The Mamas And The Papas: Timeless Debut By Dave on Jan 15, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears was the Mama and Papas' debut and it generated two new songs still in rotation on the oldies circuit: California Dreamin' and Monday, Monday. I picked up this album through the local library, but I've been loving it ever since.

See, here's the thing: the album is a ful, harmonious package. Each song has its soulful strengths, and it is a delight to listen to the whole way through. It fits as nice background music without being so anonymous as being forgettable. It also is nice, calming music to drive around to (I've been taking this CD everywhere).

The beauty of this album is that it mixes the loud with the soft and equally mixes slow with fast to make a beautiful album. The tracklist is excellent, and the tempo keeps things lively without being overbearing.

In fact, one of the nice things about this album is even though it is 40 years old, it keeps an upbeat sound without being corny or sour. It seems to be a timeless piece, which is a rarity. It utilizes covers of well-known songs like Spanish Harlem and I Call Your Name with unique sound.

And the instrumentation! A good variety here, with guitar, piano, organ among others. Mama Cass' voice in and of itself holds opera qualities.

When this album hit the shelves, most of the Mama and Papas' other repretoire was not created yet. However, I have a sneaking suspicion this is just as good or better than a Greatest Hits album, because the tracklist is a beaut.

A worthy buy for your collection, and perhaps something you can share with your parents.

If you like this, consider getting an LP of The Seekers, a similaly folksy band from the same era.