The Kingston Trio - Nick - Bob - John (Expanded Edition) (1964/2019)

In 1964, the Kingston Trio left Capitol Records, apparently miffed that newer rock groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys were taking a higher priority in the A&R department. They signed with Decca Records and released their first album with the new label, Nick-Bob-John, by the end of the year. Unlike the Trio's later Decca material, there's not much of a pop influence on Nick-Bob-John; aside from a handful of folky John Stewart originals and a pair of new outside tracks, including "More Poems" by a pre-"Classical Gas" Mason Williams," the lineup consists of stripped-down versions of folk classics like the standard "Midnight Special" and "Long Time Blues." The collegiate folk boom was winding down by late 1964, but Nick-Bob-John shows that the Kingston Trio were still at the top of their game.