The Mamas And The Papas - Welcome To Our World (1971)

In February 1967 The Mamas And The Papas released their 'Deliver' album, followed in October by the non-album single 'Glad To Be Unhappy', which reached No. 26 in the US, but did nothing in the UK. The group had cut their first three albums at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, while subsequent records were recorded at the eight-track studio that John and Michelle Phillips had built at their home in Bel Air. While having his own studio gave Phillips the autonomy he craved, it also removed the external discipline that may have been beneficial to a man who described himself as an "obsessive perfectionist". Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot and producer Lou Adler found the arrangement uncongenial, with Elliot complaining to Rolling Stone magazine that Phillips had spent one whole month recording the vocals for just one song, 'The Love Of Ivy', and inevitably the recording sessions for the fourth album stalled. In September 1967 John Phillips called a press conference to announce that the Mamas And The Papas were taking a break, which the band confirmed on The Ed Sullivan Show that aired on 24 September. Concerts had been planned at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Olympia in Paris before taking time out on Majorca to "get the muse going again", but when the group docked at Southampton on 5 October, Elliot was arrested for stealing two blankets and a hotel key when in England the previous February. 

The case was dismissed in the West London Magistrates' Court the next day, but later at a party hosted by the band to celebrate Elliot's acquittal, John Phillips interrupted her as she was telling the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger about her arrest and trial, and a screaming match erupted, with Elliot storming out of the room. The Royal Albert Hall and Olympia dates were cancelled, and the four went their separate ways. John Phillips and Elliot reconciled to complete 'The Papas & The Mamas', which was released in May 1968, but it was the band's first album not to go gold or reach the top 10 in America. In June 1968 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' was released as a Cass Elliot solo single, although credit to Mama Cass with The Mamas & The Papas against John Phillips' wishes, and it reached number 12 in the US and number 11 in the UK, which was higher than any of the band's recent singles. The success of the single confirmed Elliot's desire to embark on a solo career, and by the end of 1968 it appeared that the group had split. John Phillips, Doherty and Elliot all recorded solo albums immediately after the split, with Elliot, billed as Mama Cass, releasing her second solo album 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music - It's Getting Better' in 1969, Phillips released 'John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)' in 1970, and Doherty followed with 'Watcha Gonna Do?' in 1971. Michelle Phillips took time away from music, and didn't release a solo album until 1977, although she did record a few tracks earlier in the 70's. 

In mid-1971 the band were sued by Dunhill Records, who were determined to get the group's contractually obligated last album, for which it had given them an extension until September 1971. A lawsuit and countersuit between the band and label were settled out of court, and it was determined that the group would record under John Phillips's label, Warlock Records, distributed by Dunhill Records. Phillips wrote a collection of songs, which were arranged, rehearsed, and recorded throughout the year, depending on the availability of the other group members, but they were rarely together at one time, and most tracks were dubbed, one vocal at a time. The Mamas And The Papas last album of new material, 'People Like Us', was released in November 1971, but the sole single, 'Step Out', only reached No. 81 in the US, with the album peaking at No. 84 on the Billboard 200, making it the only record by the group not to reach the top 20 in the US. Considering that three of the four members of the group had recorded an album's worth of material before that ignominious final record was released, they could have made a very different album in 1971 by cherry-picking the best of their individual songs, so this album does just that, and imagines what a pre-lawsuit 1971 album from the group could have sounded like, with the addition of a mid-70's single by Michelle Phillips so that she was not completely left out.  

Track listing

01 Make Your Own Kind Of Music
02 Captain
03 Tuesday Morning
04 Move In A Little Closer, Baby
05 Got A Feelin'
06 No Love Today
07 Mississippi
08 It's Getting Better
09 Sail The Waterway
10 Holland Tunnel
11 Where's Mine
12 Neighbours
13 Welcome To The World

Various Artists - Can I Get To Know You Better? (The Songs Of P. F. Sloan & Steve Barri 1966 - 1967) (1967)

