Hettie MacDonald's comedy-drama Beautiful Thing tells the story of two gay English youth coming of age in a working class section of South London. Sticking with the Mamas and Papas musical backdrop used in screenwriter Jonathan Harvey's original play, the film features several songs by the "California Dreamin'" contingent, as well as a handful of solo sides by Pappas' vocalist Mama Cass. Seemingly an odd musical backdrop for the movie, the folk-pop of Cass, Denny Doherty, and John and Michelle Phillips actually mixes quite nicely with the film's equal turns of whimsy and drama. Alongside such staples as "California Dreamin'," "Monday Monday," and "Go Where You Wanna Go," the disc also includes such low-profile Mamas & Papas fare as "Creeque Alley" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Rounding out the set, there are the more-pop-than-folk solo sides by Cass and an eight-minute suite of original music from John Altman. This is not only a fine soundtrack, but works quite well as a tidy roundup for Mamas & Papas fans, too.
All the leaves are brown... and the sky is grey...Those words, written by John Phillips and sung beautifully by Denny Doherty defined for so many people what was good about California... that it was a haven away from the dread of winter (and all that meant - literally and figuratively). "California Dreamin' " catapulted the Mamas and Papas into superstardom as Denny sang that he could be "safe...
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All the leaves are brown... and the sky is grey...Those words, written by John Phillips and sung beautifully by Denny Doherty defined for so many people what was good about California... that it was a haven away from the dread of winter (and all that meant - literally and figuratively). "California Dreamin' " catapulted the Mamas and Papas into superstardom as Denny sang that he could be "safe...
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For the past few years, I cannot live through the month of August without completely immersing myself in Sharon Tate. The timing may be morbid, but I just let it wash over me. I try to think about what she was going through at the time with a child on the way and a philanderous husband filming a movie overseas. I read Joan Didion's "The White Album" once more and imagine what the air felt like ...
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 "Beautiful Thing")
