The Mamas & the Papas Album: “People Like Us”

Much like the similarly denigrated 1973 BYRDS reunion album, this album is much better than you've been led to believe, although it is by no means a masterpiece. Can't we listen to these records with unbiased ears instead of being influenced by the unfair expectations of yesteryear? I actually like the loose (under-rehearsed?) feel of the music. One puzzle - where the hell is Mama? I only hear her take a lead once. But, you do get more Michelle, and I find her work on this utterly charming. I think John was running a little dry in the songwriting dept. after his great solo debut, but there are 7 or 8 inventive sounding tracks, I especially love Shooting Star (the harmonies weirdly remind me of Stereolab!) If you love the early M&P's, maybe this isn't the best album for you, it has a different sound for the most part. If you have more varied tastes, especially the soft-pop or sunshine pop sound of the Millennium/Free Design/Curt Boettcher/the Association et al, you should check it out.

This album has been so maligned by the press (and group themeselves). Rolling Stone review from 1971 gave it 4 stars. It is a pretty spectacular collection, especially when you realize that the members were not always in the same place at one time. John Phillips did a masterful job at production. It remains to this day one of my favorite Mamas and Papas albums. Great songs and performances.

Most people put down this cd alot because there isn't as much electricity as when the group were together in the 60's. This was a reunion album in the 70's and the group was more into their own individual voices at that time. But, I don't mind this album that much. I think its pretty good for what it is and Im glad I got it. It shows a different style to the Mamas and Papas' voices, and Step Out and Pearl are outstanding tracks. The cd is worth buying just for those songs!

Okay, so you heard the rest, now hear the best. Yes, the Mamas and Papas were very different people in very different time when ABC/Dunhill record exec's confronted them and said either pay a cool million dollars or give us product!You know how uptight thouse record exec's are. So John rounded up the old gang and they gave it their best in 1971 (then again, who in 1971 did give it their best?) Sadly, this would go on to be their last group recording.

Buy this CD for the 70's discotech/innocent/meets Brady Bunch/ commercial quality it is. Even the critics have to agree, this is the album when the Mamas and Papas sound completely unlike the Mamas and Papas. So for artistic reasons, give it a shot.

Many rave about "Shooting Star." Yeah, it's good but if you really want to hear some superb original singing listen to "Step Out" for the simple pristine-clear vocals of Denny and the excellent background vocals of the gals. Turn up an ear for "People Like Us" a song that actually puts the four together although it does create the mood of this album, a deeply somber one.

You can feel poor and down at home with your fellow Mamas and Papas in the song "No Dough" when they talk about love, marraige and mutual understandings. It also has a superb chorus that will be stuck in your head for about a week.

Perhaps the best and the number one reason you must buy this album is for the song, "Pearl" dedicated to the memory of the one and only "Pearl" Janis Joplin. The song accelerates as the Mamas and Papas sing beatifully: "The first star, I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wiiiiiish tonight." If that doesn't get you choked up then why are you buying Mamas and Papas records?

They go on to sing a song about a girl who is trying to find her indentity and her "home" at the same time. The chorus will blast you away. The single voices of each member can be heard. It almost sounds like a John Lennon recording.

Denny told John that if the Mamas and Papas would have recorded his songs on his solo album "WolfKing Of L.A." instead of this one it would have changed the course of everything. Who knows? There's only one way to find out-buy this album and the other and complete the Mama and Papa history as you wish.

This release suffered from the same expectations that greeted the 1973 Byrds reunion or any seventies Beach Boy LP. The bar is set so high from previous triumphs, that the artists can't compete with their own well-loved legacy. I'm confident now that if this work had been released by a new band, it would have generated favorable interest.

When the original LP was released in 1971, I was among the many who felt let down. Somehow, it just didn't sound like the Mamas and Papas. Well, after years of living and listening to this work, I've ultimately decided it just didn't sound like the Mamas and Papas of 1966 (it's hard to compete with "California Dreamin'", "Monday, Monday" or "I Saw Her Again"), because of course, it shouldn't have.

Just like their listeners, the band had grown and changed personally AND musically. Pop music was changing its focus from snappy Top 40 acts to introspective singer/songwriter types. So in 1971, it should have been no surprise that John Phillips was writing and arranging mellow, reflective music. With that thought, the music is worth another listen.

When recording these songs, Phillips didn't use his crack hit Wrecking Crew Musicians(Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtal, Joe Osborn), but instead turned toward session cats of the day(Bobbye Hall, David T. Walker, Joe Sample). The result was a blend of Mama and Papa voices over a Carole King "Tapestry" like background.

The album's obvious highlight is "Step Out", featuring a transcendent Denny Doherty lead vocal and intricate counterpoint backgrounds from the Mamas. Along with the title cut, this is the selection from the set that gets included on hit collections.

That title tune, "People Like Us", is kind of like an updated "Safe In My Garden"-it even nods to the past Mama and Papa sound with a flute solo.

"Pacific Coast Highway" is an breezy uptempo Phillips road number descended from "Mississippi" or "Straight Shooter".

With feathery soft vocals, Michelle Phillips shines on "Snow Queen Of Texas".

"No Dough" seems to be the most intense group vocal, but "Shooting Star","Blueberries For Breakfast","Lady Genevieve", and "Grasshopper" have their moments of catchy interplay.

"Pearl" features vocal exchanges between Cass and Denny; likewise, there is more call and response between Michelle and Denny in "I Wanna Be A Star".

I don't know what to say about "European Blueboy", except it seems unfinished and out of place. Perhaps it would have fit better on a Phillips solo work.

In general, some of the song lyrics are a bit awkward and quirky at times.

This is not a classic album by any means, but despite its flaws, it has a quiet charm that grows on you.