Search - Tim Rose, Jim Hendricks, Mama Cass Elliot :: The Big Three Featuring Mama Cass Elliot

Powerful, edgy folk music, but the liner notes are a problem

02/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

A delightful addition to my ever-expanding library

Cal Wilson | Fremont, California, USA | 12/24/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

The greatest folk band ever

Cal Wilson | 08/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."