Search - Big 3, Cass Mama Elliott :: Big 3 & Mama Cass

Cass's real early good stuff!

Shawn Larry Fitzpatrick | California Dreamin 24/7 | 08/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cass Elliot. Just the name itself can evoke such an image and time unlike any singer like her. To really appreciate Cass one must hear these early recordings of Cass to really hear her soar. What do I like about this recording? God-so many songs. My favorite's are Nora's Dove, I May Be Right, Silkie, Wild Women, All the Pretty Little Horses, Come Away Melinda, and Winken Blinken and Nod. Yes these are folk standards, but to hear Cass sing them along with Jim Hendricks and Tim Rose is well worth any price! If you are infactuated with the sound of Cass (Tim Rose called her the 'most talented person I knew in my life)- I strongly recommend you buy this album!



The lyrics are sooooooo haunting. I bought this CD, gosh, back in 1998 or 1999 and I still play it regularly. The other songs on this CD are show their age, what Rock was trying to be in 1963-64 (I really don't care for it). It's all loud and hodge-podge. Very dated. Makes you kinda glad Cass didn't go too deep down that path.



This CD is also extremely beneficial to me as a Cass lover, because it wasn't until I heard these sounds did I realize how much Cass could sing anything! Early in her career, it has been mentioned she could bring people to tears with her performances in NY and Washington D.C. These songs evoke the same emotion.



When you listen to Come Away Melinda, Silkie, All the Pretty Little Horses, Winken Blinken And Nod tears will well up in your eyes.



Cass had so much to fight against. She was overweight. She wasn't considered an 'ideal' beauty. She had to fight sexism and an all-male recording industry. I think many of us would have given up and backed down. But not Cass. She persevered. How she did it, is one of the most untold stories of our times. You can actually hear her spirit and uplifting attitude in such songs as Nora's Dove, Wild Women and I May Be Right.



We're going on over 40 years since these songs were recorded. There still so fresh to hear. The word 'fresh' explains so many of Cass Elliot's and the Mamas and Papas work. I hope one day someone will 'pick-up' where these great artist left of. I'm still waiting 40 years later!



In an age of image is everything, over-produced music and computer-enhanced singing-nothing is certain of the the 'true' artists we hear today.



Cass's songs still stand out for the exceptional quality they were 40 yrs ago. I've tried to find many substitutes to mirror that 'Cass' sound. No one even comes close. I will probably be wearing out Cass and M and P CD's until the day I die.



It's not to say I don't think there might be another Cass singer out there. But in an age of MTV, video killing the radio star, American Idol and when teen music rules- true stars like Cass may wander around the world, but I seriously wonder if mainstream media is prepared to showcase another Cass Elliot without worrying to much about image.



Today's singers must fit on another FOX or WB teen show, be a contestant killing another great song on American Idol while wondering what Simon thinks of him or her (who gives a F&*#!) or must barely wear anything in a MTV video (sorry Mariah Carey and Jessica Simpson-looking like a slut dosen't prove you can sing-sadly, music history will not judge you kindly).



So what makes Cass so great? Consider 60 percent of Americans are overweight. Consider Cass was more than a singer, she had thoughts, meanings, intelligence and a message. Consider Cass was about equal rights for woman. She didn't care that most folk singers were attractive like Joan Baez or Joni Mitchell or that male groups like the Kingston Trio and even former bandmate John Phillips percieved men in control of the music scene and if you were a female singer, you better look more like the beautiful Michelle Phillips (John has been reported to say he was more than eager to welcome Michelle to sing with him but felt Cass was 'not the right image or note he wanted for the group-pleazze John just say the truth, you didn't like her cuz she was fat!)



Well Cass proved them all wrong! History has looked kindly on her and poorly on all her foes. So many Cass Elliot projects are in the works. Joni Mitchell has said it best. She said she overheard a current record producer today say it dosen't matter if a person can't sing well-all that matters is that they look great and a team of producers, engineers, stylists and creative consultants will take care of the rest.



That gives you a lot of hope in the recording industry today dosen't it?



We have become a society slaved to image.



Hopefully, one day, someone will be able to pick up where the Mamas and Papas and Cass Elliot left of.



The world is waiting.



As Cass sings in 'I May Be Right'...



'Well I may be right

And I may be wrong

But you know, you're gonna miss me

When I'm gone

When I'm gone

When I'm gone.'

"

Powerful, edgy folk music

02/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A wonderful group that deserved much more success, The Big 3 featured a young Cass Elliot, later of the Mamas and Papas, singing with a maturity and purity that was sometimes lost in her later work. The standout song, of course, is "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues", but it's not the only gem on this recording. The soft and gentle "Winken, Blinken, and Nod" is a personal favorite, and the haunting "Come Away, Melinda" is one of the very best and most artfully done of the anti-war genre. I think of it every time I see places like the former Yugoslavia on the news. Other songs on this album can set your teeth on edge with their raw, sexual energy. This last is a side of folk music not often explored by some of the more commercially successful groups -- remember, this was the early 1960's, when life still looked a lot like the 1950's. All together, this album is both an excellent representation of the 1960's folk scene and a window into folk groups who were doing things a little differently. It belongs in the collection of anyone who is interested in folk music, the roots of folk rock, or the three performers specifically. For Cass Elliot fans, it is greatly enhanced by excellent liner notes featuring interviews by everyone involved with this group during its too-brief existence."

Big 3 with Mama Cass a reflection of early 60's folk revival

T. Hornbuckle | WA coast USA | 07/23/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you like the early 60's folk style, you will enjoy this album. However, it is not as rich, as say, a Kingston trio album of the the same era. It has some unique arrangements of traditional songs. The orchestration is thin as are many of the genre of this era. Overall, I found it to be interesting, but not a real winner."