The Capitol Years (Kingston Trio album)
Encyclopedia
The Capitol Years is a compilation of the American
folk music
group The Kingston Trio
's recordings from their time with the Capitol Records
label.
's pre and post-Trio groups, Dave Guard and the Calypsonians and The Whiskeyhill Singers
, along with John Stewart's pre-Kingston group, The Cumberland Three.
The set also included a comprehensive 48-page booklet, complete with detailed track-by-track annotation.
praised the compilation with reservations, writing "Collectors will appreciate the inclusion of rarities by related groups like Dave Guard and the Calypsonians... Dave Guard and the Whiskeyhill Singers... the Cumberland Three... But this is way too much for anyone but the fanatic... for all its historical significance, the execution is usually far too sterile and whitebread to appeal to contemporary listeners, unless it's on purely nostalgic grounds."
, unless otherwise noted.
Disc One
Disc Two
Disc Three
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
's recordings from their time with the Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
label.
History
The box set was released in 1995 and contains 4 discs, featuring, in total, 107 digitally remastered songs, 33 of which were previously unreleased. The compilation also includes songs recorded by Kingston Trio-related groups, such as Dave GuardDave Guard
Donald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
's pre and post-Trio groups, Dave Guard and the Calypsonians and The Whiskeyhill Singers
Whiskeyhill Singers
The Whiskeyhill Singers were formed in early 1961 by Dave Guard after he left The Kingston Trio. Guard formed the Singers as an attempt to return to the Trio's earlier roots in folk music. The Singers lasted about six months before disbanding...
, along with John Stewart's pre-Kingston group, The Cumberland Three.
The set also included a comprehensive 48-page booklet, complete with detailed track-by-track annotation.
Reception
Allmusic music critic Richie UnterbergerRichie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
praised the compilation with reservations, writing "Collectors will appreciate the inclusion of rarities by related groups like Dave Guard and the Calypsonians... Dave Guard and the Whiskeyhill Singers... the Cumberland Three... But this is way too much for anyone but the fanatic... for all its historical significance, the execution is usually far too sterile and whitebread to appeal to contemporary listeners, unless it's on purely nostalgic grounds."
Track listing
All songs performed by The Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
, unless otherwise noted.
Disc One
- "Run Joe" (Dave Guard And The Calypsonians) – 2:32
- "Fast Freight" (Dave Guard And The Calypsonians) (Terry GilkysonTerry GilkysonHamilton H. Gilkyson III , better known as Terry Gilkyson, was an American folk singer, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:...
) – 5:13 - "Tom DooleyTom Dooley (song)"Tom Dooley" is an old North Carolina folk song based on the 1866 murder of a woman named Laura Foster in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is best known today because of a hit version recorded in 1958 by The Kingston Trio. This version was a multi-format hit, reaching #1 in Billboard, the...
" (Alan LomaxAlan LomaxAlan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
, Frank Warner) – 3:01 - "Sloop John BThe John B. Sails"The John B. Sails" is a folk song that first appeared in a 1917 American novel, Pieces of Eight, written by Richard Le Gallienne. The "secret" narrator of the story describes it as "one of the quaint Nassau ditties," the first verse and chorus of which are:-1950 to 1963:Among others, the song has...
" (Traditional) – 3:29 - "Dodi Lii" (Traditional, Guard, Reynolds, Shane) – 2:10
- "New York Girls" (Burl IvesBurl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
) – 2:32 - "They Call The Wind Maria" (Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
, Frederick Loewe) – 4:32 - "Shady Grove/Lonesome Traveller" (Traditional) – 3:14
- "Little Maggie" (Dave Guard) – 2:26
- "Bay Of Mexico" (Traditional) – 3:34
- "Across The Wide Missouri" – 3:54
- "Scotch And SodaScotch and Soda (song)"Scotch and Soda" is a song recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1958 and first released on the album The Kingston Trio; it also appeared on the live album Once Upon a Time and on various compilations....
" (Guard) – 2:15 - "Pay Me My Money Down" – 2:18
- "Tijuana Jail" – 2:48
- "M.T.A." (Bess Lomax HawesBess Lomax HawesBess Lomax Hawes was an American folk musician, folklorist, and researcher. She was the daughter of John Avery Lomax and Bess Bauman-Brown Lomax, and the sister of Alan Lomax.-Early life and education:...
, Jacqueline SteinerJacqueline SteinerJacqueline Steiner is an American folk singer, songwriter and social activist. Steiner is known for having written the lyrics to the song "M.T.A.", about a man stuck on the Boston subway because he could not pay the exit fare...
