Description
Offered for sale is an original Japanese pressing of The Mamas & the Papas, the self-titled 1966 second LP by the Mamas and the Papas, including the original obi and an alternate cover from the U.S. release.
About this copy: This copy of The Mamas and the Papas is a 1966 Japanese pressing on the Victor label. This pressing featured a unique cover that appeared only on the original Japanese issue.
The cover wasn’t used anywhere else and later Japanese issues used the same cover art as the American pressing (see photo.)
The cover is VG+ with wear at the top edge and spine, but no other wear on the cover.
The obi is M- with a bit of discoloration at the bottom edge, but no tears. This LP was issued without an insert.
The disc is visually VG++ , and very close to M-, with just a couple of faint scuffs. There are, however, many spindle marks on the labels. The record has been played a lot but well cared for, so it does play with a bit of noise.
A beautiful copy of a very rare (and very good) LP that’s nearly impossible to find complete.
Background: Released just 8 months after their debut, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, the second album by the Mamas and the Papas, the self-titled The Mamas and the Papas, performed almost as well as the first album.
The Mamas and the Papas reached #4 on the Billboard charts, was certified gold by the RIAA, and had four hit singles “Dancing Bear,” “I Saw Her Again,” “Words of Love,” and “Dancing in the Street.”
When originally released in August, 1966, The Mamas and the Papas was released in both mono and stereo. Though the album stayed in print through the early 1970s, the mono pressings were discontinued in early 1968 and are considerably harder to find than the stereo pressings. In Japan, however, the album was issued only in stereo.
Allmusic.com gave The Mamas and the Papas a 4 star rating:
Sometimes art and events, personal or otherwise, converge on a point transcending the significance of either — a work achieves a relevance far beyond the seeming boundaries of the creation at hand. During the 1950s and 1960s, in music, it used to happen occasionally for Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan, once or twice for the Byrds, and a few times for the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. For the Mamas & the Papas, it happened twice, with their first album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, and, on a more complex level, with this album — which was astonishing, given that they had a major upheaval in their membership in the midst of recording it. … It’s all a good deal messier than the first album, but it holds up just as well and is just as essential listening.
You can listen to “I Saw Her Again” here:
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| Country of origin: | Japan |
| Size: | 12″ |
| Record Label: | Victor |
| Catalog Number: |
SHP-5581 |
| Year of Release: | 1966 |
| Format: | Stereo |
| Share: |       |
