The Mamas & the Papas Album: “California Dreamin': The Songs of the Mamas and the Papas”

First, let me make it clear that this DVD is mandatory for any fan of The Mamas and The Papas for the musical footage it contains. As a documentary, though, it is disappointing. It tells the group's story rather superficially and looks more like a tribute to Mama Cass. It is only one hour long and ends after Cass's death. The previously released "Straight Shooter" faced some criticism for including too much interview footage and not enough music, but at least it was thorough, in-depth look at the roller coaster ride that was John Phillips' life and career. This new documentary focuses on the music, but still features voiceovers and edited clips, so why didn't they release a collection of videos, instead? "Straight Shooter" seems to be out of print, so maybe they should reissue the unedited version of it and update it in the extras, including a tribute to John Phillips. That would do the group's legacy justice. But don't get me wrong, this new DVD is highly enjoyable, a fitting celebration to the bright side of The Mamas and The Papas and a touching homage to Cass Elliot. And it does feature some footage that is not on "Straight Shooter", including some comments by Cass's daughter Owen.

The Mamas & The Papas - California Dreamin' is a very good retrospective of the life and times of one of the most successful groups in all history. The Mamas & The Papas evolved slowly over time, with Cass Elliott being last to join the group; and once they started performing and recording the sky was already too low for their limit.

The documentary shows us the group recording in the studio, playing on the beach in the Caribbean, performing live on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and more. The archival footage is not bad at all; you'll enjoy it. It's especially wonderful to see The Mamas & The Papas performing "Straight Shooter" at The Monterey Pop Festival during the summer of 1967.

Of course, we also see a more personal side to the group. We find out how Cass had to control herself from belting out because Michelle's voice was, by her own admission, a bit "thin." John Phillips wrote an awful lot for the group and his interview from 1986 is very revealing. The history behind "Creeque Alley" fascinated me as well; I knew it was about the band but I didn't have a complete understanding of the lyrics until I watched this program.

Some say the retrospective shouldn't end with Cass Elliott dying; but actually the group did break up a few years before she died in 1974; therefore I don't understand this complaint. The group wanted to go out on top; and they cleverly chose to do just that. The Mamas & The Papas remain a fixture in American musical history.

Finally, the retrospective has a lot of their songs as background music in addition to the clips and archival footage. I found that to be very useful and entertaining both at once. This film was very thoughtfully produced.

In short, fans of The Mamas & The Papas should consider this a must-have for their collections. This retrospective may also appeal to people who liked their kind of rock and roll. This is an excellent retrospective of this awesome group; and I recommend it highly. If you like this, try looking for other retrospectives like "Straight Shooter" and the VH1 "Behind The Music" show that featured The Mamas & The Papas.

I've seen many a music DVD in my time but this one stands out as one of the best. Most people are aware of the affair between Michelle and Denny but I sure as heck didn't know until now that Papa John & Denny wrote "I Saw Her Again Last Night" about that affair! This was right from John Philips own lips on this disc. The whole DVD is filled with inside info, home movies and beautiful, quality filmed color performances from different TV shows. I was channel surfing and just happened upon this DVD being shown on a PBS station. It isn't sheduled for release for another couple weeks but I'm ready to pounce on it when it does.

It's the only M & P's DVD that captures all the brillance of their television performances.It's simply the best to enjoy.The interesting PBS documentary,"Straight Shooter",was hastily done and unjustly portrays the band,by leaving out many supporting songs and skipping some events they had weathered through .It gives the media image and not the real story of what happened to the group.This DVD focuses mostly on the music and not much about their lives either.The last bit of Lou Adler is bitter-sweet to watch.Lou gambled on them,after John and the crew were rebuffed by other recording labels.John Phillips the Meliorist did his best to better the world through his natural gift of musical genius.Yet,he slowly drifted into the role of a tragic modern Don Quixote.He battled a decade long struggle against personal drug dependency.The 70s was a sporadic recording time for the pallid Phillips,still medicating and mourning over the loss of Mama Cass.The 80s was a regeneration of John's body,mind and musical spirit.John relumed his musical success,after some years of dark reclusion. -I was surprised Denny's favorite tune was 'Dancing Bear',a mellifluent ode of one man's quest to follow a different drum. The band surfed the crest-wave of the California 60s musical flow.This DVD is a charming montage of the several seperate TV spots, not to be missed by all fans of the band.

I have seen the old "Straight Shooter" documentary, and yes, that was more of a documentary than this DVD is. However, if you're like me and love this group, you need to see this DVD. There are interviews from '86 (mostly John & Michelle) that I've never seen before. However, most importantly, there are the performances! For years and years I have been seeing the same 4 or 5 (Ed Sullivan) performances that EVERY documentary and EVERY PBS special seems to use over and over again. Although I do like them, the group DID perform on at least 5 or 6 different televison shows. This DVD showcases some old black and white kinescope "Shindig" performences (w/ Barry McGuire) and many early video tape (dig that technicolor effect!) "Hollywood Palace" performances. I have NEVER seen ANY of these perfomances before! The history of the group is summarized, lacking a lot if relevant detail, but hey, its not bad. You actually get some of Lou Adler's perspective here. If you want more history and detail, try to procure a copy of "Straight Shooter" it was produced in '87 or '88 but its quite detailed (they even interview John's 1st wife, Susie). However, the best documentary that I have ever seen was VH1's installemnt of "Behind The Music" about the band. It was done in 2000 I believe, at which point John & Dennie were still with us. In my opinion, that has been the most detailed documentary about the group. Sadly, it will be the last with current interviews with 3/4 of the band. Want more performances? Several years ago, someone found a whole bunch of old kinescope copies of a limited amount of "Hullaballoo" shows. They were released on a series of 3 DVD's. One of the discs includes perfomances by The Mamas and The Papas. Most worthy is their LIVE accapella rendition of the Beatles "Nowhere Man." But yet again, this DVD's "bonus tracks" are AWESOME!!! They are 3 songs that the band performed (live over backing track) on a 1967 television special called "Rogers and Hart Today." It would be cool if someone actually put that out on DVD! Most remarkable of these is the bands perfomance of a song that they never even recorded for record release. The song is called "Here In My Arms" and Dennie's lead vocal is nothing short of amazing! Do note that John later "borrowed" the (exact same) backing track of this song, wrote new lyrics, retitled, recorded, and released the song as "No Salt On Her Tail" on their 2nd LP. Buy this DVD, you won't regret it!