New Monkees Fan

[alf wiedersehen]

I've been interested in checking out their music for a while; thanks to this board (probably), I was able to move past the stigma that exists around the band. They're one of the great, 60's pop bands that I haven't dug into yet. 

At a record store on Saturday, I finally picked up my first Monkees album:

Wow, what a great record. Consider me hooked.

I've been looking through their discography and have some questions:

1. What other albums should I check out? I'm not sure I want the two early albums where the Monkees only contribute vocals and not much of anything else, but I hear they're supposed to be good. What do you guys think? I'm looking to find the rest of the 1967-1968 albums, but I'm a bit clueless after that. Is anything else worth getting after Peter Tork left?
2. Seeing how many rarities compilations that Rhino has pumped out for this band, are any worth owning? It's kind of dizzying to try and get a grasp on what most of this stuff is.
3. Any good solo albums? I see that Mike's solo career is supposed to have some pretty good albums along the way. 

I would bet that there's a lot of other fans on this board, and I would appreciate to hear from you guys.

Also, I think Nesmith's my favorite.

[EgoHanger1966]

As far as the 60s albums go, you want them all, except Changes. Monkees Present is pretty spotty, too. YOU DO want those first two albums. Fantastic pop for the most part.

For rarities....Missing Links volumes 1-2. Vol 3 is not up to the standard of the other two. At the very least, just get volume 2. It's essential. One thing to note - often, the tracks that went unreleased were far better than what made the actual albums.

There are 2cd deluxes of the first four albums, and 3cd deluxes of the rest (minus Changes). These would probably be overkill for a newbie, but I have this feeling that you'll want them at some point...

You could just buy "Music Box" as a jumping off point instead. That does cover most of the bases.

And hey, they're touring the east coast in a couple of months! You should go check 'em out live if they play your town. I've seen them twice already since 2012 and they are superb. Hope to catch 'em once more on this tour.

This site is really helpful in determining reissues and all the different mixes of various songs that have come out over the years:
http://monkeesmixography.wikidot.com/

The Nez solo albums on RCA are pretty good.....but most of the versions of those he recorded during The Monkees years (and left unreleased) are much better, IMO.

[SMiLE-addict]

My Monkees ranking list:

1 - P, A, C, J Ltd.
2 - Headquarters
3 - The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees
3 - Debut album
5 - More of The Monkees

[alf wiedersehen]

often, the tracks that went unreleased were far better than what made the actual albums.

Seems all too familiar.

The Nez solo albums on RCA are pretty good.....but most of the versions of those he recorded during The Monkees years (and left unreleased) are much better, IMO.

Have any of these songs shown up on reissues or compilations?

[SMiLE-addict]

One thing to note - often, the tracks that went unreleased were far better than what made the actual albums.

One of the prime examples of that IMO.

Released:
http://grooveshark.com/s/The+Girl+I+Knew+Somewhere/3SSC3N?src=5

Mike's version:
http://grooveshark.com/s/The+Girl+I+Knew+Somewhere+Alternate+Version+number+Version/1ibLMQ?src=5

[Moon Dawg]

Headquarters is a good album that was generated by the guys themselves.

[EgoHanger1966]

In this case, I'd actually say the released version of The Girl I Knew Somewhere with Micky's vocal is better than the unreleased one with Mike - but, they're both worth having.

Headquarters, by the way, might catch you a bit off-guard. It's truly the only "group" album and you can hear how rusty the guys are. Micky's drum parts are rudimental at times. That's part of the charm, I'd guess. But this is another example of the unreleased vs. released thing plays in. The Monkees have several cases in which earlier versions of their songs rival the released version. I happen to like the takes of, say, You Just May Be The One and I'll Spend My Life With You from the 1966 sessions better than the group Headquarters take.

However, then there's a thing like All Of Your Toys - which the group played on themselves and is from the Headquarters sessions - that wasn't released due to copyright concerns (Bill Martin, songwriter, wasn't signed with Screen Gems and that presented a problem).....and THAT song is one of their best tunes ever.

It gets mighty confusing, that's for sure. I've been into the Monkees for a solid 15+ years (I know, I was a weird kid!), so it's less chaotic to me because I grew up with memories of the different issues that were out. I bought the 1994 remasters, then the Listen To The Band box, and collected the episodes on VHS, and watched as different packages were released etc. It's been fun. Sometimes I'll go long periods without listening to them, and I'll come back and go through a binge period, and remember why this band was so important to me, how much a part of my whole life they have been, how much truly quality music they made - and not just at the hands of Nesmith. And there's a whole lot of dreck, too - but it's all part of the story.

