The Mike & Micky Show Live (2020 album) Review

A frame from the “Daydream Believer” music video, sung by Davy Jones (second from left)

For the past year (has it been so long? So short?!) I’ve listened to and enjoyed the albums of the Monkees. Here is their newest live album and possibly their very last album. It might seem pointless to make a new album, seeing as 50% of the band, Davy Jones and Peter Tork, are sadly deceased. It’s also noteworthy as Michael Nesmith was the Monkee least involved with the Monkees. He was often entirely absent from tours. After the quartet played in the mid-90’s, he would not return until 2012, sadly after Davy Jones had passed. He’s progressively played more since then and here, he certainly isn’t absent from the album. He most likely features on all of this album’s songs.

As a guitarist for most of his life, Nesmith probably fills all the lead guitar roles. It sounds so good to hear him and Micky banter. For a few tracks, they’ll talk to the audience briefly before singing a song. Both Nesmith and Micky Dolenz seem to be having the time of their lives playing these tunes. There’s real excitement in their voices. It’s quite wholesome and heartwarming hearing Nez say he’s never enjoyed working with someone more than Micky Dolenz.

There’s no new songs here, it’s all the old favorites that Monkees fans have probably heard several times. There’s no complaints from me there. Most of these songs sound very good. Even the bad ones, like “Mary, Mary” have more spirit and energy here than on their original album counterparts. These songs sound less like pop songs than initially. Maybe that’s because they’re sung live or because they’ve been rehearsed a million times. That more lively and consistent sound gives this album its flavor. Two of my favorites from this album are “The Door Into Summer” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”. Those two, as well as many other tracks on this album, play with the ambiance of the scene. The instruments and singing fill the space and make a spectacle. Songs like “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “Tapioca Tundra” are more poetic lyrically and are sung more on the quiet side than many others. The choice of instruments and how they’re used sounds methodical.

Not all of the songs are improved. A common problem I’ve had with the Monkees’ sound once they’ve gotten older is that the songs seem like they’re written for guys in their twenties. When they’re singing them in their fifties, sixties, seventies they just don’t sound right. A key example is “(Theme From) The Monkees”, which includes the line “We’re the young generation…” Fortunately, that song’s absent. I’ve never liked it much anyway. Songs that are present here, like “[I’m Not Your] Steppin’ Stone”, which is about a gold digger who is perturbing the singer and “Last Train To Clarksville”, which is about a soldier going to war; don’t make much sense with older voices.

Generally, the best songs don’t sound as good as they’re not recreated in the right way. I always loved the timpani in “Randy Scouse Git”, but it’s absent here. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” originally had Nesmith on backing vocals, but now he’s not. It’s not like he was elsewhere at the time. A lot of the songs are performed slower and/or with certain instruments or scenes missing. Some songs are improved with these changes. “Papa Gene’s Blues” is a song that is popular with fans, but I never really liked. Here, Micky and Mike talk briefly, then it’s performed with a more raw sound than previously. There’s fewer instruments and a more simplistic composition. Micky participates with backing vocals which make the song sound much better. Multiple vocalists often improve the sound by adding a bit of weight to the piece. Many tracks feature female backup singers. They were very good. I was surprised by how much they complimented the songs. The more relaxed and stripped back style works with songs like “Sunny Girlfriend” and “Goin’ Down” as well. Because of pronunciations of words and instrument choices, songs like “Goin’ Down” and “For Pete’s Sake” made more sense to me.

The final four tracks could be called this album’s finale. At least to me, they have a grand feeling to them. “[I’m Not Your] Steppin’ Stone” was the last track on side A of More of the Monkees. Here, it’s the first of the last four. It emphasizes this album’s playful style by knowing it’s a bit silly, but the more wild and loud sound bring it to life. There is a bit of power in the performance of the instrumentalists. Next up is the band’s second most famous song, “Daydream Believer”. Daydream’s singer, Davy Jones, passing was quite hard on the many fans of the Monkees. This album’s version was quite sweet and humble. Micky sings most of the song, then says “It’s your turn…” to the audience. The audience sings the chorus and Micky jumps back in and ties it all off. This version of the song seems like an attempt to bring back Davy’s spirit and influence. The things people love about him simmer and ring. He was the one with the smile. He was the frontman. He was the image of the group. On an album by the Clash, one song called “We Are the Clash” was partially sung by a crowd that shouted “We Are the Clash!” That band’s frontman, Joe Strummer, said the message of the song was to say that the fans were the Clash. I interpret this version of “Daydream Believer” similarly. The fans are important to the product. We come together to go to concerts, listen to albums, and fill the hole that formed when Davy died. This song is like a finale to Davy. It encompasses many of his best qualities, his humility and heart.

