Time and Space
gassy goon | 09/11/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This release was a long time coming - 35 years. John Phillips started to work on the concept of this musical as far back as 1970. It finally saw fruition in January 1975, for only a few performances in the Little Theater, off Broadway. This collection is pretty much exhaustive, gathering up all that the producers of this CD could find. The bulk of the the songs are listed as Studio Recordings by John Phillips. The songs are mostly short, from one to three minutes at the most. It doesn't mention much about the actual process of the recordings in the excellent liner notes. They do sound as if they are basically demos, as most feature only John with acoustic guitar or sometimes piano and other instruments. Just a few tracks do feature more fuller arrangements with a chorus of singers. There are 3 songs sung by Genevieve Waite that are taken from her excellent 1974 album that John wrote and produced, ROMANCE IS ON THE RISE. There are 5 more studio tracks that feature Genevieve, but without the production of the 3 songs given her on her released album.
Andy Warhol actually taped the show from the audience and the 6 songs from his tapes actually do sound pretty good. These provide more of a sense of what the musical was about with the cast performing them live on stage. These are the only songs that you hear Denny Doherty on, in addition to Monique Van Vooren and Eric Lang. Too bad Denny was not on the studio tracks, which with such bare instrumentation, would have shone his voice off much better. Some of the songs featured on here have turned up on other albums or John did them live in the 80's and early 90's, such as PENTHOUSE OF YOUR MIND, BOYS FROM THE SOUTH, LAST OF THE UNNATURAL ACTS [ this version does have a chorus backing him, sounding like one of the only " musical " type songs here ], and YESTERDAY I LEFT THE EARTH [ again with a backing chorus also ]. Plus, there are bonus features on this Enhanced CD with some rough video footage, photos, reviews, and memorabilia.
The producers of this set did an excellent job. They salvaged what they could to make it as complete as possible. It profiles an important chapter in John Phillips' professional career. It's an archival piece that completists will want. Whether it was actually intended for album release is not mentioned. Ultimately, the musical failed , but the bits and pieces do make a good archival set that purists will want in their collection. Tellingly, it did not have any backing by Lou Adler, who had the huge success of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW during this period. The best John Phillips album is absolutely John's first , THE WOLFKING OF L.A. that Lou Adler produced in 1970. That is a classic that can not be matched as far as John's solo work . I'm not even counting John's greatest achievements in The Mamas and The Papas, which speaks for itself. John did bounce back after MAN ON THE MOON with the excellent 1977 sessions with Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Mick Taylor, entitled PUSSYCAT, also released by Varese . That's worth hearing.
Next, Varese should do Denny Doherty's solo catalog for reissue. They could release WATCHA GONNA DO, his 1971 debut album, plus his recordings for Columbia Records, and more unreleased. Denny's music deserves the fine treatment that Varese is releasing of John Phillips' music."
TALK ABOUT BONUS MATERIAL AND ENHANCEMENTS...!!!
Music2424 | Studio Ctiy, CA USA | 08/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Where to begin... first, it's a miracle that after these many years (and folklore amongst some fans) that a soundtrack to this campy musical has finally been saved from the vaults and released. The liner notes should be read in advance because the story behind this work is a fascinating one... without giving away too much, at one point Michael Butler (the stage production of HAIR) was its producer and the young Michael Bennett (A CHORUS LINE) its director. Match those brilliant talents alongside some of the best music John Phillips (tracks like "American Man on the Moon", etc,) ever composed, and the production should have been a HUGE hit out into outerspace (SPACE being its orignal title) once it finally landed on Broadway. But the usual creative disagreements, etc., left the production in less competent "theater" hands and it was not to be. Still, what we have here is the music, its history, and a fabulous selection of enhancements and bonus material. It is a fun journey through it all and well worth the listener's time and the price of the CD. CONGRATULATIONS to all who came to the rescue!!"
Moon sees the light of day
Paul A. Amato | hollywood, CA, USA | 08/19/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Much love and care went into this release. I applaud those involved. I never imagined to hear this work, and with all the bonus features (video clips, script, backstage pics, live performances) this is quite a bang for the buck. Every John Phillips and The Mamas and the Papas completist should run out and pick up this one before it becomes unavailable and highly priced on some auction site. Thanks again to Carey Mansfield and all those involved. I look forward to the upcoming NEW Mamas and the Papas release, with John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Spanky McFarland and MacKenzie Phillips."
Track Listings (34) - Disc #1