It was hardly a long haul, coming together in 1965 and burning out by 1968, but in the words of Papa John: "We had so much fun for two years, there was no more fun to be had."Yet in that time, The Mamas & The Papas became the USA's pop royal family, the American Beatles. Like The Beatles, they were four instantly recognisable, distinct personalities, with the same ready wit, entertainment value and high visibility factor. John Phillips and wife Michelle, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty looked and sounded like no other band in the land.
From the mid-'30s, the film-makers' film-maker at his peak. Le Crime De Monsieur Lange is a hymn to the rebellious working class. La Bête Humaine (based on Zola's novel) is a prototype noir, with train driver Jean Gabin seduced by murderous Simone Simon. WWI classic La Grande Illusion casts Gabin as a POW bent on escaping a German camp run by Erich von Stroheim. It was banned by Goebbels, who labelled it "cinematographic enemy No 1".
Originally recorded in 1971, The Residents' debut The Warner Bros Album was rejected and has remained unreleased until now. Its first outing is as a remix LP, and it's fabulous. Prime early-era Residents, it's an idiosyncratic assault on contemporary music (The Beatles, Dylan) and society using chaotic avant jazz/rock/classical weaponry. To hear this already deconstructed music fed through the mincer of contemporary electronica only makes it even more confusing, disorienting, beguiling and downright delightful.
