I knew something about that didn't sound right. No Rick, of course.

Billy, Christine, Mick and John. I'd have bought that album.

Hey PenguinHead...

I'm sure I've seen some clips of Cass and Dave Mason doing material from their album on some old tv show. It flashed by in some documentary about Cass. I wonder if there might be anything full length on YouTube? She also appeared with John Sebastian on some show doing Darling Companion. There is a version of 'Didn't Want To Have To Do It' with Cass on lead vocals that was recorded in NYC between the Mugwumps ending and the Lovin' Spoonful forming, in fact there are two takes one where she doubles the vocal is the better... nice guitar by Sebastian and/or Zal on it too! Let me know and I could shoot them to you via email if you don't have them. I think the Ms&Ps really didn't like themselves live because they couldn't double or triple the vocals as they sometimes did in studio. The Fifth Dimension benefited from inheriting all their studio people, so something good came out of their big bust up.

Sorry for not responding sooner.

What TV show Cass and Dave were on? Was it live or lip-synced? I can't recall ever seeing it.

I discovered the two versions of Didn't Want to Have to Do It years ago. Thank you for the offer though! I could never place the time frame they were recorded.

Her duet, Darling Companion, with John Stewart was a performance on her first TV special, which also featured Joni Mitchel,Mary Travis (of Peter,Paul and...),and others. A DVD of the show was released a few years ago. She made one more TV special that hasn't been released. Hopefully it will see the light of day.

By the time the Mamas and Papas became successful, they were individually road weary from touring in their various folk groups. Their records and TV appearances were keeping them in the public eye. Their entire existence lasted only three years but produced four albums. Their tours consisted of series of short stints of five or six shows in major markets. Cass was quoted,saying they that worked really hard to sound much like their records when they performed live.

Of course they couldn't exactly replicate the craftsmanship of their studio records, musically or vocally, in a live performance, but it's reasonable to think they could still sound good. The messy Monterey Pop performances reveals a glimmer of evidence to that notion ( despite no rehearsals and Michelle's faulty mike). Their issue wasn't about the quality of their live performances. It was because they really weren't much of touring band. And much like Fleetwood Mac, their group dynamic was fraught with tension.

Sorry for not responding sooner.

What TV show Cass and Dave were on? Was it live or lip-synced? I can't recall ever seeing it.

I discovered the two versions of Didn't Want to Have to Do It years ago. Thank you for the offer though! I could never place the time frame they were recorded.

Her duet, Darling Companion, with John Stewart was a performance on her first TV special, which also featured Joni Mitchel,Mary Travis (of Peter,Paul and...),and others. A DVD of the show was released a few years ago. She made one more TV special that hasn't been released. Hopefully it will see the light of day.

By the time the Mamas and Papas became successful, they were individually road weary from touring in their various folk groups. Their records and TV appearances were keeping them in the public eye. Their entire existence lasted only three years but produced four albums. Their tours consisted of series of short stints of five or six shows in major markets. Cass was quoted,saying they that worked really hard to sound much like their records when they performed live.

Of course they couldn't exactly replicate the craftsmanship of their studio records, musically or vocally, in a live performance, but it's reasonable to think they could still sound good. The messy Monterey Pop performances reveals a glimmer of evidence to that notion ( despite no rehearsals and Michelle's faulty mike). Their issue wasn't about the quality of their live performances. It was because they really weren't much of touring band. And much like Fleetwood Mac, their group dynamic was fraught with tension.

Here she is with Sebastian, I don't know the one with John Stewart



Didn't Want To Have To Do It is late 1964/early 1965 according to the studio guy with the master tapes.

There was also a tv special early on with the M & Ps doing all Rogers & Hart material or something along those lines, and also a Barry McGuire show before that where they are mainly backup singers for him. It would sure be nice to see all these things collected up for DVD but there's a much more recent Andy Kaufman special I've been waiting for to see on DVD that for some reason never has been, usually some legal b.s. behind the scenes prevents things from happening.

I believe Dave & Cass appeared together on The Tonight Show and The Andy Williams Show. There was an appearance of John Denver with Bill & Taffy on something similar, and later on one with Cass too (Midnight Special). It was probably an A&E biography on Cass that included these clips, don't think anyone has done one on Dave Mason.

And now I'm writing here because I finally listened to this strange album...

Hi! During this quarantine time I've been searching for other FM albums that were really unknown for me, like Kiln House, Behind The Mask and this one too. And I liked it! Of course it can't be compared with our most favourite albums, but I think it's good.
It's hard to know how start with this, uffff...
It was a strange line-up. I can't understand the mix of musicians, but the result was...yeah, good, I guess.

