47. If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears - The Mamas and the Papas
I had almost forgotten that I had a blog. It has been ages since I last posted, due to some computer problems. This is inexcusable. I must continue to post regularly, or the task will not get completed. And my legion of readers will tire of waiting for more, and seek their entertainment elsewhere. I apologize to you all.
Having had almost two years to listen to this album to gather my thoughts for this post, I have to say that my initial reaction was very positive. The album starts with "Monday Monday" and showcases the vocals and harmonies that the group is famous for. The music is played by members of the Wrecking Crew with the ubiquitous Hal Blaine on the drums. This tune is a classic and I'd say we are off to a good start.
On the surface, the next track, "Straight Shooter" appears to be a love song, but has allusions to someone tracking down some drugs, possibly heroin. It is the first appearance of a somewhat smug vibe that I picked up on the more I listened to the album. There is insider talk here, an exclusivity that the world at large, the square mainstream, will not understand. Given the social revolution that was taking place in America at the time, with Los Angeles as one of the premier stages for change, this is not a surprising development. The Mamas and The Papas were part of the soundtrack to that movement and the counterculture that was to follow.
The inside joke is front and center on the next song "Got a Feelin' " The chorus is literally "The joke's on you". This one has a psychedelic feel and it sounds like a lament to a wandering lover. John Phillips seemed to have a lot of material to draw from in this respect. It seems as though there were romantic triangles happening all over the place with this band. "I Call Your Name" was written by Lennon and McCartney, and the vocals are are up front and in your face with interesting piano and guitar parts filling out the mix. Love that one.
The next track is "Do You Wanna Dance" is, to my ear, unremarkable. The vocals and arrangement are nice, but I'd probably stick with the Beach Boys version, or one of the other thirty or so recordings of this song. It seems like they are experimenting with being slightly off key or are trying to push boundaries with their approach to the tune. Maybe the session players wanted to go in a different direction since they had previously recorded that tune with the aforementioned Beach Boys. "Go Where You Wanna Go" is an ode to freedom, I suppose, but I'm finding at this point I'm getting a little bored with the formula. Again, this is out of context, maybe at the time it was like hearing angels through the speaker of your car radio, and its been watered down to a cliche to our modern ears. I'm just finding the songs seem to blend together and nothing seems to stand out. Let's check out side 2...
Masterpiece time. If they had recorded nothing else in their career, this would still vault these cats into the stratosphere. The little guitar riff, the flute solo, the lyrics, the vocals, its all the real deal. I present... "California Dreamin' ". This iconic tune is like a trip to the Sixties for just under three minutes. This is likely due to placement in every Sixties period piece of cinema, but the call and answer lyrics invite a little sing a long, so is one catchy tune.
"Spanish Harlem" is another oft covered song, written in part by Phil Spector. I love that guy. Not in a sense that I'd like to spend any time in his company, given his alleged inability to play nicely with others, but he's made lots of great music. Back to "Spanish Harlem"... it's a nice tune, but it isn't exciting to my ears. The vocals are spot on, but the overall effect is elevator music, or a tune you could listen to while shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for a new pillowcase set. Not really my bag. "Somebody Groovy" grabbed me right away with the chugging riff at the beginning. I like the sustained vocal notes in the background, its a great effect. The bass line is groovy and it moves along well. We are back to being young and in the know.
"Hey Girl" is basically piano and bass, with a great break in the middle. Someone has their heart broken, and this song is the proverbial shoulder to lean on, sounds like someone was in the "friend zone". Ah man, we've all been there. When "You Baby" started, I was thinking that it was going to be another trip up to the 7th floor, but it is catchy, and I'm quite enjoying it. It sounds like the Beach Boys, which really shouldn't be surprising, considering the musicians playing on the track played on the Beach Boys stuff, or were at least part of the same scene.
We are wrapping up with "The "In" Crowd", which takes the vibe of superiority over the squares, and unabashedly sticks it in your face. It is a cover tune, apparently performed originally by Dobie Gray, of "Drift Away" fame. Sidebar... I knew that song, and always pictured him as a bearded white guy, like a Bob Seger circa 1977. Turns out he's a black man, without a beard. Shows what I know. Back to the narrative... "The "In" Crowd" comes off as arrogant, but lets chalk it up to confidence. That's a nicer way of saying it.
This album is not one I'm going to listen to very often, but you cannot take away the fact that it has excellent vocals and the arrangements are well put together. Put two iconic songs in the mix and its easy to see why this one ranked at 127 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of all time (2003). I would post a link, but there is a minimal writeup and somehow the album has improved with the new list to 112. I don't understand that, but that's not for me to worry about. Rolling Stone has not improved, so there you go. Google away, and you can read professional reviews to your heart's content.