Here's another thing. I think one of the reasons I love this band so much is that they have one of the most fascinating and twisted stories ever. The story provides so much more in conjunction with the music. You'll have a great understanding of why the songs are they way they are, why they sound like they do (given whichever album/time period you're listening from). I'd recommend checking out a book (there are several), or watching something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVYGkv46NB0

And.......yeah, there's more. Check out the tv series. It's still funny. It's very of-the-time, but I wasn't even close to being born in the 60s and it catches my attention.

Re:Nez solo stuff. I have this compilation, it covers the Nez early RCA years pretty well. There are probably better ones, but this is the one I bought at a Borders once and like everything else, grew up with it. I wouldn't "go here" until you've fully gone through The Monkees catalog, but do whatcha want! (and disregard the songs on the cover picture, those are by The Guess Who!)
http://www.amazon.com/Best--Original-Hits-Michael-Nesmith/dp/B000060MEM/ref=sr_1_37?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1395101964&sr=1-37&keywords=michael+nesmith

Hmm, I might just be too passionate about this band!

[jet without wings]

The Monkees story is well documented. My recommendation is

monkees first album
Headquarters
Pisces, Aquarius...
More of The Monkees

Finally Missing Links Volume 2. Heavy on Nesmith material, so many good songs. How a song called "St Matthew" never was released I'll never know. Have fun

Jet without wings

[Lonely Summer]

PACJ is the best album, but Headquarters is a close second. BB&M is one of my favorites, although it does show Davy, Mike and Micky's more self-indulgent sides (Peter is barely on the original album). I like Present a lot better than Instant Replay, it's the only Monkees album from the 60's that is mostly written by the guys. The 3 First National Band albums are essential, too. After that, Michael's albums are a bit spotty.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

The "Head" soundtrack is well worth checking out IMO

[Moon Dawg]

The Monkees story is well documented. My recommendation is

monkees first album
Headquarters
Pisces, Aquarius...
More of The Monkees

Finally Missing Links Volume 2. Heavy on Nesmith material, so many good songs. How a song called "St Matthew" never was released I'll never know. Have fun

Jet without wings

 I think Nesmith was stockpiling songs in anticipation of his eventual break with the group. His '68 Nashville sessions were pivotal in the development of country rock, but most of those tunes did not see the light of day as Monkees' records, "Listen to the Band" being the grand exception. "Good Clean Fun" too I guess.

[Moon Dawg]

Justus is 100% self-contained but I would not go there as a first or second purchase. Better to run through the sixties era first.

[Moon Dawg]

Headquarters is a very good debut album for The Monkees as a real rock band generating their own music. Some of the instrumentation is definitely rudimentary, particularly Micky's drumming. Counterpart to that, Peter Tork was a versatile studio player and Nesmith a competent guitarist.

 By some accounts, a better musical lineup for the group would have been Davy (drums) Peter (lead guitar) Mike (bass) Micky (rhythm guitar or percussion).

[guitarfool2002]

Bubbly Waves: Congratulations on your purchase! That is and always will be one of my favorite albums, I love that music and the band.

You also struck a chord with me by posting this, a very personal chord if I may add a personal element to it.

I also got my first copy of Pisces Aquarius around this same time of year, almost two weeks to the day actually, 27 years ago. Hard to believe I can remember so much detail, but that one album had a huge impact on me and my musical tastes. I remember the details of the day (it was raining), of buying it, of listening to it, and of staring at the cover as the vinyl spun on the turntable.

It wasn't my first Monkees album, that would have been the Arista "That Was Then..." hits collection that many other MTV kids like me were getting in the wake of MTV and Nickelodeon showing the 60's reruns and getting the whole Monkees revival underway. The original Colgems albums were even at that time very expensive due to the demand from MTV and the revival stuff, so an album like Pisces at the vintage shops and from collectors was going for 20 bucks and up, remember this is in 1980's money to a kid! So it was fantastic that Rhino kept the local retailers supplied with their reissues, and that was where I got Pisces, soon to be followed by Headquarters, on the Rhino vinyl. I still have all of them. And Pisces is one of those albums where I have multiple versions, multiple issues, etc, everything from the original vinyls to the Japanese CD when the others were out of print in the late 80's. Obsessed!

