The Complete Singles--50th Anniversary Collection Set

Before I comment on the CD and sound, I’d like to thank everyone who bought this set, especially those who are giving it well-deserved praise. We worked very hard, for years, to make this collection happen. We searched the world high and low for the best sources available of the original single mixes. And on top of that, a lot of thought and care was put into the liner notes, artwork, packaging, song selection, and of course sound quality. Your kind words and positive feedback are sincerely appreciated.Mono vs. StereoIf you take a quick glance at the other reviews that have been written, “mono vs. stereo” seems to be one of the most common themes. Are the mono mixes better than the stereo mixes, or vice versa? The answer: It depends on who you ask and what your personal preference is.When deciding what to include on the CDs, it was a no-brainer. We wanted to present, for the first time ever, a complete singles package where the song versions and mixes exactly matched the original 7” vinyl 45s. Most of the original singles contain dedicated mono mixes (48 out of the 53 tracks), and that’s what you’ll find here.If you’re wondering my personal preference, I think the mono single mixes are better than the stereo versions for most of these songs. For one, I’m not a big fan of “wide stereo,” a mixing practice of hard-panning many of the song elements to one channel or the other. For instance, the stereo mix of “Creeque Alley” has nearly all of the instruments placed completely in the right channel, except for the harmonica and flute, which are placed completely in the left channel. Furthermore, the vocals are way too loud, in my opinion, relative to the music track. It sounds odd to me. The mono single mix has a nice balance between the vocals and instruments, and it also has unique overdubs (piano and horns) that were not on the stereo or mono LP versions.Sound qualityThe second thing mentioned in a number of other reviews is the sound quality. Most reviewers have made comments like “incredible sound” and “clear, clean and awesome.” For Mamas & Papas songs, they are very correct: it sounds fantastic! Until now, many of these mixes have only ever been heard on awful-sounding, crackly, distorted Dunhill vinyl 45s. The sound on this collection is as clear and clean as it’s ever been, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a sonic miracle. To understand why, here is a great explanation by mastering engineer Steve Hoffman:“Western was too cheap to get an 8 track recorder, so the songs were just bounced from one three or four track machine to another, adding various layers of music each time. When strings were added, for example, they just had one string player (to save money), and they just bounced him 3 or 4 times to get a string section!“John Phillips told me that the recordings sometimes went as high as 9 or 10 bounces a song, THEN they were mixed. Sheesh. Each bounce (or redubbing) caused the transferred sound to become muddier. The engineers tried to fix that by shaving off the bass during each bounce. By 9 bounces, there WAS no bottom end at all, and tremendous hiss.”Steve also commented that most recordings made during this era would not be bounced more than three times. Considering some of the Mamas & Papas songs were bounced 10 times, this gives you an idea of how much more tape hiss there is compared to other recordings from the mid-‘60s. On the other hand, the hiss on these mono mixes is no worse than what you hear on the stereo versions. In fact, a lot of the songs presented on this set, in my opinion, sound better, and plenty of others agree. Here are a few of the comments posted on Steve Hoffman’s audiophile forum:- “It sounds great to me.”- “It sounds MAGNIFICENT!”- “The sound is uniformly great.”- “I’m blown away by how good they all sound.”That said, sound is always subjective and very dependent on someone’s ears, preferences, and sound equipment. If you haven’t already taken a listen for yourself, though, I do hope you’ll consider checking it out.

What a fun collection of Mamas & Papas songs! I got this along with "The Golden Era Collection" because I wanted their best tunes in both in stereo and mono! Years ago I got a little $5 best-of collection ofM & P - it was stereo but the audio quality wasn't all that great, especially on my favorite M & P song, "Twelve Thirty". Now with both these remasters that song sounds FANTASTIC, crystal clear, clean & bright in both stereo and mono! I love it!This mono collection has all their singles (A's & B's), presented exactly like how you'd find them in 45 record format when they were released in the '60's - which I think comes across as lots of fun! Some reviewers don't like the sound quality, but I think it's pretty good for mono... it may not be quite as high quality mono as with the Beatles, Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan, but it's standard and definitely listenable! On a scale of 1-10 I'd give this audio quality a solid 8! I MUCH prefer "Creeque Alley" in mono! The stereo version has the guitar on the right channel and the singing on the left, whereas the mono evens this out, with both the music and vocals coming through both channels! "California Dreamin'" I think is interesting in stereo with some vocals on the left and some on the right, but probably would still rather listen to that one in mono with everything coming out evenly.So I will say that you can't go wrong with both "The Golden Era Collection" and this collection if you're aM & P fan, I got both and am glad I did... so if I don't like how a tune sounds in stereo I can listen to it in mono, or vice-versa, to check out the difference!

