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.