"Baubles, Bangles and Beads" was the sole hit for the
Kirby Stone Four: a stylized interpretation of a Broadway song that bordered on novelty thanks to its inventive, echoey arrangement. The single reached only number 25 on the pop charts, but the album of the same name reached the Top 15. The album consists of show tunes and pop and jazz standards very similar in presentation to the title track, but not quite as over-the-top. The adventurousness and irreverence with which the
Kirby Stone Four approach these familiar songs owes a debt to the spirit, if not the sound, of rock & roll, and in fact, the group inserts the lyric "rockin' rollin' summertime" at the end of "In the Summertime." The mischievous lads must have gotten quite a kick out of making the female vocalists solo on the phrase "do it" in "Let's Do It"; in the liner notes, Kirby Stone compliments the gals on their flexibility.
Baubles, Bangles and Beads is packed with high-spirited fun from one of the more outré vocal groups of the '50s. ~ Greg Adams