Customer Reviews

The Big Three Featuring Mama Cass Elliot

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is now one of two versions of this excellent group's only record available on CD. The recording quality on both CDs is excellent, and this import contains 3 tracks not on the other, which makes it the better one to have musically -- but -- the liner notes are very disturbing to fans of the mucicians involved. They are depressing, cynical, and inaccurate. Of course they hit a low point when discussing the untimely death of Cass Elliot, somehow managing to avoid the untrue rumor about her having choked on food (she actually died of heart failure), but instead propagating an equally disgusting one concerning the aftermath of that sad event. The newer release (also available through Amazon) has liner notes by a writer who has obviously done his homework, interviewing everyone still living who was involved with the group and retrieving interviews with Cass that even old fans like me didn't know existed. All in all, both CDs are great to listen to, but the better information about the group is with the new (10/2000) version. If you're interested, please see my review of the new album ("Powerful, edgy folk music") under its own listing.

of obscure folk groups. While I do not give this collection the five stars rendered by all of the other reviewers of this title, it is still a wonderful assemblage of both traditional and contemporary folk music, and offers the listener an opportunity to experience the pure and powerful sound of a young Cass Elliot. The voices of her two partners, Tim Rose and Jim Hendricks, are passable as compared with other folk groups of the time, but it is Elliot's lovely strains that ultimately carry the trio.

I purchased this title from Amazon.com more out of curiosity than out of an old memory of having ever heard the group. I simply wanted to hear what Mama Cass had to offer prior to the inception of The Mamas And The Papas; and I am not disappointed that I did.

If you're interested in pursuing the overall history of the '60s folk revival, the liner notes are extremely informational, and are worth the price of the CD alone.

Being the biggest Cass elliot fan on the west coast, I was shocked to actually find this collection of works from her band The Big 3, before she became mama cass with the mamas and the papas. This is a great album. I had no idea how great and spectacularly sounding this would be. I saw it in the store and had to get it. If you are a cass fan, you have to get this album. It's amazing to hear the way she sounded before her solo career. Especially because it is a foreign release and you never know how long it will still be available.

Back in the late 1960s, I discovered the two albums by the Big Three in the cut-out bins of the old Arlen's stores. As a big fan of folk music, and of the Mamas and Papas, the decision to buy the albums was easy. I wasn't prepared for how much I actually loved them. The voices blend beautifully in excellent harmony. Anyone who is a fan of Cass Elliott will have to add this CD to their collection. My old albums on FM are all mono, so hearing these songs in great stereo was also a treat, and all the songs on those two LPs are included on this excellent sounding CD. I will be playing this one a lot.

With The Big Three led by Cass Elliot's ( later known as Mama Cass )brassy , powerful voice I don't see how this group could've done wrong . These songs are great ! Especially "Wild Women" , where everyone can hear the strength of Cass's voice . These songs make you feel like you're sitting in the coffeehouses listening to the greatest and grooviest group .. THE BIG THREE !

I'm revisiting my 1999 review with the added comments in 2005 that we are all blessed with this CD reissue of the stunning artistry of a great spirit. I've enjoyed the great fortune of experiencing the then unknown Cass Elliot's live sets and the original vinyl recordings of 40 years ago.
As one of those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of patrons who heard Cass at her earliest (and fullest?), with The Big Three in the "Village" and self-consciously feeling it must be a little weird to sit alone time after time a few feet away --spellbound and nursing cheap rum and colas-- as long as the live set lasted. Having had that courage then to repeatedly feel a little weird has paid back in life experience, then and now -- for over 40 years-- an awesome, awesome reward.
I would compare that life experience today with similar circumstances of those who witnessed Eva Cassidy's singular but obscure artistry in her time, leaving an indelible and cherished memory of truly Great Art. And who now have the benefit of widely available CDs and the Digital Lifestyle access and exposure for those stunningly authentic treasures.

Although their style is a bit raw....the Big Three are folksigners, I have always loved their voices. I preferred the Big Three to the Mamas and the Papas, but that may be because I liked little impromptu folk get togethers rather than polished studio work. I had this album (33) many years ago; however, it disappeared somewhere along the line. I love having the music of my youth back to listen to!

So we should pass up the better musical package (more songs, harder to find high quality UK pressing) because the liner notes might depress us? The liner notes to this edition seem plenty authentic to me, and also feature extensive quotes from closely involved partries. I can't help but wonder if some anonymous reviews have an unstated agenda of pushing one (abridged) edition over another...