"Dream a Little Dream of Me"

Think of the greatest harmony singers and the Mamas and the Papas will turn up at some point. They're sadly forgotten these days except for perhaps the luminous "California Dreaming", though this lazy, gentle moment is the equal in every way. A soft, caressing rhythm, Mama Cass' extraordinary voice and a song from another time. There's honky-tonk piano, some marvelous drumming and a lyric that wouldn't be out of place next to Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World": "Say nighty-night and kiss me/Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me/While I'm alone and blue as can be/Dream a little dream of me." This is a song for those bucolic afternoons when you and your love can lie side by side, carelessly tangled as you look up at the sky and wonder where you're headed.