It was a bummer to me that the best Monkees albums, The Monkees Present, was only represented by one song, but it’s one of my favorite Monkees songs and it’s the most liked song on Present. “Listen To The Band” rocks. It continues the spirit of Steppin’ Stone with its loud, orchestral style and energized lyrics and singing. Even on the original studio album, it appeared as though the song was trying to imitate a live sound. It works perfectly well as the real thing. The song is mainly about getting people lively. I always love the part when Nesmith yells “Listen to the Band!” and the instruments start roaring. This one is Nez’ finale. It has all the things that work about his songs. There’s a story and performance to them. Now it’s time for Micky’s finale. This song is the band’s most famous and it ends the album very well. It’s kind of strange that “I’m A Believer” works as well as it does. It’s just a love song on paper, but it plays like a little ballad in how it’s performed. This one gets the crowd going and it leaves you on a good feeling. This is the same on its original album, More of the Monkees. This was the last song on that album too. Some of Micky’s wordless vocals in the piece help emphasize the love he has for the girl in the song. The instruments flesh out the environment and tone of the piece. The song ends in finality for the album and possibly the Monkees’ discography as a whole. Who knows?

The Monkees have nothing left to prove. They’ve compiled a lot of their hits together and made a great show with them. None of these songs sound bad and some are pretty good. What’s next for the band? I can’t be sure, but it’ll surely be fun to sit back and see.

Headquarters (1967) Review

The band from this album’s photo session.

The Monkees finally have creative freedom over their work. Their first two albums were corporate and crumby. How do they do on their third album, Headquarters? Let’s see. Due to the flow of this album, I’m going to be reviewing the tracks in the order they appear on the album.

The album starts with “You Told Me”. I like how the song starts with the band members shouting “One, two, three!” It’s silly and lighthearted, but it doesn’t detract from any of the more serious elements of the album. This is especially amusing as this parodies the opening of the Beatles album, Revolver, which starts the same way. Knowing that makes it even more clear that this is not establishing itself as something that should be taken too seriously. The Monkees’ first two albums appeared to be asking for more respect than they earned. This track, written by band member, Michael Nesmith, seems to comment on the band not having control. According to some, they were initially promised more freedoms than they got, so lines like, “All these things you said you said sincerely”, seem to refer to that. The track also discusses someone wanting to break out of their situation. This is complemented by good singing and guitar playing by Nesmith.

“I’ll Spend My Life With You” is the second track, sung by Micky Dolenz. This one discusses the singer saying he’ll spend his life with a good girl. He’s happy to go with someone reasonable. The singer indirectly says he’s getting smarter and he used to be more foolish. I like that the song’s not stating things directly. This song is very sincere and honest. Its style is different from the previous track. In fact, this album doesn’t have a ton of repeating styles. “You Told Me” was a country inspired faux-parody. This one is a quiet, subtle piece about the singer’s emotions. The simplistic instruments work well with the lyrics and good singing.

“Forget That Girl” is the third track, sung by Davy Jones. This one is very pop-styled, but the subtle vocals and clever use of instruments make it sound more complex than it is. The guitar and the maracas amplify the song. Davy’s vocals are very good. It’s weird listening to the older albums with uninspired vocals, because in Headquarters and later, they’re often the best part. Next is a silly rag song called “Band 6”. This album is going for its own aesthetic. “Band 6” is silly like in past albums, but it has an intelligent spirit. It seems to be parodying outtake tracks by having a sloppy quality with the instruments. The drumming is overly intense, the music stops, a voice says “I think you got it now, Micky [Dolenz, the drummer]”. This one is a fun interlude that once again shows the heart of the band. It leads very well into the next track.

We’re back to Nesmith for “You Just May Be The One”. Its vocals are a bit too simplistic, but the piece does a good job of painting the singer’s interest in a girl that they clearly care about. This track is one of the more serious on the album. It doesn’t come off as parody or anything of that manner. It’s a diverse song that dances around a lot with its instruments. The next song, “Shades of Gray” is beautiful. It speaks of breaking into the world and learning of life. The singers learn that things are more complex. Davy Jones’ vocals are absolutely superb. They excellently show the breaking of childlike innocence. Peter Tork is also very good, but has a little bit of wood in his voice. The instruments paint the tone perfectly. They emphasize the idea of growing up and experiencing the realism of life. Some lyrics are overly dramatic and over stylized, but the lyrics overall work. A particularly great line is, “It was easy then to tell truth from lies… The foolish from the wise.” A particularly moderate line is, “Life was such a simple game, A child could play.” Davy Jones does not sound good when saying the word “child”.

“I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind” is another Jones piece. It’s a simple rag. It sounds like a saloon song, just like Band 6. A piano of all things is the song’s dominant instrument. The singing is really good, though the lyrics are not anything special. They’re not bad, but it’s just Jones singing about how he can’t get a girl off his mind. They’re so boring. The piano overpowers the song, which is not a good quality, but it pulls attention away from the lyrics. Overall, the track is alright.

“For Pete’s Sake” has often polarized me. Some parts of it are quite good, others are not. Lines like “Love is understanding” are both good and bad to me. It summarizes the song, but it’s so bland, but the blandness works, but it’s… Is it good because it’s weird, or is that a bad thing? The instruments lack much detail and life, but that works, but I don’t really know how. This song discusses how love helps people. The simple premise isn’t bad, but the song’s paper thin… but that kind of works. I also flip flop on the ending. “We gotta be free!” is yelled a few times. The line speaks to the concept of breaking out of creative constraints and it’s sung well, but it’s so off putting and it doesn’t mean anything in the song. There are things that are genuinely good. Micky’s vocals are what fans love. He’s really good. “And what we have to be is free” is a particularly well sung line. He’s good at vocal complexities, not necessarily instrument complexities.

“Mr. Webster” is an odd one. The song tells a story about a Mr. Webster. The story isn’t interesting and the words don’t sound good. The vocals are once again good and the instruments are well played. They have a good energy and pace. It doesn’t come off like a Monkees song, it’s more like a Beatles song, though “Mr. Webster” has a harmony by Micky and Davy. “Sunny Girlfriend” is very much a Michael Nesmith song. It’s about a girl and it’s country inspired (more so than the others). You can tell that the singer loves this girl, based on what he says and how. The lyrics once again aren’t particularly good, but not bad. The high energy, lightly played instruments give the feeling of a sunny day. It’s the kind of instrumentation you’d hear at a park.

“Zilch” is another interlude. It’s a fun break from the more standard songs. It shows the band’s fun spirit and life. It doesn’t detract from the album’s aesthetic or tone and it works well if you just listen to it on its own. The song has a trippy, unnatural feel, which adds to the odd sound of the piece. It sounds cool. The band whispering “Zilch” at the end adds to the trippy feeling. This one’s pretty fun. “No Time” has the highest intensity of all the tracks. It’s very quick paced and exciting. Micky is shouting of how he has no time for a girl. He has real energy and spirit in his voice, but he’s also out of energy for the girl. It’s a good balance. The song was written by all four Monkees. This song seems like a reference to their real life situation. They got no time for the system stopping them from making their own music. Lines like, “You don’t seem to make no sense”, are particular examples. The writing feels like a group effort, which helps bring the piece to life. The line, “Nevermind the furthermore, the plea is self defense”, is so good. It’s like the band can’t contain their emotions and those great lines pop out.

“Early Morning Blues And Greens” seems like filler, but it’s still good. It doesn’t feel wholly like filler. It’s a low energy, very basic Davy song. This has one of the best uses of low energy instruments I’ve heard so far in the Monkees catalog. They’re mostly quiet, but they very well compliment the song’s tone and Davy’s vocals, which are quite good. Davy communicates a lot in his vocals. He’s tired, he’s waking up, he’s young, he’s old. The vocals have a detail and character that is very expressive. A particularly good line is “I will drink my coffee slow”. It’s very well sung.