- Christine's work was simply amazing. After listening to the Buckingham-McVie album, I'm still impressed with some things that sound very similar in both albums (am I crazy?). And she took perfectly the fact of the Compact Disc and the chance to put longer songs in one album. Sooner Or Later is the best example, and I think it's her best song. I Do and Nights In Estoril are other really really great jobs (And don't tell me that Hollywood does not sound like a Buckingham/McVie song!).

- The Mason/Bramlett/Burnette work is good. Talkin' To My Heart, Blow By Blow, I Wonder Why sound really great!! And I Got It In For You is woooah an amazing song!! :eek:
I'm really convinced that Billy would have a better fate with the band if the times -errrr- where he played were not times where FM was not important at all, and other bands and styles were sounding better. Maybe the same with Bekka and Rick, because Dave...you know, he had a story with Traffic so maybe this FM experience wouldn't steal some reputation...

- These Strange Times. I love the song. I love the fact that Fleetwood speaks, his daughter and Bekka did backing vocals, he plays (really??) the guitar, and of course, that it's a long song, a good way to close. I like long songs as the closing moments for an album. And, in a time where bands like Era, Enya and others were playing a lot with backing vocals, I find the voices of Lucy and Bekka with this style of sound.

That's all I guess!


Mark.

I still think the "Quintela years" provided almost the best of her work.

No offense towards Billy, but I think he's always lacked the "IT" factor that it takes to be a star. He's usually somebody's second banana(like John Fogerty's). He's had several solo albums out(I see them in the used record shops in Nashville all the time), but I don't think he's ever had a hit.

He seems to be Mick's safe backup. Although not this past time! He's getting old(and looking pretty rough lately - and had heart problems), and after the fiasco of $tevie forcing Dick to kick Lindsey out of the band, Mick needed younger and bigger fire power, to keep FM selling out arenas.

Billy was pissed. As well he should have been. Dick has no soul.

He co-wrote “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” although I don’t know if that was hit.

Neil is only five years younger than Billy, so I don’t think age was a major factor.

Mick’s made it known that he still wants to make another album (as have Christine, Mike, and Neil). Billy had a very fair chance with the band but wasn’t a good creative fit, based on Mick saying that he always felt like he had to reign in Billy’s country tendencies. If you had a legacy pop-rock band, who would you rather have in the driver’s seat: Billy Burnette or Neil Finn?

Totally agree!! But I will always love a bit more what she did on Mirage too:laugh:

My favorite Christine Period is 1973-1984

I know, there's a lot of excellent material of hers after that. But that's my core.

Time brought out the gem Sooner or Later. I love that song so much. Wish Mick would have flushed out the drum solo more at the end.

Even though I am not crazy about the album Tango, I would have to include 1987 for the years you mentioned. Chris's are my only favorites besides the title track. She brought her A game for Tango and was ready to play. But its really hard to pick an era with Chris because she does not put out or record bad songs. They may not be my favorites but I respect the writing and the music. She always has good songs no matter what.

Totally agree with this!!:blob2:

What I'd be curious to know is what the album would have sounded like if Warners hadn't insisted Chris have some involvement (if you doubt that's what happened check Mick's more recent autobiography).

Were there recordings of other compositions by Billy etc that got pushed aside to make room for Chris's material. This I cannot help wondering...

I think I would have had a hard time mentally accepting a version of Time as a Fleetwood Mac album that only had Billy Burnette as a vocal holdover from their previous (and worst ever, in my humble opinion) album... yes, Mick and John would have been on it, but come on...

In fact there is evidence that Christine was to be involved in 1993 with what was to become Time - go to about 8;10 on this video (filmed just before the Clinton inauguration). There was also an interview with her at around the time of The Dance when she said that her participation in the recording of Time was a contractual obligation..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lc7hE9TIr0

"It's quite well publicised that I had planned not to tour again with Fleetwood Mac, so my excuse is that a girl can always change her mind.so you know, i don't know I would like to do a few concerts here and there and certainly pursue a solo career as well..hopefully Fleetwood Mac are going in the studio in April or thereabouts to make another album"

I think this was around the time that Billy had left which might explain the absence of his guitars from her songs and the use of Michael Thompson instead...Dave and Bekka joined in 1994, initially without the involvement of Billy, so the non-Christine tracks may have been recorded in 1994/5 with a few overdubs here and there on the Christine tracks.

Just my theory..but I am inclined to believe that Christine's tracks were recorded first, not that her songs were then recorded later to rescue the album. Not that they did, in terms of sales...

I think by that point (January 1993) Stevie may have pulled the plug on recording with them as well as touring... but it's all a bit murky...