| If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 28, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | October–December 1965 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:42 | |||
| Label | Dunhill | |||
| Producer | Lou Adler | |||
| The Mamas and the Papas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears | ||||
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If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears is the debutstudio album by the Americanfolk rock vocal groupthe Mamas & the Papas (stylized asThe Mama's and the Papa's), released on February 28, 1966. The stereo mix of the album is included onAll the Leaves Are Brown (2001), a double CD compilation consisting of the band's first four albums and various singles, as well as onThe Mamas & the Papas Complete Anthology (2004), a four-CDbox set released in the UK. The mono mix of the album was remastered and reissued on vinyl bySundazed Music in 2010, and on CD the following year. It is the band's only album to reach number one on theBillboard 200.
In 2003,If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears was ranked number 127[3] onRolling Stone magazine's list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time, with its rank rising to number 112 in the 2012 revision.[4]
Five versions of the album cover were produced:
The cover art was produced and shot by photographerGuy Webster.[9]
The cover shows the artist as "The Mama's and the Papa's", a grammatical error that has not been corrected on any of the album's reissues.[10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Record Mirror |   [11] |
Contemporary reviews ofIf You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears were highly positive and frequently emphasized the Mamas and the Papas' vocal blend and harmonic style.Record Mirror called the album "very sweet", noting its "clever harmonising" and describing it as "good listening".[11] David F. Wagner ofThe Post-Crescent described the group as part of a "limited, but forceful" trend of "good time music" and wrote that their voices "play against, yet complement, each other through counterpoint harmonies", resulting in a sound "as fresh as today".[12] TheJournal & Courier's Angelyn Rizzo wrote that their sound featured "marvelous harmony" along with "unusual contrapuntal harmonies and unique individual vocal arrangements" that "make the album an entire pleasantry".[13] Norman Barry of theSunday Independent argued that the album demonstrated the group's "versatility, originality, harmony and above all, their willingness to experiment and create".[14]
Bill Hilton of theSanta Barbara News-Press expressed surprise at liking afolk rock–based record but described the album as "good to listen to", praising the group's "uncommon blend of voices" and writing that they "harmonize beautifully" without being overshadowed by instrumentation.[15]The Daily Telegraph's Anne McDonald called the album "brilliant" and said their "voices that blend so perfectly" and orchestral backing "create a feeling of spine-tingling nostalgia".[16] Ernie Santosuosso ofThe Boston Globe wrote that the group "can do no wrong with a song" and compared their role in folk-rock tothe Four Freshmen's position injazz vocal music. He highlighted their "meticulous sounds and feeling for harmonics" and described the album as containing "refreshingly creative choral magic".[17]
Looking back atIf You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears a year later, critics regarded it as their defining work for the Mamas and the Papas and emphasized its importance.Robert Christgau called the album "a classical record with a new approach", andPaul Krassner commented that the group "feel good to hear".Richard Goldstein stated that the album "has the strongest composition on it" and argued that it "influenced the way other performers use harmony", while also noting that later records were "really only remakes of this first unique album".Robert Fulford likewise described it as the album that "defines them".Star Weekly wrote that the "crystal voices" of the group were heard at their best on the debut and added that its songs "would make the album a significant contribution to thepop-rock scene if they never cut another".[18]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [19] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[20] |
| Record Collector | [21] |
| The Republican | (1998)[22](2011)[23] |
| Rolling Stone | [24] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [25] |
The album received a positive retrospective review inRolling Stone, in which criticRob Sheffield remarked "The Mamas and the Papas celebrated all the sin and sleaze of Sixties L.A. with folksy harmonies, acoustic guitars, and songs that told inquiring minds way more than they wanted to know. And on their January 1966 debut,If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, they somehow made it all sound groovy." He described the album as a dark look at L.A. culture that sounds accessible and optimistic thanks in large part toLou Adler's production.[24] Bruce Eder wrote forAllMusic that the album "embraced folk-rock, pop/rock, pop, and soul, and also reflected the kind of care that acts like the Beatles were putting into their records at the time." He added that it had a stronger polish than the group's other albums, in part because it predated the personal conflicts that tainted their later works.[1] The album was included in Robert Dimery's1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[26]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Monday, Monday" | John Phillips | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Straight Shooter" | J. Phillips | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Got a Feelin'" | 2:53 | |
| 4. | "I Call Your Name" | 2:38 | |
| 5. | "Do You Wanna Dance" | Bobby Freeman | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Go Where You Wanna Go" | J. Phillips | 2:29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "California Dreamin'" |
| 2:42 |
| 2. | "Spanish Harlem" | 3:22 | |
| 3. | "Somebody Groovy" | J. Phillips | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Hey Girl" |
| 2:30 |
| 5. | "You Baby" | 2:22 | |
| 6. | "The 'In' Crowd" | Billy Page | 3:12 |
The Mamas and the Papas
Additional musicians
Technical
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[28] | 1 |
