In a group full of startling figures, he's hiding in plain sight on The Ed Sullivan Show. His bandmates are a pretty young woman, a very hefty girl and a lanky fellow wearing a comically small necktie and a Russian hat. (As someone of advanced height myself, I think I'm qualified to say that the worst kind of tall person is the one who somehow has a case of little man syndrome) Such characters obscure the fact that the lead singer looks like a very personable gameshow host, the sort who tastefully flirts with all the female contestants and doesn't come across as a rancid phony.
This is Denny Doherty, lead singer and token Canadian in The Mamas and the Papas. I say 'token Canadian' but he's as valuable and irreplaceable as anyone on the stage with him. He will soon engage in an affair with bandmate Michelle Phillips which will lead to her short-lived expulsion from the group. Leader John Phillips isn't one to treat the women in his life very well (which is a colossal understatement) but he pushes for his own wife to be chucked out of the group while Denny manages to remain. Not only that but the two of them soon collaborate on a song about the forbidden dalliance. (Look out for that review in the not-too-distant future!)
John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and Mama Cass Elliot (who was in love with her dashing singing partner) all knew how much Doherty meant to The Mamas and the Papas but few seem to acknowledge him much anymore. He wasn't in a sordid marriage - even if he played no small part in the collapse of another - nor was his death the stuff of rock 'n' roll mythology. In his review of "Monday, Monday", Tom Breihan doesn't mention the name 'Denny Doherty' even once while he spends whole paragraphs yammering on about what a giant piece of shit John Phillips was.
Yet, Doherty is the biggest reason why "Monday, Monday" is so remarkable and why The Mamas and the Papas are still fondly remembered to this day. Chewy like David Crosby's voice but with added silkiness, the way he sang gave a whole new definition to the word 'effortless'. Obviously Mama Cass was an accomplished singer in her own right but she didn't get nearly the same opportunities for the solo spotlight (this would change in 1968 following the success of her signature tune "Dream a Little Dream of Me"). John Phillips may have treated the women in his group shabbily but at least he knew better than to assume lead vocal duties over the guy with the finest voice in modern pop.
Doherty's singing is so masterful — with an obvious assist from the other three — that he guides a good but not great composition up into the stratosphere. Melodically lovely, it is let down a little by an overly simplistic lyric. Mondays always seem nice but then they inevitably let you down. It apparently took Phillips just twenty minutes to write it and it shows. But who cares when you've got the Wrecking Crew playing the music and The Mamas and the Papas proving that there wasn't a vocal harmony group that could touch them.
Yet, "Monday, Monday" has become somewhat overlooked over the years. Though it outperformed its predecessor on virtually every chart around the world, it is their debut hit "California Dreaming" that is the more fondly remembered Mamas and Papas song. There are probably those who assume that it was their lone American number one but it "only" got to number four Stateside. Though its luster for me has been dimmed by early nineties group The River City People and their bloodless cover version (not to mention the inexplicable decision to release a song about living through a miserable winter in the summer), "California Dreaming" is first rate - it just isn't quite in the same league as "Monday, Monday". It's probably just a case of the group having improved significantly. Their harmonies are more dynamic, the production is stronger — perhaps the only thing "California Dreaming" has over it is better lyrics.
Still, there's not a great deal to choose from between their two biggest hits — and they weren't done there either. Though massive drug intake, legal issues and, to be sure, all kinds of sexual tension did them in far earlier than even your typical dysfunctional pop act, their output over the following two years is exceptional. They'll even be popping up in this space a couple more times. So, let's not focus on all the shit at least three of them went through and try to put aside the John Phillips nastiness — even though it will almost certainly come up again — and try to remember that they were a standout group even in the golden age of pop.
Score: 9
No comments:
Post a Comment