Well, that's that. Sorry it took so long if you have been eagerly awaiting my next post. I'm going to try to get this back up and running. Thanks for reading!
Having had almost two years to listen to this album to gather my thoughts for this post, I have to say that my initial reaction was very positive. The album starts with "Monday Monday" and showcases the vocals and harmonies that the group is famous for. The music is played by members of the Wrecking Crew with the ubiquitous Hal Blaine on the drums. This tune is a classic and I'd say we are off to a good start.
On the surface, the next track, "Straight Shooter" appears to be a love song, but has allusions to someone tracking down some drugs, possibly heroin. It is the first appearance of a somewhat smug vibe that I picked up on the more I listened to the album. There is insider talk here, an exclusivity that the world at large, the square mainstream, will not understand. Given the social revolution that was taking place in America at the time, with Los Angeles as one of the premier stages for change, this is not a surprising development. The Mamas and The Papas were part of the soundtrack to that movement and the counterculture that was to follow.
The inside joke is front and center on the next song "Got a Feelin' " The chorus is literally "The joke's on you". This one has a psychedelic feel and it sounds like a lament to a wandering lover. John Phillips seemed to have a lot of material to draw from in this respect. It seems as though there were romantic triangles happening all over the place with this band. "I Call Your Name" was written by Lennon and McCartney, and the vocals are are up front and in your face with interesting piano and guitar parts filling out the mix. Love that one.
The next track is "Do You Wanna Dance" is, to my ear, unremarkable. The vocals and arrangement are nice, but I'd probably stick with the Beach Boys version, or one of the other thirty or so recordings of this song. It seems like they are experimenting with being slightly off key or are trying to push boundaries with their approach to the tune. Maybe the session players wanted to go in a different direction since they had previously recorded that tune with the aforementioned Beach Boys. "Go Where You Wanna Go" is an ode to freedom, I suppose, but I'm finding at this point I'm getting a little bored with the formula. Again, this is out of context, maybe at the time it was like hearing angels through the speaker of your car radio, and its been watered down to a cliche to our modern ears. I'm just finding the songs seem to blend together and nothing seems to stand out. Let's check out side 2...
Masterpiece time. If they had recorded nothing else in their career, this would still vault these cats into the stratosphere. The little guitar riff, the flute solo, the lyrics, the vocals, its all the real deal. I present... "California Dreamin' ". This iconic tune is like a trip to the Sixties for just under three minutes. This is likely due to placement in every Sixties period piece of cinema, but the call and answer lyrics invite a little sing a long, so is one catchy tune.
"Spanish Harlem" is another oft covered song, written in part by Phil Spector. I love that guy. Not in a sense that I'd like to spend any time in his company, given his alleged inability to play nicely with others, but he's made lots of great music. Back to "Spanish Harlem"... it's a nice tune, but it isn't exciting to my ears. The vocals are spot on, but the overall effect is elevator music, or a tune you could listen to while shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for a new pillowcase set. Not really my bag. "Somebody Groovy" grabbed me right away with the chugging riff at the beginning. I like the sustained vocal notes in the background, its a great effect. The bass line is groovy and it moves along well. We are back to being young and in the know.
"Hey Girl" is basically piano and bass, with a great break in the middle. Someone has their heart broken, and this song is the proverbial shoulder to lean on, sounds like someone was in the "friend zone". Ah man, we've all been there. When "You Baby" started, I was thinking that it was going to be another trip up to the 7th floor, but it is catchy, and I'm quite enjoying it. It sounds like the Beach Boys, which really shouldn't be surprising, considering the musicians playing on the track played on the Beach Boys stuff, or were at least part of the same scene.
We are wrapping up with "The "In" Crowd", which takes the vibe of superiority over the squares, and unabashedly sticks it in your face. It is a cover tune, apparently performed originally by Dobie Gray, of "Drift Away" fame. Sidebar... I knew that song, and always pictured him as a bearded white guy, like a Bob Seger circa 1977. Turns out he's a black man, without a beard. Shows what I know. Back to the narrative... "The "In" Crowd" comes off as arrogant, but lets chalk it up to confidence. That's a nicer way of saying it.
This album is not one I'm going to listen to very often, but you cannot take away the fact that it has excellent vocals and the arrangements are well put together. Put two iconic songs in the mix and its easy to see why this one ranked at 127 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of all time (2003). I would post a link, but there is a minimal writeup and somehow the album has improved with the new list to 112. I don't understand that, but that's not for me to worry about. Rolling Stone has not improved, so there you go. Google away, and you can read professional reviews to your heart's content.
Buy it here!
Well, that's that. Sorry it took so long if you have been eagerly awaiting my next post. I'm going to try to get this back up and running. Thanks for reading!
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