Long lost and once thought destroyed, Sundazed Records’ tape- sleuth-in-chief Bob Irwin recently located the original mono master tape of The Mama’s and the Papas 1966 debut album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (Dunhill D50006).

Where was it hiding? In “the U.K. vaults” was as much as he’d tell me but he did send back a scan of the tape box.

The stereo master tape has yet to surface, so stereo CD editions of this classic have been sourced from who knows what generation copies and have sounded muffled and distant since the tape hiss had to be scrubbed for the digital wussies, taking with it whatever highs were left on the “generation x” tapes.   

But really the mono is the one to have since the “stereo” is really just the pre-mix work tracks spread to produce separation. In stereo you hear John Phillips’ voice and/or his and Denny Doherty’s separated from the gals and while that’s interesting if your goal is to pick apart the mix, the magic is really in the total vocal blend. The mono mix was for the important consumers: radio and “the kids.” It’s the document.

As for the music, you either get it or you think, with its strings and lavish harmonies it’s a lot of bubblegum. But if you think it’s bubblegum you haven’t really paid attention to “Straight Shooter,” which has to be the most direct, in your face drug song everon a pop album. “I’ve been searching all night just to find what I’m looking for.” “Just get me high. Baby, what you’re holding, half of that belongs to me.”

Are you kidding me? That went out over the air wrapped in the sweet, high spirited harmonies of that unmistakable sounding quartet and they got away with it, though of course the big hits that open the sides, “Monday, Monday” and “California Dreamin’,” are the iconic, unforgettable tunes—particularly if you’re of a certain age.

Though the album contains some filler like a “barrelhouse” old-timey version Lennon-McCartney’s “I Call Your Name” showcasing Cass Elliot’s enormous voice, a throw away “Spanish Harlem” and a tepid, though sweet edition of Bobby Freeman’s “Do You Wanna Dance,” even those have some charm thanks to the magical harmonies of the unlikely foursome and the “Wrecking Crew” backing featuring Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn and P.F. Sloan.

“Go Where You Wanna Go” still resonates with that mournful exuberance John Philips managed in much of his exquisite, underrated writing and P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri’s “You Baby” better known via The Turtles’ version gets a nice reading, but the album kind of runs out of steam as it heads for the finish line.

Still, five great originals beats the odds at a time when singles ruled and albums were cobbled together with a great deal of filler. This one took two months to complete and aside from the great tunes, there’s that utterly unmistakable, original sound that few groups ever manage.

The album was recorded at Western Recorders (now Ocean Way) with the legendary Bones Howe at the console but unfortunately, while it was atmospheric,If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Earswas never a sonic masterpiece (though it was a production masterpiece). Some of the instruments were captured well, Blaine’s drums have plenty of deep thrust and the dynamics were pretty good overall but for some reason the vocals have a somewhat muffled quality, though the vocal blend is seamless and magical.

The vocals are heavily bathed in reverb while the instruments aren’t, which produces the sensation of two separate productions patched together. The reverb works to perfection on “California Dreaming” for instance and not so well elsewhere.

I wish I could tell you Sundazed’s reissue made using an original tape that’s obviously not had a great deal of use was a revelation, but it’s not compared to a clean original. Clearly the tape has lost its top end air and high frequency extension. Whatever reverb had been around the instrumental bed has dried up yielding a very clean, precise and dry backdrop against which is this vocal barrage that now sounds more muffled than ever and more so than originally in a different space than the instrumental bed.

That sounds like a lot of complaining but I don’t mean it that way. The mono version has been out of print for more than forty years and it’s great to have it back sounding as good as it does here. So if you can find an original clean mono (good luck considering who was buying it and on what turntables it was being played on), go for that, otherwise this is the one.

Thank you Sundazed!