This album continues to best itself, that has never been truer than with “Randy Scouse Git”. The track starts with a powerful and impressioning use of the timpani. There’s buckets of character in Micky’s voice. He seems exceptionally passionate about the matter. The lyrics are filled with metaphors. The lyrics are very interesting and descriptive. The singer wants more from the “wonderful lady”. This song summarizes all the album’s styles and concepts. There’s quieter moments, crazy moments, sincere moments, and in between, though Micky never gets too quiet. There’s a lot going on in the kind of way Micky’s singing and the instruments are being played and it’s blended so well. A lot’s going on. After some loud, crazy drums, it all goes quiet and you hear the drumsticks hit the ground. Just like at the beginning, the timpani is played and it sounds exceptional. The piano solo around the middle is so good, as well. This song exemplifies the writing prowess of Micky Dolenz and his abilities as a musician.

The band really seemed to care about this album. It’s finally a chance to prove themselves as real musicians. They, for the most part, play their own instruments. There’s themes to this album, unlike the last two. Headquarters is about growing up and learning new things. It’s about being a crazy, young guy. It’s about girls. There’s a solid flow from one track to the next. They fit together very well. Few tracks are like another and when they are, they’re not next to each other. This album is kind of their first. The Monkees will push themselves even further after this…

Next Album: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.

More of the Monkees (1967) Review

The Monkees in 1967 from left to right, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz

First, there was The Monkees and now there’s more… of the Monkees. One of the Monkees’ band members, Michael Nesmith, in Melody Maker magazine, said that More of the Monkees was “probably the worst album in the history of the world”. Similarly to The Monkees, The Monkees themselves had virtually no creative control here. You can tell.

The album starts with “She”. A recurring issue with Micky Dolenz in these first two albums is that his vocal skills are very poor. It’s a small step above just saying the lines. This isn’t helped by how bad the lyrics often are. Though there are exceptions, a good line in this song, “She needs someone to walk on so her feet don’t touch the ground”. That’s a funny line that emphasizes the point of the song. Another song here with a similar issue is “Mary, Mary”. Dolenz’ vocals are similarly uninterested and lifeless. It’s a shame the lyrics are so poor as the song was written by Michael Nesmith, who generally is quite talented.

Speaking of Michael Nesmith, he has one vocal contribution here, “The Kind Of Girl I Could Love”. This one feels more like a song written by Nez than Mary, Mary. It’s fast, faux-country, and upbeat. While Nesmith’s vocals are not spectacular, there is character and life to them. He’s not entirely interested or disinterested, based on how he sounds when singing the song. The instrumentation is uncharacteristically creative. The main problem here is that the lyrics are not very good. You could give these lines to any other pop singer. They don’t suit Nez.

The talents of Micky Dolenz that one would come to expect are seen more in “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” and “Sometime In The Morning”. Sometime doesn’t contain the greatest of deliveries, but this somewhat dry delivery style better suits the quieter, relaxing nature of the song. Like with morning time, the song reflects that feeling of waking up and starting the day. Micky seems to be trying too hard to be calm and relaxed in the song, but it’s overall passable. There is some emotion in his voice which improves the track and a line at the end when the title is said is so good.

Steppin’ Stone is one of the most famous songs in the Monkees’ catalogue. Micky trash talks a girl who’s stepping all over him. This song is high in spirit, tone, and sharpness. Dolenz’ vocals and the instruments are really good. Perhaps it’s unfair to criticize that something isn’t a different way, but what would help this song more are more instruments that are louder and wilder. Make it known, shout about how much of a gold digger this girl is. This track is similar to “She” in subject matter. The singer doesn’t like a mean girl.

Now onto the Davy Jones songs. “Hold On Girl” is the most obvious filler track. It’s a very typical romance song with no life anywhere. It’s a very bland experience. The instruments are noticeably louder than Jones’ quiet vocals. The song is overall very boring. “Laugh” is trying a little bit more than “Hold On Girl”. There’s laughter in the song by the other members. That’s it. The instruments here are too loud, just like in the other one. The instrumentation seems like a stock romance track. Both of these tracks portray an overly simplistic relationship (many of the other songs here do as well). They seem like attempts to appeal to the teenage girls who would be into the teen idol, Davy Jones.

Jones’ pieces improve with “When Love Comes Knockin’ (At Your Door)” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” In “When Love Comes Knockin’ (At Your Door)”, the instruments are once again very simple, but they work. Some of the lines are sung well, but for the most part, they’re unenthusiastic (I feel I’m repeating myself). It’s noticeably more interesting than the other Jones songs mentioned. Jones plays around with his voice a bit, trying to stretch it out and make it more prominent. The instruments seem to be trying to create something impactful. This song never hits any high bars, but it gets over the small ones.

Of the four songs not mentioned, two are bangers and the other two are trash. “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” finally gives us the good Davy Jones. His character loves the girl in the song and you know it. There’s finally a bit of life to the instruments. While it could be improved in all of it’s little elements, it’s still hitting marks and making a real impression. Jones’ voice and the instruments needed at least a little work. Near the end, there’s a bit of drag. Davy whispers things like “I love you” in the microphone. I wonder if this was done for the teenage girl audience. Rehearsals could probably iron out the wrinkles in the song, but it’s still good regardless.

Another stock-sounding instrumental plays for Davy Jones in “The Day We Fall In Love”. He’s barely even singing, this one’s more or less spoken word. This attempt at being soothing creates an uncomfortable experience to listen to. Sometimes Jones just stops singing and the terrible, faux-happy instruments play. This one alternates from being this album’s second worst song and its first in my eyes… Peter Tork generally seems to put the least into his vocals of the band. It appears that the man has always preferred to play the guitar. However, he sings great in “I Don’t Think You Know Me”. This is the same with “Shades of Gray”. In “Your Auntie Grizelda”, his vocals are wooden to an incredible degree. They are so stale and lifeless, it’s like a really talented vocalist was hired and they were asked to sing the song as wooden as possible. The instruments shriek and don’t convey much. They don’t emphasize the lyrics, the tone, anything. They subtract in how distracting they are. Tork near the end starts making noises with his mouth. I’m unsure if this was a joke or not and by extension, why it was included in this song. It doesn’t sound good. To give this track some credit, the lyrics have potential. They could go for some changes here and there and if sung well, this song could be good. Some of the lyrics hint at a darker nature to Auntie Grizelda, go more into that.

The last track on the album is the best, “I’m A Believer” is a very good song. It seems that more time and effort was put in here than in the others. The instruments are doing a lot and conveying a lot about the song’s lyrics, story, and tone. Micky Dolenz’ vocals are very good at portraying the concept of the song. You can tell he’s now a believer. The lyrics don’t seem that good on paper, but when sung well, they jump to life and really excel at sounding good and portraying the story. Despite how popish this one sounds, it’s a real piece with real effort behind it. 

The Monkees love negative romance songs. Characters talk about why they don’t like the relationship they’re in, instead of why they do. Songs like “She” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” are notable examples. The singer really does not like the girl in these songs. Speaking of singing, all four members of the band sing and most of the time, their vocals are uninterested and lifeless. It seems that the band didn’t enjoy working on this album and it shows. There’s an odd amount of repetition in these songs. In two Davy Jones songs, “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” and “Laugh”, shoes are mentioned. In “Mary” and Look Out, the girl of discussion is named Mary. I wonder if this is a coincidence. These repeats don’t seem to mean or add anything.

This album has more uniformity in tone than the first album. The first album is like if songs were plucked from very different pop albums and jammed together in one album. This one has more repetition in themes. “I’m in/was in a relationship and it was good/bad”. There are less direct examples like “Your Auntie Grizelda”. That song is about a relationship, but not a romantic one. This album is trying less to be fun. The first album’s songs feel like they’re trying to create an experience, these ones are not. This album’s repetition isn’t all good. Sadly, it goes too far and I feel like I’m hearing the same stuff on repeat. That was less of an issue the first time around.

The Monkees after this get creative control. I can’t help but consider their third album their first and this one their zeroth. I guess their first one would be the negative first album by the band. Having had two albums to practice, they bring their A-game as they run their music’s Headquarters.

