The Mamas & the Papas - 16 of their Greatest Hits

Papa John Mama Cass

What a distinctive sound. Mamas and Papas knew how to put 'em down. Everybody has their favorites. Mine is Creeque Alley. John and Mickey were gettin' kinda itchy to leave the folk music behind. April 15, 2008

There Are Many Better Compilations Available

As you will have noticed, there are over 40 CDs available on this legendary quartet, first formed in Los Angeles in 1965, many of them much better purchases than this MCA release.

First of all, there are no liner notes whatsoever, nor discography, so typical of most such compilations released by the major labels. And secondly, four of the tracks [6, 8, 9, 16] were not "hits" in the strictest sense of the word. My Girl was the flip of Do You Wanna Dance? which hit # 76 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in late 1968 (and is itself omitted here), Go Where You Wanna Go is an album cut, Got A Feelin' backed Monday, Monday in early 1966, and Midnight Voyage was the flip of Dream A Little Dream Of Me in August 1968 and billed to Mama Cass with The Mamas And The Papas.

Since this offers 16 tracks, and that is exactly the number of Top 100 Billboard hits they had for Dunhill and Dunhill/ABC between 1966 and 1972, this could have been turned into a 4-star CD with the omission of the non-hits and, in their place, the inclusion of Do You You Wanna Dance? as well as the following: Dancing Bear [# 51 in January 1968]; Safe In My Garden [# 53 in June 1968]; For The Love Of Ivy [# 81 in October 1968]; and Step Out [# 25 Adult Contemporary/# 81 Hot 100 in February 1972].

Another star would be assigned with the simple addition of a Few paragraphs in the insert telling us a bit of their background. For example, that Cass Elliot first appeared with The Mugwumps along with Denny Doherty of Halifax, Nova Scotia and Zal Yanovsky from Kingston, Ontario and who would later help form The Lovin' Spoonful. Fascinating information on John Phillips and Holly Michelle Gilliam Phillips also abound - something not overlooked by the distributors of some of the other group compilations available. August 23, 2007

Definitely their greatest hits

Had all the hit tunes I was looking for. Only a couple of ones I wasn't thrilled with but for the price I paid, well worth the money for the rest.
(and without "For the Love Of Ivy" which I personally think is one of their worst songs!) May 8, 2007

Totally Evocative of our Youth.

'The Mamas & The Papas, 16 of Their Greatest Hits' does not have quite the cachet of their 1960s' 'Farewell to the Last Golden Era', but it succeeds in bringing back so many memories anyway.

For some reason, I vividly remember my first encounter with 'The Mamas and the Papas', as it was while I was watching a Dick Clark special televised from Atlantic City, and the group performed 'Monday, Monday'. I believe this was in my relatively unsophisticated pre-infatuation with the Beatles, so I was scornful of a group with such a contrived name and what seemed to be such a saccarine style. I am not quite sure exactly when my perception of 'The Mamas and the Papas' changed, except that it was probably just after they broke up and I started realizing what we lost.

The sense of loss was exasperated when Mama Cass went the way of Janis and Jim and Jimi.

This album has every performance I recall so well from my car radio of the time and every one evokes feelings as strong as the very best of the Beatles and far stronger than any American contemporaries. February 18, 2006

The "soundtrack" of a generation

As I sat at work on another "MONDAY, MONDAY," I started to "LOOK THROUGH MY WINDOW, thinking about how "I SAW HER AGAIN LAST NIGHT." I decided to compose a little poem "DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE." It was easy to create "WORDS OF LOVE" as I told the pen to "GO WHERE YOU WANNA GO."

I sent it special delivery to "MY GIRL" who began to "TWIST AND SHOUT" with glee upon receipt of the testimony to our love. She hurried to my apartment without making a single "TRIP, STUMBLE, & FALL."
So elated were we that we decided to go "DANCING IN THE STREET."

Then I awoke from my slumbers, looked over at her to which she responded, "Did you "DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME"?

So, I didn't use all sixteen. Buy the CD and enjoy the songs and the memories. April 7, 2002

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