*Here we come walkin' down the street...*

The Monkees have long been a part of my music collection, but until fairly recently, they have been strictly a “greatest hits” band to me – meaning, I never delved into their non-singles. As I believe I stated elsewhere, I got into The Monkees in my early teens and bought a greatest hits album. Unfortunately, I never really moved beyond those hit songs.

 

I feel like The Monkees kind of got a bad rap when they first came out in the mid-60s and it’s kind of stuck with them. The Pre-Fab Four. A manufactured band who didn’t write their own music and don’t play their own instruments. Never mind the fact that there are a number of groups from that time (and since) that don’t write music and use studio musicians on their albums – particularly the latter. The Beach Boys, The Mamas and The Papas, The Temptations were all basically vocalists in the studio. Even so, that wasn’t entirely true. Maybe they didn’t play or write much on their first album or two, but Mike and Peter were both decent musicians before they were cast as Monkees. And I think a certain amount of props has to be given to Micky – who initially only played guitar – for learning to play the drums so quickly. And they were expected to do an awful lot – not only acting in a television show, but recording albums and making personal appearances and doing live performances. All in all, I find what they were able to accomplish very impressive.

 

The early songs were often composed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and are amazingly catchy – like “Last Train to Clarksville”, the fast-paced “Let’s Dance On”, the sweetly sung “I Wanna Be Free”, and rocking “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone” (which has always been a favorite of mine). Neil Diamond contributed a few tunes as well like “I’m A Believer” and “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)”. Then of course, the exceptionally accomplished Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote some great Monkees hits like “Pleasant Valley Sunday”. And yes, The Monkees themselves did write a number of their own tunes. Mike Nesmith wrote “Mary, Mary”, “Tapioca Tundra” , “Sweet Young Thing”, “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”, “Listen to the Band” (a personal favorite of mine) and a number of others. Peter Tork wrote the appealing “For Pete’s Sake” that was featured as the closing theme for the 2^nd season of the TV show. Micky, inspired by a party thrown for them by The Beatles, wrote the tune “Randy Scouse Git”. Davy even co-wrote a few songs like “Hard to Believe”. Oh, and if you want to check out a definite lyric challenge, look up the song, "Goin' Down", written by all four band members. Crazy fast lyrics!

 

As I’ve been checking out more Monkees albums, I’m finding that my favorite of their albums is the 1967 released Headquarters. It’s really an exciting album. It’s the first album made after producer, Don “The Man With The Golden Ear” Kirshner was dismissed and you can hear the amount of enjoyment, excitement, and energy the band put forth into making it. Upon its release, it raced up the charts to number one, only to be bumped firmly into the number two spot by The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper.

 

The album kicks off with the country-tinged rocker written by Mike, “You Told Me”, featuring some excellent banjo playing by Peter. Boyce and Hart’s “I’ll Spend My Life With You” is a lovely ballad sung by Micky and is followed by the catchy “Forget That Girl” with Davy providing the vocals. Mike takes the duty as lead singer on the fantastic song, “You Just May Be The One” – and Micky provides excellent harmonies. “Shades of Gray” is more of a grown-up song for the band, lyrics reflecting on the uncertainty of the mid-1960s – and features

superb vocals by Davy and Peter. “For Pete’s Sake” is a fantastic tune with an addictive guitar riff and very “Summer of Love” lyrics that I love. “Mr. Webster” is a slower song that tells the sad story of Mr. Webster and features a lot of tambourine by Davy. Another Nesmith penned song follows with “Sunny Girlfriend” and then a classic 1950s rock and roll inspired song, “No Time” (and there’s a Beatles reference in this song!). “Early Morning Blues and Greens” is another lovely Davy sung ballad. And the album ends with Micky’s excellent “Randy Scouse Git” – I love the piano part and the contrast between the verses and the chorus. Though, I think my favorite song (at least of the moment) is one of the bonus tracks, “All Of Your Toys”. That song is fantastic and very addictive. It’s a bit Beatle-esque, but I love that tune and the use of harpsichord and piano. Micky does a great job on the vocals and I also thoroughly enjoy the background vocals. It was written by Mike’s friend, Bill Martin and the tune was slated to be a single originally, but couldn’t be released due to copyright issues.

 

Like I mentioned, I never thoroughly explored the band’s full catalogue of songs – and while I still have a bit more to peruse, I think I’m beginning to fully appreciate how remarkable this band was. In fact, the more I’m getting to know them, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to pick a favorite member. It was originally Davy, because of his adorable face and British accent (I got to see him live in ’04!), but now… I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go watch some more of them and I’ll be able to decide… Until then, I’ll leave you with this.