Return to Creeque Alley: Sundazed Continues CD, LP Reissues for The Mamas and the Papas

The folks at Sundazed are going where they wanna go with two new reissues from the classic catalogue of The Mamas and the Papas.  The label is following their mono edition of the group’s 1966 debut If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears with 1967’s self-titled sophomore album in mono and third album The Mamas and the Papas Deliver in stereo.  Both The Mamas and the Papas and Deliver are slated for release on September 24 in both vinyl and CD formats.

It would be difficult for any band to top a debut record that included the Grammy-winning No. 1 smash “Monday, Monday,” and the Top 5 hit – and future standard – “California Dreamin’” (not to mention “Go Where You Wanna Go,” “Straight Shooter” and “Got a Feelin’,” to boot!) but “Papa” John Phillips, “Mama” Cass Elliot, “Papa” Denny Doherty and “Mama” Michelle Phillips gave it their all with The Mamas and the Papas.  For their second album, the Mamas and the Papas again relied on songwriter and arranger John Phillips who provided ten of the album’s twelve tracks either solo or in collaboration with Michelle or Denny.  This even topped the prolific Phillips’ seven compositions on the debut LP.  Of these ten songs, one was a breakout hit.  “I Saw Her Again,” co-written by John and Denny, became another top five single.  The buoyant song was recorded against a backdrop of tumult, having been inspired by Michelle’s affair with Denny.  When John discovered the fling, Michelle was cast out of the group and replaced by Jill Gibson, though the switch was short-lived.   (It’s still a subject of debate today as to which of Gibson’s vocal tracks, if any, remain on the final album.) “I Saw Her Again” was followed by another single drawn from the album which also made the Top 5: “Words of Love,” with Cass Elliot at her brassiest.  “Words” was a double A-side with the LP’s cover of Martha and the Vandellas’ immortal “Dancing in the Street.”  That side, however, only made it to No. 73.  The Mamas and the Papas’ other cover version went back much further than “Dancing,” as the group tackled Rodgers and Hart’s immortal “My Heart Stood Still” from the 1927 musical A Connecticut Yankee.  The album itself peaked at No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 24 in the U.K., continuing the group’s winning streak.

After the jump: a look at Deliver, plus track listings and pre-order links for both titles!

The Mamas and the Papas Deliver arrived just months later in 1967, again produced by Lou Adler on the Dunhill label and recorded at Los Angeles’ famed United Western Recorders.  Deliver (its title inspired by Cass’ pregnancy!) included Phillips’ “Look Through My Window,” which had been released as a single to comparatively little success (No. 24 U.S.) just a couple of weeks after The Mamas and the Papas hit stores.  It was one of eight tracks written or co-written by John Phillips on Deliver, but the first song to make a substantial impact outside of the album wasn’t Papa John’s.  It was the group’s Michelle-led cover of “Dedicated to the One I Love,” first recorded in 1957 by the Five Royales and later successfully recorded by The Shirelles.  Though eight months earlier Michelle had been fired from the group, she proved just how valuable she was with “Dedicated,” recorded at her own suggestion.  It became the Mamas and the Papas’ fastest-selling single, peaking at No. 2 Pop.  (It was kept from the top spot by The Turtles’ “Happy Together.”)  No. 2 is also where Deliver resided on the Billboard albums chart.  (More of the Monkees was the culprit that kept Deliver from topping that chart.)  The album’s third single following “Look Through My Window” and “Dedicated” became another all-time favorite.  John’s “Creeque Alley,” named for a side street in the Virgin Islands, recounted the band’s history in colorful terms.  It name-checked Barry McGuire, The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and many others, and might be best remembered for its lyrics referring to Mama Cass’ growing girth.  (Cass reportedly loved it.)  “Creeque Alley” became the band’s sixth Top 5 hit in less than eighteen months.  Deliver was rounded out by more from Motown (“My Girl”) and Rodgers and Hart (“Sing for Your Supper,” from The Boys from Syracuse) plus a nod to the Isley Brothers (“Twist and Shout”).

Both The Mamas and the Papas (mono) and Deliver (stereo) arrive on 180-gram vinyl (pressed at RTI) and CD from Sundazed on September 24.  Alas, no bonus tracks have been included, but both albums have been newly remastered.  You can order ‘em just below!

The Mamas and the Papas, The Mamas and the Papas: Mono Edition (Dunhill LP 50010, 1967 – reissued Sundazed, 2013 – LP / CD)

1. No Salt on Her Tail
2. Trip, Stumble and Fall
3. Dancing Bear
4. Words of Love
5. My Heart Stood Still
6. Dancing in the Street
7. I Saw Her Again
8. Strange Young Girls
9. I Can’t Wait
10. Even If I Could
11. That Kind of Girl
12. Once Was a Time I Thought

The Mamas and the Papas, The Mamas and the Papas Deliver: Stereo Edition (Dunhill LP 50014, 1967 – reissued Sundazed, 2013 – LP / CD)

1. Dedicated to the One I Love
2. My Girl
3. Creeque Alley
4. Sing for Your Supper
5. Twist and Shout
6. Free Advice
7. Look Through My Window
8. Boys and Girls Together
9. String Man
10. Frustration
11. Did You Ever Want to Cry
12. John’s Music Box