The Mamas & The Papas — The Mamas & The Papas

If you didn’t grow up in the ’60s, it may be impossible to relate how huge a phenomenon The Mamas & The Papas were. They crossed over from the counterculture to mainstream in perhaps a bigger way than any other act. They were ubiquitous on TV shows (particularly Cass Elliott). I think the networks liked them because they had appeal to the hippies and youth movement, but their material was squeaky clean. At the time of the great generation gap, the older generation was constantly looking for examples of how youth should behave, and The Mamas and The Papas probably looked relatable – despite the long hair and freaky fashions, they had a clean look and their songs, famed for their harmonies, seemed like good old-fashioned fun. They seemed . . . safe.

Of course, at the time no one knew they were acidheads, that John Phillips was pretty reprehensible, that there were all those romantic and interpersonal tensions in the group. They definitely came across as a group that both kids and parents could like, in an age when listening to music your parents would hate was part of the point.

I’ve had this album, their second, since my earliest days of real record-collecting. It seems like a garage sale find, and it was always in pretty rough shape so I’ve never played it a lot. But I also never felt the need to get a better copy. I like The Mamas & The Papas – I am human, after all – but this record, all their records, is a mixed bag.

For starters, the stereo mix on this is awful, the worst of any record I own. (Correcting myself: If I found a mono, I might buy it). My favorite M&P song, “I Saw Her Again,” is mixed so you can’t even hear the vocals, which is insane. (I think I ultimately bought a 45 of it, hoping the mix would be closer to what one heard on the radio, but found that wanting as well.) It’s interesting that this version of the cover highlights their first names, “Cass • John • Michelle • Denny”, given that on probably six of the tracks, Michelle, who had been fired from the band during recording, was replaced by Jill Gibson. A version crediting Gibson was pressed, called “Crashon Screamon All Fall Down,” but Michelle was back in the group before the album was released, and those pressings are collectors’ items.

There was definitely a time, back around 1980, 1981, when this got a lot of play from me, despite its rather rough condition. The quality of the mix varies from track to track, with “I Saw Her Again” suffering worst from the stereo. It definitely evokes those years of living in The Embassy (not its real name) and our apartments above a bodega on Marshall Street. As newer music came into my life and all that flashy new wave synthy stuff started to take over, there were bands from my ’60s obsession that remained with me and bands that didn’t, and The Mamas & The Papas just didn’t. In part, that’s because the hits could be heard at any time, anywhere, and the hits were very much the point. In part, that’s because they really were a regressive group, not progressive, and so while those vocals are amazing, and some of the songs are, too, the balance of it is dressed up new folkpop that doesn’t really resonate with me. It’s perfectly pleasant, but I’m not going to seek it out.