) – 3:13 - "All My SorrowsAll My TrialsAll My Trials was a folk song during the social protest movements of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on a Bahamian lullaby that tells the story of a mother on her death bed, comforting her children, "Hush little baby, don't you cry./You know your mama's bound to die," because, as she explains,...
" (Arranged by Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, Bob Shane) – 2:45 - "Good News" (Lou GottliebLouis GottliebDr. Louis Gottlieb was bassist and lofty comic spokesman for The Limeliters. He was considered one of the so-called "new comedy" performers such as Mort Sahl, Nichols and May, and Lenny Bruce: a new generation of unabashed intellectuals.Lou's special trademark on stage was a delightful burlesquing...
) – 1:58 - "Remember the AlamoRemember the Alamo (song)"Remember the Alamo" is a song written by Texan folk singer and songwriter Jane Bowers. Bowers details the last days of 180 soldiers at the Alamo and names several famous figures who fought at the Alamo, including Mexican general Santa Anna and Texans: Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy...
" (Jane BowersJane BowersJane Bowers was a Texas folk singer and songwriter best known for her composition "Remember the Alamo". Many of her songs were primarily recorded by The Kingston Trio.-Selected songs:...
) – 2:58 - "Molly Dee" (John Stewart) – 1:43
- "The Unfortunate Miss Bailey" (Traditional, Lou GottliebLouis GottliebDr. Louis Gottlieb was bassist and lofty comic spokesman for The Limeliters. He was considered one of the so-called "new comedy" performers such as Mort Sahl, Nichols and May, and Lenny Bruce: a new generation of unabashed intellectuals.Lou's special trademark on stage was a delightful burlesquing...
) – 2:08 - "Sail Away Ladies" (Traditional) – 2:28
- "A Worried ManWorried Man Blues"Worried Man Blues" is a folk song in the roots music repertoire. Like many folks songs passed by oral tradition, the lyrics vary from version to version, but generally all contain the chorus "It takes a worried man to sing a worried song/It takes a worried man to sing a worried song/I'm worried...
" (Traditional, Tom Glazer, Guard) – 2:51 - "The Kingston Trio Sings For 7-UP (Spot #1)" – 2:22
- "The Kingston Trio Sings For 7-UP (Spot #2)" – 2:02
Disc Two
- "El Matador" (Jane BowersJane BowersJane Bowers was a Texas folk singer and songwriter best known for her composition "Remember the Alamo". Many of her songs were primarily recorded by The Kingston Trio.-Selected songs:...
, Irving Burgess) – 2:27 - "The Mountains O'Mourne" (Houston Collisson, Percy French) - 2:49
- "Home From The Hill" - 2:20
- "The World's Last Authentic Playboy" (Bill Loughborough, David "Buck" Wheat) - 2:39
- "Raspberries, Strawberries" (Will HoltWill HoltWill Holt is an American singer, songwriter, librettist and lyricist known first and primarily as a folk performer during the 1950s and 1960s and as an interpreter of the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht in performances and recordings with Martha Schlamme...
) - 2:11 - "Bimini" (Mark McIntyre, B. Olofson) - 2:53
- "Green Grasses" (John Stewart) - 2:21
- "With You, My Johnny" (Traditional, Guard, Reynolds, Shane) – 2:23
- "Bad Man's Blunder" (Lee Hays, Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together....
) – 2:36 - "The Escape Of Old John Webb" (Tom Drake) – 2:29
- "Colorado Trail" (Lee Hays, Carl Sandburg) – 2:48
- "Buddy Better Get On Down The Line" (Bowers, Guard) – 2:20
- "Coast Of California" (Bowers, Guard) – 2:36
- "Bye Bye Thou Little Tiny Child" (Dave Guard) – 2:57
- "A Round About Christmas" (Reynolds) – 1:29
- "Come All Ye Fair And Tender LadiesCome All You Fair and Tender Ladies"Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" is an American folk music ballad, originating from the Appalachian region. It has been recorded under either of its two title variations by numerous artists, including The Carter Family, Joan Baez, Odetta, Peter, Paul and Mary, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton...
