Zack: This is the type of album where I would normally really rely on Wikipedia to fill in my review. Sadly, I do not have internet at the time of this writing, so I’m winging it. All I really know about The Mamas and the Papas is from documentaries I’ve seen about 60s festivals that I watched out of my oft-expressed love of Jimi Hendrix. From that, I gathered that The Mamas and the Papas were sort of the old guard of the counterculture, which the Janis Joplins, Hendrixes, and Whos of the world came and took over for. That’s a lot of what I heard on If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. Besides or a love of really long titles for things, M&P love to make folk-rocky songs that are really pleasant and upbeat in a no-good dirty hippy sort of way. Sorry. Been watching a lot of 30 Rock lately (see my review for Big Brother and the Holding Company for more proof) and Jack is starting to get to me. It’s a poppy listen that is really breezy to get through. And it shows you just what sort of foundation all of those bands that are more commonly associated with the 60s counterculture built off of. Also, if everything I just wrote is completely wrong for some reason, know that I don’t apologize.
Favorite Tracks: Do You Wanna Dance; Straight Shooter; You Baby
Emily: Since I do have internet right now, I can confirm and correct Zack's assumptions about The Mamas and the Papas. Based on my Wikipedia research, I wouldn't exactly call them the "old guard" of counterculture. They only formed the band in 1965, a few years before all of those other artists took off as well. What does place them in a different category from their peers that emerged later is that the members of the band had roots in the folk scene of the '50s and the early '60s. When they came together to form The Mamas and the Papas and record this album, they decided to stray away from these roots and move towards a sound based more in pop and rock. The folk influence remains evident throughout If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, however, creating a breezy folk-rock sound that epitomizes the optimistic mood at the time and clearly lays the groundwork for the harder-edged late-60s rock to come.
Favorite Tracks: California Dreamin'; Got a Feelin'; The In Crowd
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