The Mamas & the Papas (album)

The Mamas & the Papas
Studio album by The Mamas & the Papas
Released August 30, 1966
Recorded 1966
Genre Sunshine pop, folk rock, psychedelic pop
Length 31:07
Label Dunhill
Producer Lou Adler
The Mamas & the Papas chronology
If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
(1966)		 The Mamas & the Papas
(1966)		 The Mamas & The Papas Deliver
(1967)
Singles from The Mamas & the Papas
  1. "I Saw Her Again"
    Released: June 1966
  2. "Words of Love"
    Released: November 1966
  3. "Dancing in the Street"
    Released: 1966
  4. "Dancing Bear"
    Released: 1967

The Mamas & the Papas is the self-titled second studio album by The Mamas & the Papas, released in 1966.[1] The album peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and number 24 in the UK. The lead off single, "I Saw Her Again", reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. "Words of Love" was released as the second single in the US peaking at number 5. In the UK, it was released as a double A-side with "Dancing in the Street" (a cover of the 1964 hit by Martha and the Vandellas) and charted at number 47 in the UK.

After it was discovered that group member Michelle Phillips was having an affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds, tension in the band erupted and Phillips was fired from the group on June 4, 1966.[2][3][4] In June, a new singer was hired to replace her. Jill Gibson was producer Lou Adler's girlfriend at the time and was already a singer/songwriter who had performed on several Jan and Dean albums. She learned to sing Phillip's parts within three weeks while the band was in London, England. Who actually sang on this album is a matter of conjecture. Some of the album had already been recorded with Phillips, including the hit singles "I Saw Her Again" and "Words of Love", before she was fired from the group. Gibson went to work recording with Doherty, John Phillips and Cass Elliot on several new tracks. By the end of August, Phillips was asked to rejoin the group and Gibson was let go. Phillips then recorded vocals on two new songs with the group.

During the discussion on this second album in the Matthew Greenwald's book Go Where You Wanna Go, Gibson claims she sang on ten of the songs. Adler stated it was six, and Phillips claimed she had no idea who sang on the album and further stated that only engineer Bones Howe knew for certain who was on the final release, because she and Gibson both recorded many of the same songs. In all likelihood, a number of the songs on this album contain the voices of all five singers.

The photo already chosen for the album's cover featured Michelle Phillips prominently, so Dunhill had Gibson take a photo posed in exactly the same position as Michelle, and then superimposed the new photo over that of Phillips. However, the decision was then made to shoot an entirely new picture with the new line-up, and to also change the album's title to Crashon Screamon All Fall Down. Several thousand advance pressings of the album with this cover and title were sent out to radio stations and record distributors, but with the return of Michelle to the group just prior to the LP's general release, the original cover and eponymous title were quickly reinstated. Copies of the rare Crashon pressings are now highly sought after collectors items.

The album was first issued on CD in 1988 (MCAD-31043) and also appears in its entirety on All the Leaves are Brown, a retrospective compilation of the band's first four albums, with the single versions of "I Saw Her Again" and "Words of Love".

Professional ratings
Review scores
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Original track listing

All songs by John Phillips, unless otherwise noted.

Side one

  1. "No Salt on Her Tail" - 2:35
  2. "Trip, Stumble and Fall" (John Phillips, Michelle Gilliam) - 2:35
  3. "Dancing Bear" - 4:08
  4. "Words of Love" - 2:13
  5. "My Heart Stood Still" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 1:43
  6. "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter) - 3:00

Side two

  1. "I Saw Her Again" (Phillips, Denny Doherty) - 2:50
  2. "Strange Young Girls" - 2:45
  3. "I Can't Wait" - 2:40
  4. "Even If I Could" - 2:40
  5. "That Kind of Girl" - 2:20
  6. "Once Was a Time I Thought" - 0:58

Personnel

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1966 Billboard 200 4

References

  1. ↑ "The Mamas & the Papas". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Michelle (1986). California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas The Music, the Madness, the Magic that was (1 ed.). Warner Books. p. 86. ISBN 0-446-51308-3.
  3. ↑ Hall, Doug (2000). The Mamas & The Papas California Dreamin' (1 ed.). Quarry Press. p. 102. ISBN 1-55082-216-0.
  4. ↑ Fiegel, Eddi (2006). Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of Cass Elliot (1 ed.). Pan Books. p. 203. ISBN 0-330-48751-5.
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