The Kingston Trio reviewed
The Kingston Trio
Once Upon A Time/Twice Upon A Time
(Collectors’ Choice)
As an historical reference, Collectors’ Choice’s simultaneous release of Once and Twice Upon A Time is a smidge overzealous. It’s two phases of folk heroes The Kingston Trio: early July, 1966 and late July . . . 1966.
The practical reason is this: Once Upon A Time, which capped their career upon its 1969 street date, has been out of print and never issued on CD; Twice Upon A Time was never available commercially and only discovered as the CD pressing of Once was being assembled. (What we’re saying is it might have been more philanthropic of Collectors’ Choice to combine them in one package. It’s a recession, comrades.)
Fans have long lamented the fate dealt Once, which landed two years after The Kingston Trio disbanded, well into a hazy, psychedelic era that had little interest in the once-clad-in-pinstripes yuksters. The album, however, represents perhaps the most successful American folk band with their entire catalog from which to choose, not unlike The Band at The Last Waltz or Queen at Wembley. Where their studio recordings are rather dry, the stage was their playground and nearly all their comedic bits (graciously separated from the songs in order to lend us mix-CD manufacturers a hand) contribute to Once‘s energy. From standards like “Hard Travelin’,” “The M.T.A.,” “Tom Dooley,” and “Hard, Ain’t It Hard” through modern nods to Bob Dylan (“One Too Many Mornings,” “Babe, You’ve Been On My Mind”) and Donovan (“Colours”), there’s nary a lull in the 20-song set.
It’s what makes Twice superfluous. Granted, Once benefits from a half-dozen vocal overdubs that give Twice raw feel, but even nine different cuts can’t muffle cries against redundancy. It’s a pleasant diversion, but currently just another action taken to diminish the impact of the original release.
Twice Upon A Time: 6
— Steve Forstneger
