The Mamas and the Papas were masters of an harmonious blend of folk and pop and for a short time in the mid to late sixties dominated the singles charts. In 1966 and 1967 their unique brand of four-part harmony allowed them to hit the US Top 10 on six occasions including the top position with “Monday, Monday”. This CD is a live recording of a 1988 Mamas and the Papas concert in Washington DC and though it contains some new material the focus is on live reworks of the group’ better known material.

The version I have of this CD does not include liner notes. The cover suggests that the 1980’s incarnation of the Mamas and the Papas featured on this recording includes original member Denny Doherty on lead vocals and three ring-ins including Scott McKenzie (who shot to fame in the 60’s with “Are you Going to San Francisco”). I have, however, seen another release of this CD that also shows one-time leader John Phillips on the front. There is no doubt, however, that the original female members of the group, Mama Cass and Michelle Phillips are not present. Mama Cass died more than a decade before this recording and the distinctive vocals of Michelle Phillip are definitely absent from this collection.

With possibly up to three quarters of the original team missing, it is not surprising that the sound of the Mamas and the Papas 1980’s style is at times quite different from that of the past. Fortunately, Denny Doherty (who is definitely present) sang male lead on many of the groups biggest hits, including “California Dreamin’” and “Monday, Monday”, and thus at least some aspect of the original sound is preserved in many of the revisits to their sixties material.


The Hit Revisits:

Five of the Mamas and the Papas top ten US hits (in live form) appear on the CD. These are as follows:

“Dedicated to the One I Love” (1967: US #2; UK#2);
“Creeque Alley” (1967: US #5; UK #9);
“California Dreamin’” (1966: US #4);
“Monday, Monday” (1966: US# 1; UK #3) and
“I Saw Her Again” (1966: US#5; UK #11).

“Dedicated to the One I Love” is professional but lacks the sparkle of the original hit that featured Michelle Phillips on lead. The attraction of Michelle’s cover of this ballad was her fragile yet strangely sensual half spoken performance. Her absence on the version on this CD is sorely missed.

The autobiographical “Creeque Alley” is probably the most difficult Mamas and the Papas song to do in a concert setting. The attraction of the original recording was the way the four members of the group vocally bounced off each other with each singing a line or half a line. The vocal arrangements are complicated and it is surprising that the song works at all in a live setting. The new formation give their best with the admitted difficult material and to their credit do a reasonable job (despite a bizarre effort to turn part of the song into a twist number). Unfortunately, their version falls well short of the excellence inherent in the original hit.

The Mamas and the Papas biggest single successes “California Dreamin’” and “Monday, Monday” are given treatments very similar to the original recordings. Reproducing their sixties sound must have been easier with these tracks as Denny Doherty strongly featured on the original works. Being live performances they do, however, lack the polish of the studio recordings. Also, “California Dreamin’” further suffers from unimaginative use of stereo and there is a slight muddiness in the sound that is not evident on the other tracks.

The fast tempo “I Saw Her Again” is given a strong performance by Denny and starts off magnificently. Unfortunately, the track is let down by poor female backing vocals who slowly but surely ruin the song as it progresses.


Reworks of sixties classics:

There are numerous Mamas and the Papas tracks that were not hits but nonetheless have become well known over the years to record buyers due to their persistent inclusion in various “Best of” style reissues. Not surprisingly, some of these numbers are also present on this live selection of material, specifically “Go Where You Wanna Go”, “Straight Shooter” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me”.

“Go Where You Wanna’ Go” is probably the best recreation of the original Mamas and the Papas sound on the collection. It is impossible to fault the performance and it is an excellent example of how great four-part harmonizing can sound when it is done well. The success of the performance is all the more surprising as it was the opening number of the concert in question.

The rocking “Straight Shooter” is also not bad. Denny really cuts loose on this number which incidentally was the first track recorded by the original group when they arrived in California. On a number of occasions Denny’s voice lets him down and he gets a bit croaky, but the drive and enthusiasm that he injects into the performance counterbalances this shortfall. The performance is also complemented by excellent electric guitar work. A disappointment is that Michelle Phillips characteristic back up wailing of the words “straight shooter” on the original recording is not effectively reproduced (or imitated) on this version.

The ballad “Dream a Little Dream of Me” is given a very mediocre performance. Mama Cass did the vocals on the original recording. Her replacement, at least on this performance, comes across as nothing but a poor imitation.


New songs:

There are two tracks on this CD that I have never heard before. The first is a song called “Mississippi”. It can best be described as a hillbilly stomp and is a million miles from the style of music courted by the Mamas and the Papas in the 60’s. It is an infectious number that is performed with enthusiasm by all concerned. It is one of those in concert tunes that is used to showcase the musical talents of the individual members of the supporting band. Accordingly, it includes substantial guitar (lead and bass), keyboard and drum solos.

This CD also introduced me to “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”. The song is characterized by fascinating tempo changes and excellent lyrics. It is an interesting number in that its attraction is routed in the verses rather than the chorus. There is also some interesting harmonizing and the song in parts features a Christmas tree arrangement that would be more at home sung by a church choir. In many ways the number is heartland material for the Mamas and the Papas as it is a quite successful blend of experimental folk and pop music, albeit strictly middle of the road.

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In terms of an overall comment about this collection, it would be fair to say that this is by no means an essential purchase for the casual admirer of the Mamas and the Papas. Further, long-term fans of the group may be disappointed as most of the sixties reworks are not as good as the original recordings. This can be attributed in part to the fact that the style of the Mamas and the Papas is better suited to studio work. Even more significant, however, is the absence of the distinctive vocals of the original female members on these recordings.

I should also add that I recently picked up a live “Best of” collection (on the Phoenix Production label) that was taken from a concert in Florida on 3 July 1995. The tracks on this later concert set are far superior to those on this CD and it has 17 tracks (as opposed to only ten) as well as liner notes.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving