The Kingston Trio

By 1965, the Kingston Trio and their label, Decca Records, were moving toward what amounted to crisis mode -- their first two albums for the label, The Kingston Trio (also known as Nick-Bob-John) and Stay Awhile, had not sold in nearly the anticipated numbers, nor had their singles made the charts. Additionally, by mid-1965 the folk-rock sound had manifested itself and begun sweeping the charts -- ex-folkies like Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark were now playing amplified guitars and incorporating the influences of the British Invasion, while more distinctive creative personalities like Bob Dylan and Tom Rush were playing what amounted to electric folk-blues and sweeping most of the competition before them. Not wishing to be left behind, the Kingston Trio decided to go the same route on their third Decca album, Somethin' Else. The result was an awkward but sometimes quite beautiful hybrid -- "Red River Shore" benefits from the presence of drummer Jerry Granelli, who seems to be playing a muted version of the percussion from "Battle of New Orleans." David "Buck" Wheat, the group's original bassist, was back for "Where Are You Going Little Boy," playing nylon-string guitar. And "Long Time Blues" sounds like the Kingston Trio being accompanied by the Byrds. On the other hand, there were sides that didn't sound much like the Kingston Trio at all, most notably "Parchment Farm Blues" (which, astonishingly, became the single off the album), with its up-front percussion and organ-dominated accompaniment, which came off like the work of some L.A. garage band parodying the Kingston Trio. Ironically, as raucous as some of the released tracks, such as "Runaway Song," sounded with their full electric accompaniment, the outtakes were even more over the edge, almost into garage rock -- "She Belongs to Me" wouldn't have been out of place on a Sir Douglas Quintet album, but it wouldn't surface for 30 years, and the Dylan parody "Verandah of Millium August" could've turned this into an underground classic. Rather ironically, the contingent of backing musicians included future Eagles and Stone Canyon Band backup player Andy Belling on the organ, and future star session man and producer Randy Sterling on guitar. The first album by the trio that never charted, Somethin' Else was rejected by longtime fans as too different from what the Kingston Trio were about, and ignored by almost everyone else, with the result that the original LP is hard to find and almost unknown to many casual fans of the trio. It has also never been reissued intact on CD, except as part of Bear Family Records' ten-CD set The Stewart Years. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide