete a long-forgotten folk trio that, for a brief period, was the best of the best.

Their harmonies are as good as (or better) than The Brandywine Singers, and, like The Limeliters, they can make three voices sound like so many more. Like The Kingston Trio and The Highwaymen, they display a diversity and an honesty that is true and impressive. In their own way, they are more innovative than groups like Peter, Paul, & Mary; The New Christy Minstrels; and The Brothers Four, while retaining those groups' feel for what a crowd might like. But no folk group ever combined all these qualities at such high levels of excellence into one entity.

There are so many gems here: "I May Be Right", "Fennario", "Make Me a Pallet", "Cotton Mill Girls", and "Bay of Mexico" (what a gorgeous sound on that one) are my personal favorites, but they are all terrific.

Unfortunately, the folk gods did not bless The Journeymen with commercial success, but John Phillips (who wrote "San Francisco" for McKenzie, and also named his daughter after his friend Scott) proved that, given the right set of circumstances, he certainly had the knack. In The Mamas & The Papas, you can hear the echoes of those brilliant Journeymen harmonies, transformed into something new, different, and exciting.

Anyone who loves folk music, especially folk groups, has to own this one. I only wish that more of The Journeymen's songs were available, as this CD is but a selection from their albums. Gems all, but there may be others out there...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just outstanding!, December 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Very Best Of (Audio CD)

This excellent compilation of The Journeymen's best work defines the 60s folk idiom. Never to realize the comercial success of the Kingston Trio or PP&M, The Journeymen nevertheless had the tight vocal and instrumental polish necessary to make it "big" and they amply demonstrate it on this CD. Although their musical arrangements are sometimes unnecessarily complex, they are always enjoyable. My favorite selection from this CD is "Dark as a Dungeon" and, to me, best illustrates this group's potential. I unhesitatingly recommend this disc for any devotee of 50s-60s American folk music. It's a keeper!