FReeper Canteen ~ Tunes For Our Troops! ~ 21 October 2017

The Canteen Crew and a FRiend | Our Troops Rock!!

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”I SAW HER AGAIN”

Their second album’s recording sessions were interrupted when Michelle jumped into bed with Gene Clark of the Byrds. Her affair with Denny the previous year had been forgiven by John, and Denny and John had even written this song about the episode. It reached #5 on the charts.

The famous false start has its own history. While in the mixing phase, engineer Bones Howe inadvertently punched in the coda vocals too early. He then rewound the tape and inserted the vocals in their proper place. On playback, the mistaken early entry could still be heard. Adler liked the effect, and told Howe to leave it in the final mix. Paul McCartney: “That has to be a mistake: nobody’s that clever.” This is the album version with Peter Palafian’s violin riff in the middle.

The Mamas & the Papas: “I Saw Her Again”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”NO SALT ON HER TAIL”

There are quite a few fine cuts from their second album. This song grew out the instrumental bed for a Rodgers & Hammerstein tune that they decided not to record.

The Mamas & the Papas: “No Salt on Her Tail”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”DANCING BEAR”

It starts and ends with a woodwind trio, and the rest is absolutely hypnotic. It’s one of Denny’s greatest vocal moments. John and Lou Adler’s idea of placing a bassoon, tenor oboe and flute in the arrangement was inspired.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Dancing Bear”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”WORDS OF LOVE”

This was the second successful single from the album and highlights Cass’ vocal chops. She didn’t like the song, but John insisted she record it. She turns it into a whorehouse classic.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Words of Love”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”MY HEART STOOD STILL”

Michelle always thought that this was the best thing the band ever recorded. Cass had a soft spot for Rodgers & Hart, and they took this perennial and turned it into an anthem in C Major backed by a brass section. My screen still gets blurry when I hear this.

The Mamas & the Papas: “My Heart Stood Still”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”STRANGE YOUNG GIRLS”

The opening riff is from Handel, but the subject matter is from Timothy Leary. It’s a cautionary tale about girls on the Sunset Strip wandering around under the influence of LSD. This has some of their best harmonic work.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Strange Young Girls”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”ONCE WAS A TIME I THOUGHT”

This cute little one-off was inspired by the vocal jazz group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. It’s a fine afterthought to their second album.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Once Was a Time I Thought”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”LOOK THROUGH MY WINDOW”

John tossed Michelle out of the group after her affair with Gene Clark, but her replacement, Jill Gibson, didn’t quite cut it, so all was forgiven and Michelle rejoined the band.

Their East Coast tour was a disaster. Jim Mason: “They were clearly high, drunk or tripping. When they got on stage, it was clear that these people shouldn’t be on stage. They tumbled onto the stage, shambled around and just got nowhere.” It was clear that they were a studio band, not ready for live work.

They went back into the studio in September 1966 and released this single, which didn’t do all that well on the charts. I couldn’t understand its failure; it’s one of their most haunting songs.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Look Through My Window”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE”

This brought them back to the charts with a bang. The band left the old Shirelles version in the dust and gave it a whole new sound, turning it into a ballad.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Dedicated to the One I Love”

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome Troops, Veterans, Families, and Allies!
Music posted for your enjoyment. Thank you for serving our country.

Thanks, unique.

Parents, you are responsible for previewing.

Buck Owens ~ Save The Last Dance For Me

*To support the artists you hear in the Canteen,
please click the links at the top of the thread.*

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[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”CREEQUE ALLEY”

How many bands write a song about how they got together, and how many could get a hit out of it? This has to be a first.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Creeque Alley”

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome Troops, Veterans, Families, and Allies!
Music posted for your enjoyment. Thank you for serving our country.

Thanks, unique.

Parents, you are responsible for previewing.

Boots Randolph ~ Yakety Sax

*To support the artists you hear in the Canteen,
please click the links at the top of the thread.*

If you would like to be added/removed from the
Canteen Music Ping List, please
FReepmail any DJ.

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”SING FOR YOUR SUPPER”

Cass’ love for Rodgers & Hart, coupled with a kind of honky-tonk arrangement, produced this little gem.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Sing for Your Supper”

[Kathy in Alaska]

w h !!

Thanks, unique, for the whole gang!

caww.....#50!!
Publius.....#100!!

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”STRING MAN”

This is an underrated performance, and at the end, Cass brings it home. The life of a groupie is not a happy one.

The Mamas & the Papas: “String Man”

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

The band performed indifferently at the first Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. They were badly under-rehearsed, partly because John, Michelle and Lou Adler were preoccupied with organizing the festival, partly because Denny arrived at the last minute from another trip to the Virgin Islands, and partly because he was drinking heavily in the aftermath of his affair with Michelle. They rallied for their performance before 18,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl in August, with Jimi Hendrix as the opener, in a performance that both John and Michelle would remember as the apex of their career.

The Mamas and the Papas had cut their first three albums in Hollywood at a professional studio, which imposed a certain discipline. Now they would record at a studio that John and Michelle built at their home in Bel Air. John: “I got the idea to transform the attic into my own recording studio, so I could stay high all the time and never have to worry about studio time. I began assembling state-of-the-art equipment and ran the cost up to about a hundred grand.”

While this gave him the autonomy he craved, it also removed the discipline that was beneficial to a man who described himself as an obsessive perfectionist. Denny, Cass and Lou Adler all found the arrangement uncongenial. Cass: “We spent one whole month on one song. Just the vocals for ‘The Love of Ivy’ took one whole month. I did my own album in three weeks, a total of ten days in the studio. Live with the band, not prerecorded tracks sitting there with earphones.” The recording sessions for the fourth album stalled completely, and in September 1967 John called a press conference to announce that the band was taking a break.

The plan was to give concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Olympia in Paris before taking time out on Majorca to “get the muse going again”, as John put it. But when they docked at Southampton on October 5, Cass was arrested on a charge of having stolen two blankets and a hotel key when in England the previous February. She was transferred to London, strip-searched, and spent a night in custody before the case was dismissed the next day. The hotel was actually less interested in the blankets than in an unpaid bill. It turned out that Cass had entrusted the money to a friend who neglected to settle the account. The police were less interested in the blankets or the bill than the friend who was suspected of international drug trafficking and was the sole subject of their questioning.

Later, at a party hosted by the band to celebrate Cass’ acquittal, John interrupted Cass as she was telling Mick Jagger about her ordeal. Cass went on a rant at John before storming out of the room. She was ready to quit, the London and Paris dates were cancelled, and the four went their separate ways. Cass unilaterally announced that the band was finished.

They got back together just enough to finish their latest album, whose work was uneven and produced few hits.

”SAFE IN MY GARDEN”

This is an example of writing two songs as counter-melodies to each other. It didn’t do well as a single, but it’s still haunting and powerful nonetheless.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Safe in My Garden”

[Kathy in Alaska]

Loving the Mamas & The Papas...thanks, Publius, for the great tunes and stories. ((HUGS))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Luv, for spinning tunes for the troops. ((HUGS))

Hope you had a great shooting day today. Did you hit the bullseye?

[Publius]

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

”DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME”

Lou Adler knew that the end was near. The Mamas & the Papas had exploded onto the pop music scene, and now they were flaming out in acrimony and John’s continued drug use. Lou had to cut his losses. Against John’s wishes, he released this as a single. It confirmed that it was Cass who would have a future career. The song, which had its genesis in 1931 as a hit by Louis Armstrong, became a hit all over again.

The Mamas & the Papas: “Dream a Little Dream of Me”

[Kathy in Alaska]

Mama Cass....so easy to listen to her voice. Great song!