The Mamas & the Papas is the second studio album by the Mamas and the Papas, released on August 30, 1966. The album peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200 album chart and number 24 in the UK. The lead off single, "I Saw Her Again", reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was especially unique because of its origins."Words of Love" was released as the second single in the US peaking at number 5. In the UK, it was released as a double A-side with "Dancing in the Street" (a cover of the 1964 hit by Martha and the Vandellas) and charted at number 47 in the UK.

After John Phillips discovered that group member Michelle Phillips was having an affair with Gene Clark of the Byrds, he fired her from the group on June 4, 1966. In June, a new singer was hired to replace her. Jill Gibson was producer Lou Adler's girlfriend at the time and was already a singer/songwriter who had performed on several Jan and Dean albums.

The photo already chosen for the album's cover featured Michelle Phillips prominently, so Dunhill had Gibson take a photo posed in exactly the same position as Michelle, and then superimposed the new photo over that of Phillips. However, the decision was then made to shoot an entirely new picture with the new line-up and to also change the album's title to Crashon Screamon All Fall Down, which it was promoted under before release. With the return of Michelle to the group just prior to the LP's release, the original cover and eponymous title were reinstated.

The album was first issued on CD in 1988 (MCAD-31043) and also appears in its entirety on All the Leaves Are Brown, a retrospective compilation of the band's first four albums, with the single versions of "I Saw Her Again" and "Words of Love".