San Francisco

Oh, to be transported back to 1967. I know, you've heard it before, The Summer of Love, but it was beautiful. New ways of expression: peace signs, flowers, be-in's, love-in's. Gentleness and color everywhere. The words most in vogue were love, peace and brotherhood. And it seemed that some of this philosophy might actually infiltrate the political arena, paving the way for a new and better world. Musically, the genius of The Beatles inspired other artists to great heights. One of the most familiar sounds floating around like incense at the time was the celestial harmony of the Mamas & Papas. And one of their friends, Scott McKenzie, with a little help from John & Michelle Phillips of the M&P's, sang one of the most memorable lyrics of the time: "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." It might sound corny now, but it didn't then.I bought this CD after hearing "San Francisco" on the local oldies channel, with no idea of what the rest of the album would be like. I'm happy to say that I am not disappointed. Scott has a smooth tenor voice that is appealing and a little plaintive. It is a good fit for the material, mostly folk-rock of the time. Getting specific, there are two covers on the album that are "scaled down" in a similar manner. "Celeste", originally by Donovan, is less dramatic, less ornate in Scott's hands, but affecting nonetheless. Same for "Twelve-Thirty", originally by the M&P's. Three consecutive tracks - "Like An Old Time Movie", "No, No, No, No, No", and "Don't Make Promises" - have a lot in common. All three are about difficulties and disenchantment with a woman, all three have good string and horn arrangements, and all three sound pretty much like the music of the M&P's. (Not surprising, since John Phillips wrote "Like An Old Time Movie".) "It's Not Time Now", written by John Sebastian & Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful, is another good folk-rock song. "What's The Difference (Chapter II)", written by Scott, is a pretty ballad with strings and prominent reeds. "Rooms", also by John Phillips, stands out because it has a rather dark, meandering melody, more complicated than the average pop tune, and an offbeat guitar solo. The two tracks that I like least are "Reason To Believe", an attempt at a more "rock" sound, and "What's The Difference (Chapter I)", which is a little too light for my taste. But all in all, the album is very pleasant, and if you like the M&P's or other soft rock bands like The Carpenters, I think this CD will please you. A product of its time, it is a good reflection of its time also.

Everyone is quite familiar with singer and songwriter Scott MacKenzie based on his single smash hit with the emblematic "San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair). Yet this talented and versatile singer and songwriter is much more than a one-hit wonder, and this collection of his recordings over a decade or so reflect that fact very well. He started his recording career as a member of the Smoothies, and worked his way into the khaki and button-down shirt folk work of the Journeyman, where, along with future Mamas and Papas founder John Phillips, he showed just how talented he was.Yet it was as a solo performer that he attempted to make his mark, and while he flirted briefly with superstardom based on the overwhelming overnight success of "San Francisco" (written, incidentally, for him by friend John Phillips), MacKenzie was turned off by the reaction that his success brought him. Like Don MacLean experienced with the phenomenal success of "American Pie" a decade later, Scott hastily retreated from commercial success, and did some of his best work away from the glare popular venues.The covers provided on this album on other artists' work shows how versatile he was, and his own songs, such as "What's The Difference?" illustrate how thoughtful, articulate, and forceful a songwriter he could be. Finally, his later work, as in the "Stained Glass Morning" album proved that Scott MacKenzie was a talented, versatile, and gifted artist who deserves to be heard and appreciated on a much larger stage than he ever has been. This CD offers the listener with an opportunity to become more familiar with the range of his work, and I recommend it to anyone interested. Enjoy!

In a previously posted review of this album, I erroneously attributed authorship of the song "No, No, No, No, No" to "Papa" John Phillips, who did in fact pen four of the eleven songs on this release. "No, No..." was actually written by G. Stephens and M. Polnareff, which doesn't mean that it doesn't sound exactly like a Mamas & Papas song (sans Michelle and Cass) because it does. In fact you'd almost swear that John Phillips was doing the vocals on that one; McKenzie's otherwise distinctive voice is apparently multitracked here giving it an anonymous--though not unpleasant--quality.It is McKenzie's voice that makes this release distinctive, since as I mentioned in the previous review, the material selection could have been better. But he was a remarkable singer, with a warmth and sense of diction that was rare even among folkies.Another (minor) caveat, though: as with many recordings of the period, the string arrangements are a little clunky in spots. In the post-"Pepper" world, everyone was jumping on the orchestrated bandwagon, sometimes to good effect, but more often a bit heavy handed or just ill thought out. In the afore-mentioned "No, No..." the string section sounds like it was being played down the hall in another room.

This album was obviously thrown together in 1967 to maximize the financial return from the mega hit "San Francisco". The fact that it is solid thruout was a huge surprise to me in the 60's and it still holds up today. His voice really fits the Tim Hardin songs, the John Phillips songs are well done, and his original song "What's the difference" is excellent.If you like the song "San Francisco" you should love this album. I recommend it to any ex-hippy or ex-hippy wannabes.

This DVD was Ok. I liked the first track on it which was of course San Francisco. The rest of the songs were all right but not exceptional. I bought it mainly for Scott's rendition of the song San Francisco which brought back a lot of memories, I would recommend it for those lived through the 60's era. The price was right.

The sad part is that so many Singers and Stars are no longer with us today,that's also one reason for collecting all that music,the memories will live on forever.....

very good

I purchased this cd as I thought the original recording would have been digitally enhanced. No such luck but we get a rehashed disappointing version in stereo. Despite my 45rpm being scratched this is the one I will play. The other tracks are nothing to write home about.

Sure, Most Everybody Knows Scott For His Massive 1967 Hit " San Francisco " ( " Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair " ) But The Rest Of This CD Is Worth A Listen If One Wants To Recall The Time That So Many Thought They Were Going To Change The World For The Better....Contains Tracks From Scott's Days At ODE And PIC Records...He Is No Longer With Us. R.I.P.