When I first saw this, I went "oh, good. Yet another compilation." But the hype is reality (as is California Dreamin', if Creeque Alley is to be believed...), and this is the compilation we should've had from the beginning. Thank-you to whomever found the elusive mono reels. The mono single mixes are a revelation of their music. There's actually bass presence, the voices blend far better, and overall, everything finally feels 3D. It's easy to see why the mono edition of "Farewell to the First Golden Era" is so coveted by collectors. This is the Mamas and Papas finally treated with respect.The stereo versions we've had to live with have notorious ghosts in them ("Monday, Monday" has tuning and transfer speed issues, "Creeque Alley" missing half a syllable on the final line of the song, etc.). I get that the stereo concept was new and novel at the time, but it's hard not to scratch your head at how bizarre some of the mixing was.Fear not! These issues are nowhere to be found in the mono mixes, where it seems like they actually paid attention to detail, and it's joyous. The opening vocal of "Safe in My Garden" now sounds thoughtful, as opposed to unsure. The extra blips on "For the Love of Ivy" are fun. And hello horns on "Words of Love"!Do bear in mind that the mono mixes have their own quirks, like "Even If I Could", where the Cass/Michelle (or Jill, take your pick) backing vocals are just barely present (same for the coda descant on "Twelve-Thirty") - but that means it's actually the real transfer, as opposed to a fold down, and I'm more than happy to get accustomed to it. Those were decisions made in the 60s, and this is the real deal. (Let me be clear: any 'complaint' I have is really more an observation!)The second disc has the 'reunion' single "Step Out", and the EQ gives it some life. Most of the solo singles are present as well, which is rather amazing. We're treated to a majority of the singles of Cass, John, and Denny. Do note that other solo singles and Michelle's solo moments are missing, probably since this is an ABC/Dunhill affair. (Shoutout to "No Love Today" and "If You're Gonna Break Another Heart" though.) Having "The Costume Ball" (a shining moment for Cass) and "To Claudia on Thursday" (Denny's somewhat obscure Millennium cover) collected here is a major plus.I couldn't be happier with this, really. The booklet features words from Michelle Phillips and Lou Adler, and the liner notes have been beautifully written. Fantastic work, Real Gone Music.

Es ist schön, auch die Single-Versionen zu haben. Mir ist klar, dass die First-Generation-Tapes nichtzur Verfügung standen; die Klangqualität könnte manchmal etwas besser sein-Aber trotzdem ist es eine gute Ergänzung in der Sammlung.

Of all the many compilations of the music of the Mamas & Papas down the years, this is by far the very best cd set to ever be issued. Until now, all compilations have been in wide stereo and whilst welcomed, not one of them is a patch on this set. Back in the 1960s and some of the 1970s all records here in the UK were issued in mono and this set has been remastered and restored back to original mono. The joy of hearing these brilliant tracks again in mono and that full-bodied hearing experience brings out the superb quality of their music as it was intended to be heard. Virtually all the original "A" and "B" side of the Mamas & Papas are here along with solo works by them many issued for the first time on cd. It is an expensive set for sure, but where will you get all their works in mono again?I only came across this set in early September 2020 and really am pleased with the hard work that has gone into this cd set. Worth every penny!

La parte de Mamas and Papas, muy bien; Pero en la parte de sus canciones en solitario no están todas las mejores.

Rolling Stones のStart Me UpはMamasのMonday Mondayが元歌？本当に似てる。有名な話かな？John PhillipsとMick,Keithは1976年にセッションとかしてるので公認かも。それにしても似てるなあ。

Everything a fan of the original 45 single mixes could possibly hope for is here. Even the B sides have different mixes from the album versions. The sound is glorious. Kudos to the production staff of this offering.