Maps of Music

People Like Us (1971)

Where the lyrics of People Like Us take you, and where it was really made.

This album exists because of an old contract clause: the group had to deliver one more record, and its members made it while trying to avoid a lawsuit.

Key places

Recorded at The Sound Factory (1971)

Recording site The Sound Factory — The release credits list The Sound Factory as the recording location. The point uses building-level coordinates, and the source gives no session dates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• People Like Us (1971): fifth and final studio album by The Mamas & the Papas
• Released November 1971, three years after the group broke up
• Made to fulfil one remaining album owed to Dunhill Records
• Produced by John Phillips
• Nearly all songs written by John Phillips; the only self-written and self-produced album by the group

Background

• The group had originally signed to Dunhill when its original producer Lou Adler ran the label
• In 1971 ABC Records bought the label and found the band owed one more record to fulfil the contract
• Without this record, the band were possibly subject to substantial financial penalties
• The group briefly reformed long enough to write and record the album
• Cass Elliot was reportedly ill during the sessions, so Denny Doherty and Michelle Phillips handled most lead vocals
• Some lyrics refer to John Phillips's romance with actress Genevieve Waite, whom he married in 1972
• Waite is credited as co-writer of two songs

Recording

• Recorded at The Sound Factory in Hollywood, according to the release credits
• Engineer Dave Hassinger; assistant engineers Rick Heenan and Val Garay
• Orchestral arrangement by Gene Page

Cover

• Cover photography by Henry Diltz

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in New York City in 1965 by John Phillips, Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty, with Cass Elliot as the last member to join.
• Built on vocal harmonies arranged by John Phillips, adapting folk to the new pop beat of the early 1960s.
• Signed to Dunhill Records after an audition with Lou Adler in 1965.

Members

• Denny Doherty (Canadian), John Phillips (American), Cass Elliot (American), Michelle Phillips (American).
• Jill Gibson briefly replaced Michelle Phillips in 1966 before she was reinstated.

Career

• Released five studio albums and 17 singles; six singles reached the Billboard top 10, and sales are close to 40 million records worldwide.
• Hits include "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday", which became the band's only US No. 1 and won a Grammy in 1967.
• Performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 and split in 1968, then briefly reunited to record People Like Us in 1971.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998; a later New Mamas & the Papas lineup toured through the 1980s and 1990s.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Fans and critics were largely negative about the record
• Songs 'Snowqueen of Texas' and 'Lady Genevieve' were felt to be highlights
• Single 'Step Out' was a modest hit: #81 on Billboard Hot 100, #25 Adult Contemporary
• 'Pearl' was a tribute to Janis Joplin

Reappraisal

• Michelle Phillips later wrote in a Mamas & Papas CD liner note that the album sounded like four people trying to avoid a lawsuit
• The 2016 4-CD Ultimate Anthology offered a full remix that restored parts originally mixed out, including Cass Elliot's vocals

Records

• Peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart
• Sold moderately well despite its poor reputation

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was made because a contract clause required one more record after ABC Records bought Dunhill in 1971.
• Without this record, the band were possibly subject to substantial financial penalties.
• The group reformed only briefly, long enough to write and record the album.
• Some lyrics refer to John Phillips's romance with Genevieve Waite, and Waite co-wrote two songs.
• The 2016 Ultimate Anthology restored vocals by Cass Elliot that John Phillips had originally mixed out.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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