The Limeliters' debut album for RCA Victor was not only one of their finest, but was also a smash hit on the Billboard album charts, reaching the number five position and staying on for over a year. The success of the album propelled the folk trio "perilously close to solvency," as group wit Lou Gottlieb often observed. Recorded live at the Ash Grove in Hollywood on July 29, 1960, the album showed the tremendous poise and versatility the group only hinted at on their first album for Elektra, which was just getting on the market at the time. From their rousing traditional concert opener, "There's a Meetin' Here Tonight," to the Bahamian-adapted singalong "Hey Li Lee Li Lee," this album is a winner all the way and one of the shining examples of the best of the urban folk revival of the early '60s. Each
Limeliter was given a chance to shine:
Glenn Yarbrough's shimmering tenor and whistling on "The Far Side of the Hill," Alex Hassilev's linguistic polish on "The Monks of St. Bernard," and Gottlieb's lascivious humor and hamminess on the
Flanders & Swann tale of debauchery after dark, "Madeira, M'Dear." When the group sings the Russian song of farewell "Proshchai," it makes one wish the record wouldn't end. ~ Cary Ginell