But Capitol was stuck, they had no Kingston Trio material in stereo. In 1958, stereo was the hot new product, but the Trio was an unknown item to Capitol; they didn't know whether we'd fly or crash in Marin County! Our first two albums were only recorded in mono, even though the label had stereo equipment, because they weren't sure we'd sell; and, in 1958, it cost a ton of dollars to record in stereo.

Then came that evening in December, and a concert in El Paso Texas. We were where we'd only dreamed we'd ever be. We had the number-one song in the land, we were young and people tell me we were the most popular group in the country! Coming from Hawaii, and being a surfer of sorts, the analogy I can draw is easy. You're up on your board and the wave is building ... getting higher and more powerful. There's one fleeting moment -- a moment when all that energy that's built up spills over . . . the wave crests . . . you ride it for all you're worth, for as long as you can . . . For me, this concert was that point. We were singing material that we'd chosen and really dug. We were on a natural high that I can't explain -- -you'd really had to have the experience to understand. The result was a two-track stereo tape which caught us at our very best. For sure, later albums were technically recorded better; but, for the original spirit of the Trio, this album is really an historic document. Everything the Trio was is on this album. Listening to it today makes me feel as though that wave is breaking again -- if only for a moment -- and I can feel the same energy and excitement that was present that night, some twenty-eight years ago. This is THE Kingston Trio album for me!

Dave Guard

In 1958, stereo was a new technological breakthrough. High fidelity had been the catchword, and now you had two channels of HiFi and a depth that almost made you seem to be present during the recording. Even in the pioneer days of stereo recording, engin-eers recorded separate tracks and combined them in the mix-down to create stereo images. On all studio stereo albums, no matter how many tracks are used in the recording, they all mix down to only two -- a left and right channel.

This album was recorded on a recorder that ran at only 7.5 ips (inches per second). Today, al-bums are recorded at either 15 or 30 ips. What this does is lessen tape hiss (tape noise). At 7.5 ips, there is a degree of hiss and it is evident on this album in spots. Why it is more prevalent at some points than others is a mystery. This album was not recorded by Capitol, but, the original 7.5-ips tape was purchased from those who recorded it. We worked from the original 7.5-ips tape to create this album, and have worked with today's modern noise-reduction and EQ devices as well as Capitol's famous echo chambers to create a cleaner and brighter STEREO CONCERT However, it should be noted that once noise is on the tape, you can't remove it except with bypass switches. We tried that and we lost all the highs and, thus, the excitement; so, in the interests of history, we left things pretty much as they were.

One other point must be mentioned. There were only two micro-phones and two tracks used during this recording -- a left and right channel -- thus, this is a true-stereo album. The photo taken at the hungry i demonstrates the same

recording technique used. The microphones were suspended above the Trio's heads and they mixed the albums themselves. There are moments when one or the other is off the mike and the levels fade a bit or two gang up on one microphone and the levels zoom up. We did what we could to maintain the balance; but, with only two tracks to work with, there wasn't a great deal we could do. When the Trio introduced songs, they spoke into the house mike (pictured at left) which meant that they weren't speaking into the recording microphones, and what we hear primarily comes from the house speakers. In fact, many times the two who weren't doing the introduction are louder than the one at the house mike. Now and then, one of the Trio will get his instrument too close -- or hit it especially loud (such as Nick on the conga) -- and it will unbal-ance the mix a bit. However, this was exactly as it was during the performance, and the excitement and energy are forever captured here at Folk Era

Recorded live (in performance) in 1958
Mixed at Capitol Records, Hollywood, CA:: May 1986
Engineers: Steve Flott, Jay Ranelluccl
Digital Engineer: Larry Walsh
Digital Recording done at Capitol Records,
Hollywood, CA: May 1986

Manufactured and marketed by
FOLK ERA PRODUCTIONS INC.
6 South 230 Cohasset Rd., Naperville, IL 60540
Graphics: Ron's Art Unlimited, Nashua, NH
Separations: High Tech Color, Inc.,
Nashua. NH

(c) Capitol Records (c)FoIk Era Productions Inc. Special Thanks: David Moss
All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly forbidden.