The Mamas & the Papas
The Mama's & the Papa's

THE REVIEW

Let's settle the Mama's & Papa's affair on this site, and spend a few words on their second career album (from 1966, the same year as their debut), still absent here.

However, given that the music in question is not so unpredictable, let's dive into some gossip first: John Phillips, the leader of the quartet, the little mustache semi-hidden behind Mama Cass’s notable bulk on the cover photo, was more than ever dealing with the escapades of his equally attractive and uninhibited wife, and group mate, Michelle Phillips. Who, while they were recording this music, couldn’t resist getting involved with the esteemed Gene Clark, the one from the Byrds.

John took it badly and immediately kicked his wife out of the group, bringing in a new singer, a certain Jill Gibson, and with her, the band did the photo session for the new record, once again choosing a claustrophobic situation: on the debut album, all four of them were crammed into a bathtub; this time they're again stuck together, behind a small window.

A couple of months later, John swallowed his pride and reinstated his wife into the lineup. The record was almost in print, so they just had time to change the cover, with Michelle sitting prominently in the foreground overlapped with the other, in the same position.

The songs now: the best of the lot is the twelfth and last “Once Was A Time I Thought”: delightful, swinging, performed a cappella with Denny Doherty (the tenor) on the right and Michelle Phillips (the soprano) on the left: excellent, very American, not even a minute of evocative, almost virtuosic duet.

An obvious excellence is the well-known and celebrated “I Saw Her Again,” with a recognizably Beatles-like chorus in the verse; however, the melody gets messy in the bridge, but it's in the top five of the songs when remembering the Mama’s & Papa’s; Cass Elliot and Michelle are spectacular on one side, John and Denny on the other… it's California from sixty years ago, in its purest form.

The opening “No Salt on Her Tail” has an attack that inevitably recalls that of the very famous “San Francisco,” which would be entrusted to Scott McKenzie the following year, with huge returns. It’s still Phillips' brainchild, who at the time must have regretted not reserving it for his group. But this is just a preface, without yet the magic of the other.

When Mama Cass's big voice comes to the fore (“Words of Love”) things always get lively, and this track is also joyfully listened to. “My Heart Stood Still” fairs well thanks to the lush harmonies, while Michelle Phillips takes on “Dancing in the Street,” but many know it better sung by... David Lee Roth! It's a classic '60s Marvin Gaye song, covered by just about everyone and... yes, even by Van Halen. Amen.