In the mid-60's P. F. Sloan joined the group of L.A. session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew as a guitarist, working with such well-known backing musicians as drummer Hal Blaine, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, bassist Joe Osborn, and bassist/keyboardist Larry Knechtel. While working with Barry McGuire, Sloan created and played a guitar introduction as a hook to a new song by John Phillips entitled 'California Dreamin'', and the same backing track was used for the hit version by Phillips' group The Mamas & the Papas, which led to Sloan being a regular in their recording sessions. Sloan and Steve Barri also were performers while on Dunhill, and released a collection of surf instrumentals as the Rincon Surfside Band, while Sloan's successful folk-influenced songwriting prompted Dunhill to offer to record two solo albums by him. His single 'Sins Of A Family' reached the Billboard top 100 in late 1965, in the wake of the huge success of 'Eve Of Destruction'. During this time, Sloan & Barri continued to do session work with Jan Berry of Jan & Dean, until Berry's near-fatal car wreck in April 1966, which basically ended Jan & Dean's career. They also produced a number of other acts, including Ann-Margret, The Robbs, Terry Black and Patrician-Anne McKinnon, but the the main Sloan/Barri recording efforts for Dunhill were done as The Grass Roots, where they wrote and recorded their material under that name. However, after The Grass Roots enjoyed a Billboard Top 30 single with 'Where Were You When I Needed You', Dunhill forced the pair to recruit a real band to perform as The Grass Roots to promote their album, with Sloan and Barri continuing as producers for the band. However, despite having an accomplished songwriter on board, the new Grass Roots wanted to write their own material, and this, plus the fact that Sloan still wanted to have his own recording career, alienated him from both Barri and Dunhill management. During this period, Sloan's growing experience and reputation also attracted the attention of other young and aspiring musical artists, seeking both musical and business advice, and as a favor to a friend, he first met the relatively unknown Jimmy Webb at his home in 1968. Webb played him his songs 'Wichita Lineman', 'Up, Up And Away', an early version of 'MacArthur Park, and lastly 'By the Time I Get To Phoenix"', and Sloan has said that it changed his view of the 'singer/songwriter' forever. 

According to Barri, Sloan changed after the success of 'Eve Of Destruction', following McGuire to England and coming back a different person. Sloan himself described a change at this time: "I wanted to be loved. I wanted to be Elvis. . . . But P.F. Sloan? He wanted honesty and truth." During the Summer of Love, Sloan played as a solo artist on the final day of the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival in 1967, being a precursor to the more famous Monterey Pop Festival held the following weekend. Sloan's final Dunhill release was a solo single, 'I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth' b/w 'Karma (A Study of Divinations)', released under the name Philip Sloan in 1967, before he moved to ATCO Records for further releases. After the falling out with Barri, Sloan wrote on his own, but the songs didn't seem to have the same hit potential are their collaborations, although they were still recorded by a variety of successful artists. After leaving Dunhill, Sloan recorded an album in 1968 titled 'Measure Of Pleasure', but in 1969 he left the music scene due to numerous business and legal problems, repeatedly reporting that Dunhill made threatening advances to force him to sign away the rights to his valuable compositions, and also blaming his absence from the music scene on an illness. It was not until the new millennium that he finally found relief from his long illness, with help from Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. In 2005, Sloan made a series of recordings with producer Jon Tiven in Nashville, Tennessee, and the resulting album 'Sailover' was released in August 2006, followed by his final recording 'My Beethoven' in 2014. Sloan died of pancreatic cancer on November 15, 2015 at his home in Los Angeles, aged 70. After Dunhill was acquired by ABC Records, Barri stayed on in the 1970's as head of Artists & Repertoire (A&R) where he focused on signing and producing new artists. He collaborated with songwriters Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter on three albums for the Four Tops, which included the million-selling single 'Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)', and after ABC Records reorganized in 1975, Barri departed to become A&R chief at Warner Brothers Records, leaving in 1986. This second post of the duo's songs includes many of my very favourite 60's singles, from The Turtles, The Mamas And The Papas, and The Grass Roots, and is a fitting tribute to two of the best songwriters of the 60's. 

Track listing

01 Secret Agent Man (Sloan, Barri) Johnny Rivers 1966
02 I Don't Wanna Say Goodnight (Sloan, Barri) Gary Lewis And The Playboys 1966
03 Let Me Be (Sloan, Barri) The Turtles 1966
04 Hold On (Sloan) Herman's Hermits 1966
05 What Am I Doin' Here with You (Sloan, Barri) Twinkle 1966
06 The Man Behind The Red Balloon (Sloan) Noel Harrison 1966
07 Can I Get To Know You Better (Sloan, Barri) The Turtles 1966
08 Autumn (Sloan, Barri) Gary Lewis And The Playboys 1966
09 You Baby (Sloan, Barri) The Mamas And The Papas 1966
10 I Know You'll Be There (Sloan, Barri) The Turtles 1966
11 See Ya 'Round On The Rebound (Sloan) Sandy Posey 1966
12 Things I Should Have Said (Sloan, Barri) The Grass Roots 1967
13 This Precious Time (Sloan, Barri) Terry Knight And The Pack 1967
14 My First Day Alone (Sloan, Barri) Peter And Gordon 1967
15 Another Day, Another Heartache (Sloan, Barri) The 5th Dimension 1967
16 Cling To Me (Sloan) Johnny Tillotson 1967
17 On A Quiet Night (Sloan, Barri) The Association 1967