Excellent collection of Mama Michelle's solo work
Richard J. Maher | Santa Ana, CA United States | 11/24/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It must have been tough singing alongside powerhouse Cass Elliott in the 60's supergroup The Mamas and Papas. Cass was the undisputed star of the group and had a voice bigger than she was. Michelle Phillips was relegated to the role of "the beautiful one," and while it may be true that she was the least of the four talented people who were the Mamas and Papas, it is a mistake to overlook her contribution.
She added the light, etherial element to the "sound" and forced Cass Elliott to control her massive voice so as to not drown Michelle out. And while Michelle made Cass control it, Cass forced Michelle, according to Michelle herself, to sing harder and project more than she ever would or could.
When Michelle and Cass got down and blended their two voices it was magic. There was nothing like that sound. Dinah Shore said they sang like angels. Their voices blended perfectly and uniquely. (Papa Denny Doherty has said that when John Phillips fired Michelle for a couple months in 1966 and Jill Gibson was brought in to do a few tours that the sound just wasn't right. John and the record company thought any girl could fill the role, but they soon realized their mistake.) Michelle's sweet, lyrical soprano even fronted some Mamas and Papas classics, like Got a Feeling and Dedicated to the One I Love.
This collection includes all of Michelle's solo recordings, with the exception of "Forever," a track recorded for a movie soundtrack. This CD includes her 1977 solo album - Victim of Romance - produced by Jack Nitzsche, and almost a whole second album worth of tracks produced by John Phillips a year or two earlier. The tracks are sexy and sophisticated and Michelle's voice fits them perfectly. Cocktail lounge music might be a fitting description.
"Aloha Louie" is a gem - "a valentine to M&P producer Lou Adler" as the liner notes explain. It's campy and cute. "Guerita" and the original version of "There She Goes" are toe-tapping rockers. "Paid the Price" and "It's in His Kiss" are slowed down, yet fantastic, versions of the original 1950's hits. I especially like "Baby, As You Turn Away," a Bee Gee's tune that Michelle insisted be included on Victim of Romance that she says explained how she was feeling at the time about a major relationship breakup (Warren Beatty???)
Whether you are a Mamas & Papas fan or a fan of Michelle's acting career, or both, you should get this CD. She is not a Barbara Streisland, Mariah Carey, or Cass Elliott, but the music is easy listening and enjoyable.
"
Michelle's Complete A&M Sessions
gassy goon | 02/13/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Michelle Phillips' classic 1977 solo album VICTIM OF ROMANCE gets the royal treatment that it deserves so much. I've listened to the original album since it's release in Oct. 1977 , and it still sounds beautiful today. At long last, Michelle went into the studio to do a full album after releasing 2 solo singles in 1975 [ the awesome ALOHA LOUIE ] and 1976 [ NO LOVE TODAY from the film " Mother, Jugs & Speed " ]. The voice heard on numerous Mamas & Papas songs [ such as DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE, STRING MAN, SNOWQUEEN OF TEXAS and many others ] sounds very natural and at ease on these songs which contain elements of pop, country, rock, and jazz. ACHING KIND opens up the album , a cool song with a countryesque sound with the succint line " nothing makes you crazy like singing in a rock 'n' roll band " ]. That song and the title track VICTIM OF ROMANCE were both written by musician Moon Martin, who had a couple albums out soon later. VICTIM OF ROMANCE gets the Spector girl-group treatment in a wall-of-sound production by famed producer JACK NITZSCHE. Michelle made a lot of TV appearances that fall of '77 to promote not only the album, but also her starring role in the film " VALENTINO " and in the TV mini-series " ASPEN ". She got her first cover of People Magazine too. These 2 songs were released as singles, but there are plenty of other strong songs on the album. BABY AS YOU TURN AWAY is a perfect showcase for Michelle's wistful yearning on this , a Bee Gees song. PAID THE PRICE is a nice touch of 50's-ish rock 'n' roll with some doo-wop background vocals. JUST ONE LOOK is a nice remake of the Doris Troy oldie, with horns & brass. As in the group, Michelle wrote some of her own songs, including the relaxed laid-back feel of THERE SHE GOES [ with production sounding a bit like the M's & P's version of SPANISH HARLEM ]. LADY OF FANTASY is another self-penned song with some very insightful lyrics , and that Michelle certainly was, and is, a lady of fantasy, as an actress and singer. That's the only song from the original sessions that date back to 1975 produced by JOHN PHILLIPS. His song TRASHY RUMOURS [ previously recorded by Genevieve Waite on her 1974 album ROMANCE IS ON THE RISE ] is given a jazz cocktail hour feel. The closer WHERE'S MINE is in the jazz vein as well, and is a highlight of the album.
This deluxe version finally rights most of the wrongs on previous editions of the CD. It's actually the 3rd reissue of VICTIM OF ROMANCE on CD. It came out on CD only as an import from Japan in the early 90's on A&M. Then, it was reissued again only in Japan around 2000 on MCA as part of their solo Mamas & Papas albums reissue program . Neither of those editions had bonus tracks. Here we get a wealth of bonus songs, with ALOHA LOUIE [ a brilliant & witty song that is an ode to longtime friend & M&P producer Lou Adler co-written by Michelle & John ], NO LOVE TODAY and the ORIGINAL FIRST VERSION of THERE SHE GOES , which was only a b-side to ALOHA LOUIE. It's a completely different version of it, sounding more rock with a rollicking bar-room type production by John. Not only that, but there are many unreleased songs that date back to 1975 when John Phillips produced the sessions. These songs are a revelation to hear as Michelle wrote most of them : GUERITA, ACES WITH YOU, HAVING HIS WAY and PHONE. Plus, there is a remake of THE SHOOP SHOOP SONG [ IT'S IN HIS KISS ], and an Otis Redding song called CHAMPAGNE AND WINE. It's great to hear these songs at last, especially since Michelle wrote most of them herself. The only song of Michelle's that is not on here is FOREVER. That song was recorded after this album , in 1978, for the film CALIFORNIA DREAMING [ a film about surfing, not The Mamas & The Papas ] and released on the short-lived American International Records label Soundtrack album. The group America redid CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' for the film and charted with their version on the Top 100. A&M doesn't own the song, which is why it's not on here. But to make it complete, they should have licensed it.
The packaging is beautiful, with the original cover, plus an expanded booklet of vintage photos from this period in Michelle's career. The liner notes, though , are not as informative as they should have been. The author gives no information on the unreleased songs . This would have been very informative to know. It's even more maddening because he interviewed Michelle for the liner notes. He totally left out any info from Michelle herself on the unreleased songs, which of course, she wrote. These are the songs that John Phillips produced with her, a very important piece of music history. In the hands of an experienced writer, the liner notes would have been a perfect match for the music contained within. That matter aside, it's great to have all of Michelle's A&M recordings gathered together at last. Any fan of The Mamas & The Papas will love this album."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
