| I really enjoyed this reunion concert when I watched it on PBS over 20 years ago, and am delighted to find the complete concert finally available (the VHS version, as other reviews have noted, has several numbers cut). For those not familiar with the background, this concert was recorded in 1981 at an outdoor theater in California. Present were the then-current Kingston Trio lineup of Bob Shane, Roger Gambill and George Grove, as well as former Trio members Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds and John Stewart. Each lineup of the Trio performs several numbers. We get to here several of their signature tunes--"Tom Dooley," "Scotch and Soda," "Greenback Dollar," and "MTA" among them. Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary makes a special appearance and joins the trio for two numbers. Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, who had just produced Stewart's hit album "Bombs Away Dream Babies," plays bass on several numbers and joins Stewart for a duet of "Spinning of the World." Stewart also does a solo performance of one of his best songs, "You Can't Go Back to Kansas." Tommy Smothers acts as MC, quite humorously, attempts to join the Trio on "Chilly Winds,"also quite humoursly, and does a short solo turn, less humourously. At the end, all six Trio members team up for several numbers, and the entire cast joins in on the big finale of "MTA." While the entire performance is enjoyable, the segments with the current Trio are perhaps the most important reason to have this recording. Since the Shane/Gambill/Grove Trio did virtually no recording, this is perhaps the only document we have of the contributions of Roger Gambill, who died only a few years after this concert. It is also nice to have a momento of the late Dave Guard. Any Trio fan will want this concert, and the more complete DVD version is the one to own. |