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Track Listings
| 1. Monday, Monday |
| 2. Straight Shooter |
| 3. Got a Feelin' |
| 4. I Call Your Name |
| 5. Do You Wanna Dance |
| 6. Go Where You Wanna Go |
| 7. California Dreamin' |
| 8. Spanish Harlem |
| 9. Somebody Groovy |
| 10. Hey Girl (I Like Your Style) |
| 11. You Baby |
| 12. The in Crowd |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears," the first album released by the Mamas and the Papas, is clearly the group's best album. "California Dreaming" was rocketing up the charts in the spring of 1966 when this album was released and introduced the crisp harmonies that John Phillips had developed through months of rehearsal in the Virgin Islands and hours of polishing the sound in the recording studio. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like when this sound was new and fresh. Of course, this is the group's best album (hits collections not included) since it has both of their greatest hits, "California Dreaming" and "Monday, Monday." Through into the mix the almost as good "Go Where You Wanna Go," the lovely "Got a Feelin'," and the awesome troch song cover of "I Call Your Name," and none of their other albums are even close to being this good. Actually, the covers of "Spanish Harlem" and "Do You Wanna Dance" are pretty good as well. Besides, pretty much as soon as this album was released the group started to implode from the interpersonal conflicts.
Still, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" should be remembered as a Sixties album on the level of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Pet Sounds," in terms of the exquisite way in which the songs and album were crafted. My contention would be that obviously you want to have a hits collection of the Mamas and the Papas (and there are several decent ones out there), but that picking up this first album would be worth it as well.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
In the spring of 1966, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears represented a genuinely new sound, as fresh to listeners as the songs on Meet the Beatles had seemed two years earlier. Released just as "California Dreaming" was ascending the charts by leaps and bounds, it was the product of months of rehearsal in the Virgin Islands and John Phillips' discovery of what one could do to build a polished recorded sound in the studio ¡X it 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. "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'" are familiar enough to anyone who's ever listened to the radio, and "Go Where You Wanna Go" isn't far behind, in this version or the very similar rendition by the Fifth Dimension. But the rest is mighty compelling even to casual listeners, including the ethereal "Got a Feelin'," the rocking "Straight Shooter" and "Somebody Groovy," the jaunty, torch song-style version of "I Call Your Name," and the prettiest versions of "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Spanish Harlem" that anyone ever recorded. If the material here has a certain glow that the Mamas & the Papas' subsequent LPs lacked, that may be due in part to the extensive rehearsal and the exhilaration of their first experience in the studio, but also a result of the fact that it was recorded before the members' personal conflicts began interfering with their ability to work together. The work was all spontaneous and unforced here, as opposed to the emotional complications that had to be overcome before their next sessions.
By Linda Smith
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Mamas and the Papas at their best. Have always liked them and this took me back to when I was young and free!
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