THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,734) The Mamas & the Papas — “Got a Feelin’”
This “ethereal” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/if-you-can-believe-your-eyes-and-ears-mw0000650447), Mamas & Papas song is “one of the[ir] most treasured . . . album tracks”, with a “bittersweet melody . . . coupled with some positively beguiling vocal counterpoint gymnastics”, “one of the finest examples of both John Phillips’ vocal arranging genius, as well as the singers’ overall vocal symbiosis” (Matthew Greenwald, http://albumlinernotes.com/All_The_Leaves_Are_Brown.html), “their best track ever as a flipside . . . with some of the most compelling harmonies to be featured on a non-Beach Boys or Delmore Brothers record”. (Alex_Linden, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-mamas-and-the-papas/monday-monday-got-a-feelin/reviews/2/)
“Feelin’” was written “by both John [Phillips] and Denny [Doherty] . . . possibly suggesting that they’re both being played by the winsome beauty [Michelle Phillips]?” (The Pop History Dig, https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/got-a-feelin-song/)
“Got a feelin’ that I’m wasting time on you babe Got a feelin’ that you’ve been untrue”
Bruce Eder writes of the Mamas & the Papas’ first LP — If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears:
In the spring of 1966, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears represented a genuinely new sound, as fresh to listeners as the songs on Meet the Beatles had seemed two years earlier. Released just as “California Dreaming” was ascending the charts by leaps and bounds, it was the product of months of rehearsal in the Virgin Islands and John Phillips’ discovery of what one could do to build a polished recorded sound in the studio — it 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. “Monday, Monday” and “California Dreamin'” are familiar enough to anyone who’s ever listened to the radio, and “Go Where You Wanna Go” isn’t far behind . . . . But the rest is mighty compelling even to casual listeners, including the ethereal “Got a Feelin’,” the rocking “Straight Shooter” and “Somebody Groovy,” the jaunty, torch song-style version of “I Call Your Name,” and the prettiest versions of “Do You Wanna Dance” and “Spanish Harlem” that anyone ever recorded. If the material here has a certain glow that the Mamas & the Papas’ subsequent LPs lacked, that may be due in part to the extensive rehearsal and the exhilaration of their first experience in the studio, but also a result of the fact that it was recorded before the members’ personal conflicts began interfering with their ability to work together. The work was all spontaneous and unforced here, as opposed to the emotional complications that had to be overcome before their next sessions.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/if-you-can-believe-your-eyes-and-ears-mw0000650447
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,100 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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