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

California Dreamin' is a budget priced CD of some great hits by The Mamas & The Papas. Some people say that the sound is tinny--and yeah, at certain points on this CD I think they're right. However, the overall quality for what you pay is still rather good; and I think casual fans of this group would do well to consider this CD.

The CD starts with the title track, "California Dreamin'." This song came out at a time when many young people were disillusioned about life and the song became a calling to them to move to California. Young people hoped that if they lived in California they could enjoy a better quality of life and more inner peace as well. The group really harmonizes well on "California Dreamin';" and I know you'll like this tune. Listen also for a slower than normal tempo on "Spanish Harlem;" The Mamas & The Papas do a fine interpretation of this classic ballad; and the percussion works very well on this number.

"Go Where You Wanna Go" features more perfect harmonizing as The Mamas & The Papas sing this out with style, heart and soul. I like the tempo changes and they sing this out strong like the pros that they always were! "Monday, Monday" is clearly one of the biggest hits for this timeless group; "Monday, Monday" swings gently with just enough of a rock flavor to make this an exceptionally fine ballad. They sing "Monday, Monday" very well; and this was always one of my very favorite tunes by The Mamas & The Papas.

"No Salt On Her Tail" has a mixture of rock and folk rock to make this a memorable tune; I really like "No Salt On Her Tail." This ballad makes great use of the guitar and percussion as The Mamas & The Papas sing it out strong!

"Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)" has the group's vocals squarely in the spotlight as the guitars, percussion and more make a solid musical arrangement. ""Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)" is clearly a major highlight of this album.

The CD ends nicely with Mama Cass belting out "Words Of Love" as her peers help her out on background vocals. Cass sure could sing this well and the music helps the melody along.

Overall, despite a few moments when I thought the sound was sub par; I still like this CD as a good one for fans of The Mamas & The Papas. Casual fans will profit from this CD the most because this single CD is certainly far from a deep and thorough retrospective of the group's artistry.

I only bought this album for Calafornia Dreamin and it was 3.99! You don't pass up an album that cheap! I was never a Mamas and Papas fan (In fact, i wasn't born when their recordings came out)I love this album! Songs I already knew like Monday Monday and Spanish Harlem were the best on the album, but htere were a few surprises! I really enjoyed this album!

I get chills listening to this CD -- that incredible voice of "Mama" Cass Elliot (She HATED the MAMA thing), just raises the hair on the back of your neck, especially if you were 'on the bus' back then.

'California Dreamin'' is just one of the great old classic rock songs of all time, in the top ten of them all, really. "Monday, Monday' is also a masterpiece. But a LOT of folks forget that they really liked the song 'Twelve-thirty'. Some will find it the premiere cut on the album.

In the end, I see that this CD is selling pretty darn cheap and I think that it's a must for any serious student of classic rock music. See my listmania lists for more.

If you want to know this group ,this is your chance, because it won't cost you much.Two of their biggest hits are present:CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' and MONDAY MONDAY ,that you probably heard on radio many years ago.Three cover songs are simply delightful:SPANISH HARLEM and two RODGERS AND HART songs that made me wonder why they didn't do a whole album of their songs;GLAD TO BE UNHAPPY receive a grade A pop treatment and SING FOR YOUR SUPPER is done like a cabaret song.If you like this, then you can go to the longer CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' collection, a more complete greatest hits album three times the price of this one.THE MAMAS AND PAPAS had great flair for covering songs by others ,if you except MY GIRL, but in that case, even OTIS REDDING could not beat THE TEMPTATIONS'S original.

I liked them then, and I like them now. What can I say. This is the album for a bit of reminiscing.