If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 28, 1966 | |||
Recorded | October–November 1965 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:42 | |||
Label | Dunhill | |||
Producer | Lou Adler | |||
The Mamas and the Papas chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Entire Album" playlist on YouTube |
If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears is the debut album from vocal group The Mamas and the Papas (stylized as The Mama's and the Papa's[ sic ]),released in 1966. The stereo mix of the album is included on All the Leaves are Brown (2001),a double CD compilation consisting of the band's first four albums and various singles,as well as on The Mamas &the Papas Complete Anthology (2004),a four-CD box set released in the UK. The mono mix of the album was remastered and reissued on vinyl by Sundazed Records in 2010,and on CD the following year. It is the band's only album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
In 2003,If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears was ranked number 127 [2] on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,with its rank rising to number 112 in the 2012 revision. [3]
Five versions of the album cover were produced:
The cover art was produced and shot by photographer Guy Webster. [8]
The cover shows the artist as "The Mama's and the Papa's",a grammatical error that has not been corrected on any of the album's reissues. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Record Mirror | [10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
The album received a positive retrospective review in Rolling Stone ,in which critic Rob Sheffield remarked "The Mamas and the Papas celebrated all the sin and sleaze of Sixties L.A. with folksy harmonies,acoustic guitars,and songs that told inquiring minds way more than they wanted to know. And on their January 1966 debut,If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears,they somehow made it all sound groovy." He described the album as a dark look at L.A. culture that sounds accessible and optimistic thanks in large part to Lou Adler's production. [11] Bruce Eder wrote for AllMusic that the album "embraced folk-rock,pop/rock,pop,and soul,and also reflected the kind of care that acts like the Beatles were putting into their records at the time." He added that it had a stronger polish than the group's other albums,in part because it predated the personal conflicts that tainted their later works. [1] The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Monday, Monday" | John Phillips | 3:28 |
2. | "Straight Shooter" | J. Phillips | 2:58 |
3. | "Got a Feelin'" |
| 2:53 |
4. | "I Call Your Name" | 2:38 | |
5. | "Do You Wanna Dance" | Bobby Freeman | 3:00 |
6. | "Go Where You Wanna Go" | J. Phillips | 2:29 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "California Dreamin'" |
| 2:42 |
2. | "Spanish Harlem" | 3:22 | |
3. | "Somebody Groovy" | J. Phillips | 3:16 |
4. | "Hey Girl" |
| 2:30 |
5. | "You Baby" | 2:22 | |
6. | "The 'In' Crowd" | Billy Page | 3:12 |
Chart (1966) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [14] | 1 |
The Mamas & the Papas was a folk-rock vocal-group which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York City, the group consisted of Americans John Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Michelle Phillips, and Canadian Denny Doherty. Their sound was based on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, the songwriter, musician, and leader of the group, who adapted folk to the new beat style of the early 1960s.
Surrealistic Pillow is the second studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released by RCA Victor on February 1, 1967. It is the first album by the band with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is considered to be one of the most influential and quintessential works of the early psychedelic rock era and the 1960s counterculture.
Michelle Gilliam Phillips is an American folk rock singer and film and television actress. She rose to fame as a vocalist in the musical quartet The Mamas & the Papas in the mid-1960s. Her voice was described by Time magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music." She later established a successful career as an actress in film and television beginning in the 1970s.
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian musician. He was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips in 1963 and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in December 1965. The lyrics express the narrator's longing for the warmth of Los Angeles during a cold winter in New York City. It is recorded in the key of C-sharp minor.
Every Picture Tells a Story is the third studio album by Rod Stewart. It was released on 28 May 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop critics' poll for best album of 1971. It has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Roger the Engineer is the only UK studio album and the third US album by the English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1966, it contains all original material and is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist Jeff Beck on all tracks. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and manager Simon Napier-Bell.
Berlin is the third solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in October 1973 by RCA Records. A concept album, Berlin tells the story of a couple's struggle with drug addiction and abuse. Initially, critical reception was mixed but appraisals of the album have warmed over the years: in 1973 Rolling Stone declared the album "a disaster", but by 2012 the album was ranked No. 344 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Jill Gibson is an American singer, songwriter, photographer, painter and sculptor. She is mostly known for her collaboration work with Jan & Dean and for having briefly been a member of the successful 1960s rock group the Mamas and the Papas. She was also one of the main photographers at the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
"Spanish Harlem" is a song recorded by Ben E. King in 1960 for Atco Records. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. "Spanish Harlem" was King's first hit away from The Drifters, peaking at number 15 on Billboard's rhythm and blues and number 10 in pop music chart.
Live at the Regal is a 1965 live album by American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King. It was recorded on November 21, 1964, at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The album is widely heralded as one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded and was ranked at number 141 in Rolling Stone's 2003 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, before dropping to number 299 in a 2020 revision. In 2005, Live at the Regal was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.
The World Is a Ghetto is the fifth album by American band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on Billboard, and was Billboard magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling album of 1973. In addition to being Billboard's #1 album of 1973, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone magazine's original list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The title track became a gold record.
Blues Breakers, colloquially known as The Beano Album, is the debut studio album by the English blues rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, originally credited to John Mayall with Eric Clapton. Produced by Mike Vernon and released in 1966 by Decca Records (UK) and London Records (US), it pioneered a guitar-dominated blues-rock sound.
"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. Denny Doherty was the lead vocalist. It was the group's only #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs is the fifth and final studio album by American pop duo Sonny & Cher, released in 1973 by MCA Records. In 2018 it was released on CD.
The Mamas & the Papas Greatest Hits album is a compilation of hits released on March 10, 1998. In 2003, the album was ranked at number 423 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
All the Leaves are Brown: The Golden Era Collection is a 2001 release compiling the first four albums by The Mamas & the Papas in their entirety, with some single-exclusive mono versions and one non-album track. The package includes a brief history of the group and its albums by Matthew Greenwald, author of Creeque Alley: The Oral History of The Mamas & The Papas.
"I Saw Her Again" is a pop song recorded by the U.S. vocal group the Mamas & the Papas in 1966. Co-written by band members John Phillips and Denny Doherty, it was released as a single in June 1966 and peaked at number one on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart, number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, and number five on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart the week of July 30, 1966. It appeared on their eponymous second album in September 1966.
"Go Where You Wanna Go" is a 1965 song written by John Phillips. It was originally recorded by the Mamas & the Papas on their LP If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears and given limited release as a single. However, the record was withdrawn, and its A-side was reassigned to "California Dreamin'". "Go Where You Wanna Go" later became a hit for the 5th Dimension.
The Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group from Los Angeles, California that was active from 1966 to 1969. Their discography consists of a total of five albums and 17 singles, six of which made the Billboard top ten, and sold close to 40 million records worldwide. Monday, Monday hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1966 and California Dreamin' was the top song on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1966.