July 2023 MBR The Music Shelf

The Music Shelf

All the Leaves Are Brown
Scott G. Shea
Backbeat Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
www.halleonard.com
9781493072118, $32.95, HC, 422pp

https://www.amazon.com/All-Leaves-Are-Brown-Together/dp/1493072110

Synopsis: Few songs have captured the contradictions and ambiguities of the 1960s as memorably as "California Dreamin'," the iconic folk music single that catapulted the Mamas & the Papas into rock and roll history. With the publication of "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart", author and documentary producer Scott Shea details how John Phillips, Denny Doherty, Michelle Phillips, and "Mama Cass" Elliot became standard-bearers for California counterculture, following their transformation from folk music wannabes to rock sensations and chronicling the tumultuous events that followed their unexpected success.

Shea gives a definitive account of the group's short time together, from their hitmaking approach with legendary producer Lou Adler to John's unique songwriting to tours and friendships with other musicians riding the folk-rock wave. He also explores the emotional vicissitudes that came with being in the Mamas & the Papas, from Cass's unrequited love for Denny, his affair with Michelle, and the ebb and flow of dysfunction in John and Michelle's marriage.

And he explains how it all came to a crashing end with John's brainchild, the Monterey Pop Festival, which should have launched the group even further into the musical stratosphere, but only served to be their undoing. Drawing on new interviews with former bandmates, session musicians, family members, and many others, "All the Leaves Are Brown" is a layered, revelatory tale of overnight stardom and its many pitfalls.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a ten page Epilogue, a four page Bibliography, and a thirty-one page Index, "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart" is the definitive and fascinating history of the Mamas & the Papas -- and a 'must read' choice for their legions of fans. While highly recommended as a core addition to personal, community, and academic library 20th Century American Music History and Rock Band Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "All the Leaves Are Brown: How the Mamas & the Papas Came Together and Broke Apart" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.18).

Editorial Note: Scott G. Shea (https://scottsheaauthor.com) is a longtime radio producer who currently works on the show Seize the Day with Gus Lloyd on SiriusXM. He has produced five original audio documentaries that have aired nationally.

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