The Papas & The Mamas

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The Papas & The Mamas
Studio album by the Mamas and the Papas
Released	May 1968
Recorded	1967-68
Genre	Folk rock, rock, psychedelic rock
Length	39:32
Label	Dunhill
Producer	Lou Adler
The Mamas and the Papas chronology
The Mamas & The Papas Deliver (1967) The Papas & The Mamas (1968) People Like Us (1971)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [2]

The Papas & The Mamas is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock vocal group the Mamas and the Papas, released in 1968.

Recording[]

The album was recorded at the home of John and Michelle Phillips, although with the same production team as on previous albums. Their original studio, Western Recorders, switched to solid state technology, and Phillips and Adler purchased the tube-based board they had done their previous recordings with, and installed it in their new studio. In retrospect, Adler has said that the recording space was not well made, and the sound quality was not well-suited for a vocal group.

With the exception of the very successful cover version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me", the album's subject matter is often downbeat and world-weary, most notably in the lyrical content of "Safe in My Garden", "Mansions", "Too Late" and "Rooms".

All the material was new upon release with the exception of "Twelve Thirty", which had been released as a single in August 1967 as "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)".

The song "Meditation Mama" featured the first lead vocal ever on a Mamas and the Papas track by John Phillips. All four members of the band contribute lead as well as backing vocals on this album.

Although it was the first album from the group not to peak in the top ten, it was a commercial success upon its release, becoming the band's fourth and last top 20 album in America and producing two hit singles (one of which, "Dream a Little Dream of Me", would begin Cass Elliot's solo career).

This album is included in its entirety on All the Leaves Are Brown, a retrospective compilation of the band's first four albums and various singles.

"Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" is heard during a pivotal scene in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.

Track listing[]

Side one

1. "The Right Somebody to Love" (Jack Yellen, Lew Pollack) (Originally performed by Shirley Temple in the film Captain January) - 0:43
2. "Safe in My Garden" - (J. Phillips) 3:15
3. "Meditation Mama (Transcendental Woman Travels)" (J. Phillips, Lou Adler) - 4:25
4. "For the Love of Ivy" (J. Phillips, Denny Doherty) - 3:45
5. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (Fabian Andre, Wilbur Schwandt, Gus Kahn) - 3:17
6. "Mansions" - (J. Phillips) 3:47

Side two

1. "Gemini Childe" - (J. Phillips) 4:07
2. "Nothing's Too Good for My Little Girl" (Ned Wynn) - 3:09
3. "Too Late" - (J. Phillips) 4:10
4. "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" - (J. Phillips) 3:26
5. "Rooms" - (J. Phillips) 2:52
6. "Midnight Voyage" - (J. Phillips) 3:13

Personnel[]

• Denny Doherty - lead and background vocals
• Cass Elliot - lead and background vocals
• John Phillips - guitar (tracks A1-B4, B6), lead vocals (A3), background vocals
• Michelle Phillips - lead and background vocals
• "Doctor" Eric Hord - guitar (tracks A1-B4, B6)
• Hal Blaine - drums, percussion
• Larry Knechtel - keyboards
• Joe Osborn - bass guitar (tracks A1-B4, B6)
• Paul Downing - guitar (track B5)
• John York - bass guitar (track B5)

Technical

• Peter Pilafian - engineer
• Lou Adler - producer
• Tad Diltz - album photos
• Gary Burden - art direction, package design

Chart positions[]

References[]