Next Album: Headquarters

The Monkees (1966 album) Review

The album’s back cover (in Mono and Stereo!)

The Monkees is fun. Not just this album, but many of their others, their show, and their specials. The band’s foursome of Micky, Davy, Peter, and Mike make for entertaining viewing. After listening to this whole album for the first time in 2019, I didn’t like it very much. There were some sharp tracks in the bunch, but as a whole I was not impressed. How are my thoughts now?

It seems that the main purpose of these songs was to be featured in the TV series. In the show, there was often an attempt for the songs to match whatever is going on. In the episode, “Success Story”, Davy may have to leave the band and return to England, so the slow, downer song, “I Wanna Be Free” plays. In “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth”, the band has to do farm work in order to work off some money. “Papa Gene’s Blues” plays, which has lines like “I look toward a destination” and “I have no more than I did before”, which seem to compliment the situation. The show had a diverse range of topics, so this album does as well. That creates a bit of a problem. The tracks have no flow and thematically they jump all over the place. When looking at this not as a soundtrack, but as an album, it’s jarring jumping from a ballad to a high-octane romance.

“(Theme from) The Monkees” is possibly the album’s most famous song. It plays at the beginning of every episode of the show. It also embodies the tracks here, there’s a bit of everything that’s in the others. There’s a repetitive and simplistic nature in how the songs are sung. All the lines in this song are sung in the same manner, no excitement or resonance. Many of the tracks in the album are sung in uninvested ways. This track especially suffers as its tone is to get grander and more hyped. This can be derived from the instruments, which gradually get bigger. I prefer the version of the song in the show’s pilot episode. It was sung not just by Micky Dolenz, but the band. It was more raw sounding.

I gave high praise to only three of the tracks from my first listen. “This Just Doesn’t Seem to Be My Day” and “Let’s Dance On” were two of them. While I don’t dislike them, they feel less interesting and charactered. Dance essentially is just about a dance. It lists different kinds of dances like ‘the Pony’ and ‘the Watusi’. They come off like filler to pad the song. I wonder if it was produced to appeal to Beach Boys fans as it feels like one of their songs. It succeeds at getting one pumped and into the mood. Beyond that it’s filled with cream, at least it’s not empty. Day has good instrumentals, but at points it feels half put together. Davy Jones’ vocals sometimes works well, but other times they’re a tad wooden.

“I Wanna Be Free” and “I’ll Be True to You” are ballads that Davy Jones is known for singing. Despite previously being unimpressed, they are much better. The somber tone is not too depressing or too cheerful. Jones does have a fair bit of vocal talent which is not utilized in these kinds of songs. “Daydream Believer” perhaps has his best vocal talents because it utilizes a lot of different styles that he’s good at. That was released two years after this album, so perhaps he hadn’t grown to that point yet. They feel out of place on the album more than the others. Most of the tracks are high energy and cheerful, at least to a degree. Both are limited most severely by the need for them to be pop songs. The instrumentals are exactly what one would expect, gaining a baseline level of quality, but not producing anything creative.

The two Michael Nesmith songs are “Papa Gene’s Blues” and “Sweet Young Thing”. Both are at least partially written by him. Both feel like homages to country music and are about a love interest, just like most of the tracks here. Both do a good job of marrying subtle instrumentation and high energy. Instruments like the vibraslap are used in Blues to make the piece feel bigger and emphasize the song’s lyrics and tone. Thing is the least inventive of the two, but the instruments and harmonic way of singing still paint a sharp picture. Both songs would be improved with a more orchestral instrumentation. The lyrics want more to boost it up.

“Saturday’s Child” and “Take a Giant Step” are both love interest songs sung by the lead singer, Micky Dolenz. Both have a more childlike quality to them, as if the protagonist of the songs are experiencing a new kind of love. It’s like they just need to sing their emotions. The vocals are sadly a bit wooden and the instruments make a small impression. These songs want to be impressioning, but the main part of the music may as well not be there. “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” is also similar, but it’s about getting over a break up. The instruments don’t suffer from this issue as much and Dolenz’ vocals are better.