" (Traditional, Dave Guard, Gretchen Guard) – 2:50 - "Bonny Hielan' Laddie" (Dave Guard, Joe Hickerson) – 2:45
- "The River Is Wide" (Traditional, Reynolds) – 3:36
- "Don't You Weep, Mary" – 2:13
- "Sea Fever" (Bowers, Burgess) – 2:56
- "The Golden Spike" (Traditional) – 1:47
- "Mary Was Pretty" – 2:01
- "The Wines Of Madeira" (Traditional) – 2:59
- "Senora" (Bowers, Guard) – 2:56
- "Adieu To My Island" – 2:41
- "It Was A Very Good Year" (Ervin DrakeErvin DrakeErvin Drake, born Ervin Maurice Druckman is an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles...
) – 3:20 - "You're Gonna Miss Me" (John Cohen, Dave Guard, Tom Paley, Mike Seeger) – 2:42
- "The Bonnie Ship, The Diamond" (The Whiskeyhill Singers) – 2:30
- "Come Along Julie" (The Cumberland Three) – 2:29
Disc Three
- "Come From The Mountains" - 2:23
- "Oh, Sail Away" (John PhillipsJohn Phillips (musician)John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
, Dick Weisman) – 3:11 - "Take Her Out Of Pity" (Arranged by Reynolds, Shane, Stewart - 2:36
- "The Whistling Gypsy" (Leo MaguireLeo MaguirePatrick Leo Maguire, was an Irish singer, songwriter, and radio broadcaster.Born in Dublin's inner city, Maguire trained as a baritone under Vincent O'Brien, John McCormack's voice teacher. For many years he performed with the Dublin Operatic Society.Maguire was a prolific composer, writing over...
) - 3:03 - "Nothing More To Look Forward To" - 2:26
- "Weeping Willow" (Arranged by Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) - 3:19
- "Jesse James" (Arranged by Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) - 2:36
- "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" (Pete SeegerPete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, Joe HickersonJoe HickersonJoe Hickerson is a noted folk singer and songleader. For 35 years he was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress...
) – 3:02 - "Little Light" (Arranged by Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) – 3:00
- "Chilly Winds" (Phillips, Stewart) – 2:38
- "Oh Miss Mary" (Phillips, Stewart) – 3:05
- "Roddy McCorley" (Traditional) – 2:52
- "500 Miles" (Hedy WestHedy WestHedy West was an American folksinger and songwriter.West was of the same generation as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and others of the American folk music revival. Her most famous song "500 Miles" is one of America's best loved and best known folk songs...
) – 3:02 - "Goin' Away For To Leave You" (Phillips) – 2:29
- "Old Kentucky Land" – 1:59
- "Rocky" – 2:18
- "One More Town" (Stewart) – 3:09
- "Away Rio" – 2:53
- "Pullin' Away" – 3:14
- "All The Good Times" – 3:20
- "Darlin' Are You Dreaming" – 3:01
- "Allentown Jail" – 2:28
- "Greenback Dollar" (Hoyt AxtonHoyt AxtonHoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
, Kennard Ramsey) – 2:43 - "Honey, Are You Mad At Your Man" (Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) – 2:09
- "Long Black VeilLong Black Veil (song)"Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell.A saga song, "Long Black Veil" is told from the point of view of an executed man falsely accused of murder...
" (Danny DillDanny DillHorace Eldred Dill , known professionally known as Danny Dill, was an American country music singer and songwriter...
, Marijohn WilkinMarijohn WilkinMarijohn Wilkin , née Melson, was an American songwriter, famous in the country music genre for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," as chronicled in her 1978 biography from Word Books--Lord, Let Me Leave a Song...
) – 2:27 - "Genny Glenn" (Reynolds, Shane, Stewart) – 2:32
- "The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face)" (Ewan MacCollEwan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
) – 2:50 - "The New Frontier" (Stewart) – 2:21
Personnel
- Dave GuardDave GuardDonald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
– VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Bob ShaneBob ShaneBob Shane is an American singer and guitarist and, with Nick Reynolds' passing in October 2008, the only surviving founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revival of folk and other acoustic music as a popular art form in the U.S...
– VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Nick ReynoldsNick ReynoldsNick Reynolds was an American folk musician and recording artist. Reynolds was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, whose largely folk-based material captured international attention during the late fifties and early sixties.- Early life :Growing up in Coronado, California, his...
– VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, Tenor GuitarTenor guitar1932 Martin 0-18 T Sunburst Tenor Guitar|thumb|rightThe tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was developed so that players of the four-string tenor banjo could double on the guitar...
, BongosBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, CongaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero... - David "Buck" Wheat – Bass, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Elmer "Buzz" Wheeler – Bass
- The Cumberland Three