Not the original Sound
Avowed Bibliophile | Vancouver, BC | 06/13/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I really wanted to hear the original group and the original recordings. This is a later (somewhere from the mid 1960s on) live performance, and these guys sound so bored, and frequently slightly off key, it's as if they go out of their way to butcher the material and make the classics unrecogizable. Fit only for the recycle bin."
The 1966 Tahoe Recordings
Timothy L. Smith | Fontana, CA United States | 03/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the legendary double LP set that Decca rejected in 1966, and was finally released in 1969 on the rare Tetragrammaton label. In LP form it is a Kingston Trio "holy grail" and very elusive. The masters were stolen, then mysteriously returned. All these CDs with similar titles, calling Wimoweh "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," etc. (except the Rear family box set version) are from the pirated masters.
The performances are fabulous, with the Kingston Trio at its most wild and irreverent at times, and trying to chase the Byrds or other folk-rock groups at other times. One Too Many Mornings, Colours, Tomorrow is a Long Time, and Baby You've Been on My Mind are all modern numbers available nowhere else in their catalog (the last track had an inferior studio version on an obscure 45). This Train/Roving Gambler is a marvelous medley never recorded elsewhere. And Getaway John is a fabulous remake of a Guard-era Trio song, done with even better emotional depth than the original. Most of the other tracks are great live versions of their studio recordings, but Hard aint it Hard and Greenback Dollar are done amidst giggles and intentional lyric changes, to an appreciative crowd. Enjoy!"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1