''The Kingston Trio (Nick Bob John)'' (more commonly known as ''Nick Bob John'') is an album by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

folk music group the Kingston Trio, released in 1964 (see

1964 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1964. Specific locations * 1964 in British music * 1964 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1964 in country music * 1964 in jazz Events *January 1 – ''Top of the Pops'' ...

). ''Nick Bob John'' failed to reach the Top 40, peaking at number 53 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Pop Albums chart.Blake, B., Rubeck, J., Shaw, A. (1986) ''The Kingston Trio On Record.'' Kingston Korner Inc, ILL:

History

''The Kingston Trio (Nick Bob John)'' was the trio's first release on the Decca label after seven years, 19 albums and worldwide record sales in the tens of millions (three million on " Tom Dooley" alone) with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The names are those of the Trio's members, Nick Reynolds,

Bob Shane Robert Castle Schoen (February 1, 1934 – January 26, 2020), known professionally as Bob Shane, was an American singer and guitarist who was a founding member of The Kingston Trio. In that capacity, Shane became a seminal figure in the revi ...

, and

John Stewart John Stewart may refer to: Business * John Aikman Stewart (1822–1926), American banker * John Killough Stewart (1867–1938), businessman and philanthropist in Queensland, Australia * John K. Stewart (1870–1916), American entrepreneur and inve ...

. Two singles were released: "My Ramblin' Boy" b/w "Hope You Understand" and "I'm Going Home" b/w "Little Play Soldiers". Neither single, and notably, none of the Decca singles, reached the Top 100 in the charts. The album was produced by

Frank Werber Frank Nicholas Werber (March 27, 1929 – May 19, 2007) was a German-born American talent manager, restaurant owner and entrepreneur, who was particularly influential as the discoverer, manager and producer of The Kingston Trio in the late 1950 ...

, the Trio's manager since its inception. "I'm Going Home", by Fred Geis, remained a concert favorite of the Trio in this and future incarnations of the group, sometimes re-titled "California". Geis was the subject of a lawsuit over the melody resembling music from the Broadway musical '' Milk and Honey'' by Jerry Herman. Allmusic entry for "I'm Going Home"/ref>

Reception

In his Allmusic review, music critic Bruce Eder called the album "one of the strongest albums of the group's entire history, containing an embarrassment of riches among its original dozen songs. And it's also a surprisingly contemporary record for a group that was supposedly long past its prime in 1965..." but noted the sound quality was "a little flat-sounding compared with the group's prior work at Capitol's studios..."

Reissues

*''Nick Bob John'' was reissued on a remastered CD in 1991 along with two bonus tracks on the Folk Era label. *In 2000, all of the tracks from ''Nick Bob John'' were included in '' The Stewart Years'' 10-CD box set issued by Bear Family Records. *''Nick Bob John'' was reissued on CD in 2002 by Folk Era along with the rest of their Decca releases on '' The Decca Years''.

Track listing

Side one

# " Midnight Special" (

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

) – 2:07 # "Love's Been Good to Me" (

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...

) – 3:05 # "Poverty Hill" ( Fred Hellerman, Fran Minkoff) – 3:22 # "Someday Soon" ( Ian Tyson) – 2:49 # "Gotta Travel On" ( Paul Clayton, Larry Ehrlich, Ronnie Gilbert,

Lee Hays Lee Elhardt Hays (March 14, 1914 – August 26, 1981) was an American folksinger and songwriter, best known for singing bass with the Weavers. Throughout his life, he was concerned with overcoming racism, inequality, and violence in soci ...

, Fred Hellerman, Dave Lazar, Pete Seeger) – 3:18 # "Hope You Understand" (

) – 2:20

Side two

# "Little Play Soldiers" (Martin Cooper) – 2:20 # "Love Comes a Trickling Down" (Jonathan Harris) – 2:53 # "My Ramblin' Boy" (

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

) – 3:42 # "More Poems" ( Mason Williams) – 1:42 # "Farewell (Fare Thee Well)" ( Bob Dylan) – 3:16 # "I'm Going Home" (Fred Geis) – 2:22 #:1991 reissue bonus tracks: # "Long Time Blues" (Williams) – 2:21 # "Come Gather the Time" (Stewart) – 2:26

Personnel

– vocals, guitar * Nick Reynolds – vocals, tenor guitar *

– vocals, banjo, guitar *Dean Reilly – bass

Production notes

*Frank Werber – producer *Bob Norberg – engineer

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston Trio, The (Nick Bob John) 1964 albums The Kingston Trio albums Decca Records albums