Product Description

Lavishly illustrated and cinematic in scope, Go Where You Wanna Go is told from the points of view of not only the group members, but also from those of their friends, musical collegues, business associates, critics, and fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #976135 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-30
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.25 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 328 pages

From Library Journal
Projecting a sunny, carefree image with folk-pop hits such as "California Dreamin' " and "Monday, Monday," the Mamas & the Papas pioneered the kind of complex internal dysfunction later popularized by Fleetwood Mac. Greenwald, a rock journalist and longtime fan, collects quotes from new and existing interviews with M&P friends and associates to tell the group's soap-opera story. The band itself is represented by new interviews with surviving band members Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty, a previously unpublished interview with the late Cass Elliot, and previously published quotes from the group's recently deceased leader, John Phillips. The oral biography approach has pitfalls, as many of the quotes seem muddled without an author's narrative to provide background and context. Once the account reaches the group's breakup in 1968, important later events are given short shrift. For instance, it is unclear from the text exactly when Elliot died; only a caption from a funeral photo tells readers it was 1974. Later, an early Eighties reunion fronted by Doherty and John Phillips is ignored completely. Also annoying are a significant number of typographical errors in the proofs. Still, the lurid details of sudden fame, drug consumption, and an affair between Michelle and Doherty (leading to Michelle's firing and rehiring and Mama Cass's jealous wrath) make for fascinating reading. Recommended where there is demand for Sixties rock music titles, especially since the dueling autobiographies of John (Papa John) and Michelle Phillips (California Dreamin') are out of print. Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The Mamas and the Papas' perfect pop harmonies and wistful hippie image captured my imagination as a kid, though little did I understand then that offstage, they were rockin' harder than any other group out there! Today, their dichotomous history remains fascinating—it's no wonder Matthew Greenwald chose to examine it up close. (Sullivan, Denise )

With the Mamas and Papas, it was always the voices. Author Matthew Greenwald has captured the voices together one last, sweet time, telling their own story in their own voices in what is without question the definitive account of this American rock fable. (Joel Selvin San Francisco Chronicle, Pop Music Critic and Author of Summer of Love )

Much more than merely a history of The Mamas and the Papas, Greenwald's book is a snapshot of a magical time in our cultural history. The interconnections it delineates are absolutely fascinating. (Michael Fremer )

Greenwald's research is impressive and his editing skills sharp, as the story unfolds with ease and great interest. (Mojo )

Greenwald interviews members of the group (Michelle Phillips, Doherty) as well as such band contemporaries as producer Lou Adler, Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and P. F. Sloan. You won't find a more gripping rock history-cum-moral tale: the group's spellbinding story turns Shakespearean as the California dream unravels. (High Times )

As an object lesson in how all that glitters isn't gold, Go Where You Wanna Go is a you-shoulda-been-there snapshot of a loss of innocence—and a farewell to the last golden era. (Record Collector, (Uk) )

As an object lesson in how all that glitters isn't gold, Go Where You Wanna Go is a you-shoulda-been-there snapshot of a loss of innocence—and a farewell to the last golden era. (Record Collector, (Uk) )

All in all Greenwald's book is a good warts'n'all read.... (Folkwax )

About the Author
Matthew Greenwald is a rock journalist whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, MOJO, Sing Out!, and Crawdaddy! He lives in Los Angeles, California. Andrew Loog Oldham was the manager of the Rolling Stones from 1963-67 and is the author of Stoned.

Matthew Greenwald is a rock journalist whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, MOJO, Sing Out!, and Crawdaddy! He lives in Los Angeles, California. Andrew Loog Oldham was the manager of the Rolling Stones from 1963-67 and is the author of Stoned.