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The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years
Chad Mitchell
The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years
Genres: Folk, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (25) - Disc #1


     
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CD Details

All Artists: Chad Mitchell
Title: The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio: The Mercury Years
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Fontana Island
Original Release Date: 3/17/1998
Release Date: 3/17/1998
Genres: Folk, Pop
Styles: Traditional Folk, Oldies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 731453440029

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CD Reviews

Good, but not a great collection
Donna Davis | Philadelphia, PA | 05/28/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Chad Mitchell Trio (CMT) was far and away the best folk group of the 60's, and being trained as classical singers probably had a lot to do with that. Like many of their peers, the members of CMT (Chad Mitchell, Joe Frazier and Mike Kobluk) met in college, but despite their young ages, their arrangements and harmonies are the most stylized and professional of all the artists of that era, outclassing fellow folk groups such as The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary by an extremely wide margin.



While their first three albums on the Kapp label are good, they were just appetizers for what was to come. The CMT really came into their own when they moved to Mercury, greatly expanding their range, which this collection covers fairly well. Some wonderful examples of this incredible part of their career include "Four Strong Winds", "African Song", and "Bonny Streets of Fyve-IO", and biting satires like "Barry's Boys", "Alma Mater" and "Your Friendly Liberal Neighborhood Ku-Klux-Klan" are good but sound somewhat dated today.



Unfortunately, this CD is missing several outstanding tracks from the Mercury albums, particularly the many traditional folk, gospel and blues tunes they recorded (like "Tell Old Bill"). It's great to see "Marvelous Toy" and "Draft Dodger Rag" here, but other classics such as "The Last Thing On My Mind" and "The Hip Song" are sorely missed. Even when Chad Mitchell left the group to pursue a solo career in 1966, the group soldiered on with John Denver, who although he could never replace Chad, still managed to create stunning efforts with the group. Their version of The Beatles' "She Loves You" is a prime example, and the best cover of that song I've ever heard!



The Kapp records have all been re-released on CD, but unfortunately the ones from Mercury have not, which is most unfair. If you're not familiar with any of the CMT's catalogue, either "best of" collection is a good place to start (see also The CMT Collection: Original Kapp Recordings), but I would highly recommend spending some time in used record shops looking for copies of the Mercury LP's. You'll have to dust off that phonograph that's been sitting in your closet for years of course, but it's well worth the effort."
Great, politically-savvy songs including early JD recordings
Tom Rinke | Oregon, USA | 10/07/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since John Denver is my favorite recording artist, I thought it would be good to get an album that contained some of his very early recordings. Boy, was I surprised! The CMT recordings without JD are excellent as are the early ones with JD. A good blend of serious & humorous songs. Many of the songs are right on track with the serious political issues of the era. I recommend this CD to CMT, JD and non-CMT fans alike."
Memories Brought Back
Lawrance M. Bernabo | 03/01/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I was a small child in the 60's, I listened to whatever old albums my parents had at the time. One of my favorite records to listen to would be those by the Chad Mitchell Trio. I remembered the songs,and even at a young age, memorized some. When I listened to this CD a few days ago, you could have floored me. For a time, I was a kid growing up again. The audio was great, and the songs well preserved. The memories of sitting in my room listening to the "Trio's" LP's was once again alive. A time when all you had to worry about was being a kid."