The last track on the album is seemingly filler. “Gonna Buy Me a Dog” seems to be a joke almost. Micky and Davy interrupt the song by laughing and joking. There’s never an attempt by anyone or anything to take anything else seriously. There are actual lyrics to the piece that are sung by the two, but all with an attitude of this being silly. I do appreciate an at least small degree of self awareness, but the song is awkward, ugly sounding with the instrumentals, and overall an unattractive experience. It doesn’t fit with the other songs which take themselves seriously.

The only track I haven’t discussed is the one I thought was the best after the first listen and I still think it is. “Last Train to Clarksville” is a very creative song. There’s a fluency to how it’s sung. The words have a natural rhythm and depth to them. There’s some subtext which really help bring this to life. While the instruments are again not prominent, it works as this is a more subtle piece that would not benefit from such instrumentation. The story of the piece is played out well through out. This is a good starting sign of Micky Dolenz’ vocal talent in a very good performance here.

There’s a lot of good and bad pushing and pulling on the album. It’s good that talented musicians and song writers are utilized, such as Carole King, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart. However, the need for the songs to be pop as opposed to their own thing very much limit the potential. The generally poor vocals drag it down as they’re focused on heavily and they suck out the life of many of the tracks. Having a lot of variety makes it more likely to appeal to people and prevent boredom. It’s an alright listen, but it usually only reaches a baseline level of quality.

The Monkees Guide

The Four Monkees

Studio albums

1. The Monkees (1966 album) Review
2. More of the Monkees (1967) Review
3. Headquarters (1967) Review
4. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (1967)
5. The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees (1968)
6. Head (1968)
7. Instant Replay (1969)
8. The Monkees Present (1969)
9. Changes (1970)
10. Pool It! (1987)
11. Justus (1996)
12. Good Times! (2016)
13. Christmas Party (2018)

Live albums

1. Live 1967 (1987)
2. 20th Anniversary Tour 1986 (1987)
3. Micky & Davy – Together Again (1995)
4. 2001: Live in Las Vegas (2001)
5. Summer 1967: The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings (2001)
6. Live Summer Tour (2003)
7. Extended Versions (2006)
8. The Mike & Micky Show Live (2020 album) Review

Compilation albums

1. Missing Links (1987)
2. Missing Links Volume Two (1990)
3. Listen to the Band (1991)
4. Missing Links Volume Three (1996)
5. The Headquarters Sessions (2003)

Other albums

1. The Wichita Train Whistle Sings (1968)
2. Magnetic South (1970)
3. Loose Salute (1970)
4. Nevada Fighter (1971)
5. Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1 (1972)
6. And the Hits Just Keep on Comin’ (1972)
7. Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973)
8. The Prison: A Book with a Soundtrack (1974)
9. Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart (1976)
10. From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing (1977)
11. The Point! (1977)
12. Live at the Palais (1978)
13. Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma (1979)
14. Concert in Japan (1981)
15. Micky Dolenz Puts You to Sleep (1991)
16. Tropical Campfires (1992)
17. The Garden (1994)
18. Broadway Micky (1994)
19. Demoiselle (1998)
20. Live at the Britt Festival (1999)
21. Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (2000)
22. Rays (2005)
23. The Amazing ZigZag Concert (2010)
24. King for a Day (2010)
25. Remember (2012)
26. Movies of the Mind (2014)
27. The Ocean (2015)
28. A Little Bit Broadway, a Little Bit Rock and Roll (2015)
29. An Evening With Peter Noone & Micky Dolenz (2016)
30. The MGM Singles Collection – Expanded CD Edition (2016)
31. Out of Nowhere (2017)
32. At The BBC Paris Theatre (2017)
33. Live at the Troubadour (2018)
34. Live in Japan (2020)

Videography

1. The Monkees Season 1 (1966-1967)
2. The Monkees Season 2 (1967-1968)
3. Head (1968)
4. 33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee (1969)
5. Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees (1997)

Other videography

1. The Night of the Strangler (1972)
2. Linda Lovelace for President (1975)
3. Keep Off My Grass! (1975)
4. Elephant Parts (1981)
5. Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)
6. Television Parts (1985)
7. The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
8. Daydream Believers: The Monkees’ Story (2000)