Sunday 29 November 2015

Best Of – THE KINGSTON TRIO*****

Tom Dooley/The Tijuana Jail/Scotch & Soda/Bad Man’s Blunder/Raspberries Strawberries/Everglades/MTA/The Merry Minuet/Where Have All The Flowers Gone/Billy Goat Hill/Take Her Out Of Pity/A Worried Man

By the time this compilation album was released The Kingston Trio were coming to the end of their reign as the leaders of the American folk revival. Both Bob Dylan and Peter Paul & Mary had released their debut LPs which shifted the emphasis away from traditional folk towards protest songs. (US:7)

“They don't make music like this anymore. It's unfortunate, because the folk era of the late 50s and early 60s was one of the greatest in the history of popular music. The Kingston Trio rank with The Beatles in terms of changing the musical landscape. They provided the inspiration and opened the door for a whole generation of performers. Not many artists can claim to have left such a mark.”

“Naturally, you can't take a group like The Kingston Trio and condense their 'greatest hits' into a single LP. However, this is a good album to start with if you're just discovering The Kingston Trio; more diehard fans will appreciate collections that are much more substantial.”

“Folk music was very popular in the early sixties and The Trio were at the top of their game. It's easy, entertaining, toe-tapping music, the kind you can sing along with. There's not much of that kind anymore.”

“I immediately fell in love with their style, their rhythm, their harmonies, their incredible energy, their musical arrangements and the sense of fun they conveyed in their performances.”

“To anyone who has been a fan of popular and/or folk music from the late 50s to the present, you'll be thrilled hearing again all these wonderful songs. Though you've probably heard each of them a countless number of times, you just never tire of them. It would be an understatement to say that they are some of the best loved songs of America.”

“The Kingston Trio were one of the most stellar groups rising out of the pop woof and warp of the late 1950s singing traditional folk songs, popularizing them to the point of creating a cottage industry with imitators by the score.

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