The Mamas & The Papas - The Mamas & The Papas (1966) {1990, Reissue}

The Mamas & the Papas' second album was made while the group was still riding high from the chart success of their first album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, and the two singles, "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'," that made them icons of the young pop generation. At the same time, their personal lives were so messy that Michelle Phillips got bounced out of their ranks for a few months. Only the good vibes made it on the record, though, as the same creative team sought to recapture the beautiful harmonies and jangling, sometimes moody folk-rock that made their debut sound so good. To that end, they definitely whip up a similar vocal blend, with Denny Doherty's velvety smoothness at the center of the swirling, almost medieval mixture of voices. He's a perfect vessel for John Phillips' melodies and lyrics, mixing up folk earnestness and night-club suavity perfectly. Doherty can tackle chamber folk ballads like "Dancing Bear" with a straight face, strut convincingly on polite rockers like "I Can't Wait," and sound like the happiest guy on earth on the record's hit single "I Saw Her Again," a song that sounds the way a flowered minidress and a fringed vest looks. He also sounds wonderful with the harmonies surrounding him like fluttering birds, and when his crystalline voice pairs with the one-of-a-kind pipes of Cass Elliot on tunes like the orchestral tear-jerking ballad "No Salt on Her Tail," it's transcendent. They bring some of the songs, which don't always rise to the level of those found on the previous record, to pulsing life. When Elliot is given the spotlight, she makes the most of it, and then some, romping through "Words of Love" with brassy, showstopping soul. They also apply their gentle template to a couple of covers, turning the old show tune "My Heart Stood Still" into a slice of dramatic big-band folk-rock and taking a groovy stab at "Dancing in the Street." Though it may not have scaled the same heights as the band's debut, The Mamas & the Papas easily avoids the dreaded sophomore slump and solidifies their position as one of the weirder, more interesting groups to achieve massive success in the mid-'60s.