1970
CALIFORNIA DREAMING * WINSTON FRANCIS * BAMBOO 48 * UK
Originally written and sung by The Mamas and Papas, this slightly
faster, early Reggae beat, comes out a somewhat different song. In the original
lyrics a key verse is the one where the Mamas and Papas sing; "I stepped
into a church I passed along the way well, I got down on my knees and I
pretended to pray, you know the preacher likes the cold he knows I'm gonna
stay". Winston Francis in his version doesn't pretend to pray, but
makes a positive effort to pray, causing the preacher to "call out"
to him and no mention that he 'likes the cold'. Notwithstanding all those
anomalies, par for the genre, this is a electrifying version of what is already
a great song. I think that the UK release of this cut could be the first
pressing.