Rating: 
Summary: A thorough and very highly recommended sourcebook
Review: Go Where You Wanna Go: The Oral History Of The Mamas & The Papas by rock journalist Matthew Greenwald is the informed and informative story of "The Mamas & The Papas", one of the most widespread, popular, and successful musical acts of the twentieth century. Featuring a lengthy, rare, and never-before-published interview with Mama Cass, and including the points of view of fans, contributors, critics, friends, and colleagues of The Mamas & The Papas, Go Where You Wanna Go is a thorough and very highly recommended sourcebook for fans of this memorable group and who want to learn more about the people who helped to make the popular music of a generation.
Rating: 
Summary: Did they even have an editor?
Review: I am used to finding typos in published books, but this one takes the cake. it's so horribly edited that it's laughable, and it makes one question the fact-checking.
Rating: 
Summary: Go Where You Wanna Go by Mathew Greenwald
Review: I thought this book [was bad]. It didn't touch on half of the things I wanted to know about. i/e Mama Cass was arrested for stealing blankets but they never say from where or how. I wanted to know something/anything about the specifics of John's death but that wasn't even touch upon. John's drug use was mentioned a few times but not to the extent where I learned anything I didn't already know. The whole book is told from other people's perspective and what they remember. Some of these contributors are listed at the beginning of the book but several were not so it was hard to figure out exactly what the relationship was between these people and the Mamas and Papas.
I didn't really get any new informations from this book that I hadn't already learned over the years. This book was a complete waste of my money. ...
Rating:
Summary: THE Definitive Book About the First Royal Family of Pop
Review: I was involved in this project almost from the start. I wrote the discography and contributed a photo. I am also quoted in the book. But none of that means that I got to read the final print until it was released. I was blown away! If you are looking for a novel about the group go to the library. That's been done. This is a fantastic collection of quote after quote of the people that were there. Every quote is benefical to the next as it ties it all together. It makes a comprehensive and cogent story they all have to tell. Some of the the storytellers will be very familar and some of them you will get to know. They are all part of the comedy and drama that led up to and lasted through the incredible "bubble" in time that was The Mamas and The Papas. And it doesn't stop there. The revelations and confessions don't stop until the last day when the manuscript had to be submitted for publishing. You don't want to miss John's deathbed good-bye to Michelle or any of the other rare moments and photo images in this, probably one of the best tomes ever assembled about any of the rock-n-roll greats. PLEASE NOTE: I have no financial stake in the success - or lack of success - in this publication. I do, however, express my opinions freely and honestly. This book deserves to be read and the enlightened reader deserves this exceptional book.
Rating:
Summary: THE Definitive Book About the First Royal Family of Pop
Review: I was involved in this project almost from the start. I wrote the discography and contributed a photo. I am also quoted in the book. But none of that means that I got to read the final print until it was released. I was blown away! If you are looking for a novel about the group go to the library. That's been done. This is a fantastic collection of quote after quote of the people that were there. Every quote is benefical to the next as it ties it all together. It makes a comprehensive and cogent story they all have to tell. Some of the the storytellers will be very familar and some of them you will get to know. They are all part of the comedy and drama that led up to and lasted through the incredible "bubble" in time that was The Mamas and The Papas. And it doesn't stop there. The revelations and confessions don't stop until the last day when the manuscript had to be submitted for publishing. You don't want to miss John's deathbed good-bye to Michelle or any of the other rare moments and photo images in this, probably one of the best tomes ever assembled about any of the rock-n-roll greats. PLEASE NOTE: I have no financial stake in the success - or lack of success - in this publication. I do, however, express my opinions freely and honestly. This book deserves to be read and the enlightened reader deserves this exceptional book.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for M&P fans...definitely worth reading
Review: I was looking forward to this book for a long time. I had read John and Michelle Phillips' books so I knew the basic story. I was looking for more information about Cass, John, Michelle, and Denny...confessions, secrets, revelations, etc. So I bought the book and sat down and read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but when I was done I was not satisfied...I wanted more. I know the author worked on this a long time gathering interviews and talking to those who knew the Mamas and Papas. I can only assume that the editor went beserk and snipped too much out of the book, making some comments short and choppy...and possibly dropping other recollections altogether. For instance...not one quote from "Duffy" of Creeque Alley fame. I read on the Internet that the author found him on some south sea island...but not one word from him in the book. There were people I was expecting to be interviewed that weren't, like MacKenzie Phillips and Leah Kunkel, Cass' sister. I wish there was more from, or at least about, Jill Gibson. She was always such a mystery. It was so hush-hush at the time...like everybody was under a gag order from the record company. One thing that was cool was the discussion of who sings on album #2...Michelle or Jill? They both recorded the songs (Jill said she recorded ten of the twelve songs) but which voice was singing which songs on the album? They barely got Michelle's picture back on the cover in time for release. Lou Adler says Jill recorded six songs but he indicates Michelle taped over them upon her return...Michelle indicates she just doesn't know who is singing what. This is a mystery that I have wondered about. I still don't have an answer, but at least it was discussed. But after all my whining about wanting more after reading the book, I have to say I did enjoy it. I didn't stumble upon too much that was new, but I liked the format the book uses of different people's opinions and recollections. It was refreshing and fun reading. Many interesting opinions were shared...especially from those who worked close to the group in the studio. It is a good book, and I think it could have been an excellent book if it wasn't over-edited.
Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: If I see one more author write about the Sixties and excuse total unconcern for truth and objectivity with "If you can remember it, you weren't there!" ... Whenever this statement appears, you can prepare for gross errors of fact. And that's what you get with this book: A jumble of interviews with no evidence of fact-checking in site. This book isn't unique in this respect, of course. Lots of "rock encyclopedias" get birth dates, causes of death, family relationships, and other easily verified pieces of information wrong on every page. But this author solicited the help of devoted fans, some of whom are highly knowledgeable regarding the Mamas and Papas, and still managed to produce this disappointing and unenlightening muddle. Admittedly, Michelle's recount of her deathbed interview with John is not to be missed. But nearly everything else is either covered elsewhere (John's and Michelle's books, Denny's stage presentation, and Jon Johnson's biography of Cass) or questionable in integrity and intent. Particularly galling is the amount of mud slung at Cass Elliot, who of course can no longer tell her own side of the story, with no evidence of any attempt to contact anyone who might. Conspicuous by their absence are her sister, Leah Kunkel, and her last manager, Alan Carr (who was still alive when the early parts of this book were being researched). All in all, I could have done without this book. I was a teenaged Mamas and Papas fan in the Sixties: I was there, I do remember it, and this ain't it.
Rating:
Summary: You'll Never Listen to Their Music the Same Way Again!
Review: It's all here. The e-x-a-c-t quotes. And Matthew Greenwald conducted the interviews. You'll hear from the Mamas and the Papas' lead singer Denny Doherty, the late John Phillips and Cass Elliot, Michelle Phillips, Russell Gilliam (Michelle's sister), David Crosby, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Graham Nash, Barry "Eve of Destruction" McGuire, Mark Volman of the Turtles, Donovan, singer Scott MacKenzie, singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan, recording engineer and producer Bones Howe, mogul-producer Lou Adler, original Rolling Stones manager-producer Andrew Loog Oldham, Jerry Yester of the Lovin' Spoonful, Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Al Kooper, Marilyn Wilson (Beach Boy Brian's ex-wife), singer and painter Jill Gibson (who replaced Mama Michelle briefly in 1966), photographer Guy Webster and the Kingston Trio's John Stewart, among others. ...Mamas and Papas' fans have read about Denny's romantic kiss before in Michelle Phillips' 1986 autobiography, "California Dreamin," but I was now happy to read Denny Doherty's exact quotes about the handsome couples' love affair, while I'm waiting for Denny's current musical "Dream a Little Dream, the Nearly True Story of the Mamas & The Papas," to come to the states. The hard-driving, John Phillips' brilliance in arranging vocals and songwriting is talked about extensively. And "Go Where You Wanna Go" also explains how Denny Doherty and Lou Adler convinced John Phillips' wife and soon-to-be widow, Farnez, to allow Michelle see her ex-husband before he passed away. This book also has John and Michelle's last words on John's deathbed. John Phillips' Eulogy is here as well. Rock engineer and producer Bones Howe's candid shots of the Mamas & The Papas are also included. He used a 16mm "spycam" that he concealed in the palm of his hand to get the never-before-published photographs. The actual phonograph recording contracts are shown in this book. I liked reading the producer's engineer's, studio musicians' and friends' praise of Denny's and Cass Elliot's singing voices, and analyzations of the Mamas & The Papas' personalities. Loved Denny's entertaining story on the surprise WHO concert--he caught outside his hotel--after the Ms and Ps performed at Monterey in '67, and why he almost didn't show up for this Ms and Ps historic performance! Read his first impression of Jimi Hendrix's and THE WHO's set that he witnessed at the Monterey Pop Festival before the Ms and Ps took the stage. (Remember THE WHO and Hendrix were relatively unknown at the time.) Did David Crosby really turn Cass onto heroin? The Crosby, Stills, and Nash singer/songwriter answers this question here. Sandy Grangers' extensive 9-page discography is a book in itself. It shows the facts behind the Mamas & The Papas' unreleased material, such as "Here in My Arms." And to quote from Matthew Greenwald: Follow this book as a film on the printed page, or better yet, a play or a large conversation, and you'll do all right. The story of the Mamas & The Papas includes joy, sorrow, pathos, comedy, sex, drugs, and even......rock & roll. But these things are only secondary. At the core is love, I swear. The Mamas & The Papas; They really did put the "fun" back in dysfunctional.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent work!
Review: It's fantastic! I have expected its release since I first learnt that it was gonna be written (approx. 2 years ago). It's been a long time but it was worth the wait. I've read Michelle's and John's biographies and even Hall Doug's California Dreamin' and I think that Greenwald's GO WHERE YOU WANNA GO is not just another book in the Mamas and the Papas' bibliography. You can always find something new throughout it that has not been mentioned in the other books. As the title says it's an oral history and it's told not only by Michelle, Cass, John, and Denny, but also by all those who directly or indirectly were part of their roller-coaster lives. The book has the power of making you feel that you were also part of that story since a single event, for instance, is told by three or four different people without necessarily overlapping but complementing each other. I recommend this book not only to any The Mamas and the Papas' fans but also to all those who are interested in the history of Rock and Roll of the late 60's.
Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: The "sloppy and disappointing" reviewer has it right on. If anything, the book is worse than that review indicates. The tapes were either transcribed by a particularly backward sixth-grader or someone who simply didn't care. There are mistakes on virtually every page, there is no index and narrative flow is replaced with a patchwork of jumbled memories. This is truly a crass, opportunistic rip-off.
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