Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign
# Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign

Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign was the fourth solo LP by Dory Previn, released in November 1972. This was a thematic album about Hollywood misfits. The songs were intended for a musical revue that ran briefly in Los Angeles. It was planned to stage it on Broadway, but the previews were poor and the show was cancelled before it opened.

## Reception

Professional ratings :

| Review scores ||
| - | - |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | D |

Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, panned the album, saying "Previn doesn't just belabor a cliche, she flails it with barbed wire, and she never writes about a concrete situation when with extra words she can falsify it with abstraction."

Charles Donovan, for AllMusic, wrote: "Even when writing in cliché she impresses: "The Perfect Man" is her take on the tale of the golden man with feet of clay, and should by rights be toe-curling and unimaginative. Instead, it's an arresting piece with a pretty, counterpoint piano accompaniment. Only the grating honky-tonk arrangements elsewhere disappoint."

## Track listing

* "Mary C. Brown and The Hollywood Sign" (4'41)
* "The Holy Man On Malibu Bus Number Three" (4'45)
* "The Midget's Lament" (4'07)
* "When a Man Wants a Woman" (2'25)
* "Cully Surroga He's Almost Blind" (5'12)
* "Left Hand Lost" (4'56)
* "The Perfect Man" (3'11)
* "Starlet Starlet On The Screen Who Will Follow Norma Jean?" (2'36)
* "Don't Put Him Down" (3'55)
* "King Kong" (3'54)
* Medley (8'36)
   * "Morning Star/Evening Star"
   * "Jesus Was a Androgyne"
   * "Anima/Animus"

## Personnel

* Laurindo Almeida – guitar
* David Cohen – guitar
* Bryan Garofalo – bass
* John Guerin – drums
* Peter Jameson – guitar
* Tom Keene – keyboards
* Michael Lang – keyboards
* Joe Osborn – bass
* Earl Palmer – drums
* Reinie Press – bass
* Dory Previn – vocals, guitar
* Peggy Sandvig – keyboards
* Ron Tutt – drums
