I would underscore my point from my article, Peter - each Trio member is playing to his own strength - Stewart with the deep feeling lead vocal, Reynolds with his soaring and passionate tenor harmony, Shane with that syncopated semi-Spanish rhythm guitar (Stewart called him you will recall "the man of thousand strums").

Is it a smooth and commercialized version? Of course it is - that's what the KT did. But the whole TTT album is an effort to perform tunes with a bit more weight than the group usually essayed.

Some of it worked, some of it didn't. "The Patriot Game" doesn't compare well to the Clancy version, but "Hobo's Lullaby" is better than Goebbel Reeves' original, and I corresponded briefly with Billy Edd Wheeler, who loved their drive and energy on "Coal Tattoo." Stewart's originals are good, with "If You Don't Look Around" among his best combination of composition and passionate performance.

I believe that "String Along" remains my single favorite KT LP, though the first one Capitol T996 and Here We Go Again! rank high for me as well.

Allmusic critic Bruce Eder points out that the early albums demonstrated just how ready the KT was to grab the brass ring when it came around their way.