***I'd recommend searching this board's "search" function for the words Monkees, Nesmith, Pisces, etc. anything related.***

Because there have been some really great, really informative, and pretty deep in detail discussions which have been posted here, by many of the same informed and passionate posters who have already posted replies to your comments here. It's well worth the time to read through some of those Monkees-related archived posts, and you'll find some kindred souls chatting about the band we all love.

And also, I'll repost a long critique/review/essay I wrote years ago on another music site on the "Pisces Aquarius" album. Maybe in reading that piece while listening you'll either violently disagree, get bored halfway through reading it, or find some new details in the music as you listen that will open up some new opinions and thoughts...hopefully the latter.    I'll dig that up today.

[joshferrell]

yes, you got their best album IMO, then I would go for headquarters, The Birds bees, Instant replay, monkees presents (just for Nez's incredible songs) and Head (Gotta warn you that Head is a bizarre album with only 6 songs, the rest of the album is strange sound bytes from the movie) and their first two albums and Missing links 1-3 (if you can find them) Justus is good too, "Pool it" is "okay" (no Nez though) I would stay away from changes (far by their worst album, just Mickey and Davy and only 1 original song on the whole album )  as far as Nesmith I personally like "The Prison" and "The garden" they aren't anything like the monkees though, they have a real laidback feel, almost Smooth Jazz and a lot of synths (very experimental), not a lot of vocals but they both have incredible songs in fact some of the songs are beautiful, I call these two his masterpieces, I would look for the cds "The older stuff" and "The newer stuff" which are basically Nez's "Best of" albums.. "Rays" is kind of a strange Techno album, not bad though, imagine Paul McCartney's "Fireman" stuff but with Nez and you get a basic idea as to how this one sounds, and Nez's first couple albums.. you can buy and download most of his cds right from his site videoranch.com

[Lonely Summer]

Headquarters is a very good debut album for The Monkees as a real rock band generating their own music. Some of the instrumentation is definitely rudimentary, particularly Micky's drumming. Counterpart to that, Peter Tork was a versatile studio player and Nesmith a competent guitarist.

 By some accounts, a better musical lineup for the group would have been Davy (drums) Peter (lead guitar) Mike (bass) Micky (rhythm guitar or percussion).

No way, though, were they going to hide the cute Monkee behind the drums. That would be like having Paul McCartney being the drummer for the Beatles.

[ESQ Editor]

Great way to get into this band…good purchase.

Michael Nesmith is a monster talent.

As far as Monkees albums go, here is my must haves:

Get the deluxe editions from Rhino—
Head (Deluxe Edition) (Handmade) <— great soundtrack album
Instant Replay (Deluxe Edition) <— Nesmith shines, and this set includes the music from the "33 & 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee" TV special.
http://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/music.html

The best one though, "The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees" deluxe set is sold out, but it is available for a price:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Birds-Bees-Monkees-Boxed/dp/B00396HGXG

[Please delete my account]

Headquarters is a very good debut album for The Monkees as a real rock band generating their own music. Some of the instrumentation is definitely rudimentary, particularly Micky's drumming. Counterpart to that, Peter Tork was a versatile studio player and Nesmith a competent guitarist.

 By some accounts, a better musical lineup for the group would have been Davy (drums) Peter (lead guitar) Mike (bass) Micky (rhythm guitar or percussion).

No way, though, were they going to hide the cute Monkee behind the drums. That would be like having Paul McCartney being the drummer for the Beatles.

Or having Dennis Wilson as the drummer for the Beach Boys.

[alf wiedersehen]

Get the deluxe editions from Rhino—
Head (Deluxe Edition) (Handmade) <— great soundtrack album
Instant Replay (Deluxe Edition) <— Nesmith shines, and this set includes the music from the "33 & 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee" TV special.
http://monkeesstore.warnermusic.com/music.html

The best one though, "The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees" deluxe set is sold out, but it is available for a price:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Birds-Bees-Monkees-Boxed/dp/B00396HGXG

This brings up a good question:

The deluxe Head or the deluxe Instant Replay? I'm interested in checking them out, but because they're a bit expensive, I only want to pick up one for now.
I would love to get that The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees box set, but it's a bit out of the price range.

I started off more interested in the Head set because I love weird, psychedelic stuff. But, I've been reading more and more about how great the Instant Replay box is.
What do you guys think?

[ESQ Editor]

HEAD.

[Lonely Summer]

Headquarters is a very good debut album for The Monkees as a real rock band generating their own music. Some of the instrumentation is definitely rudimentary, particularly Micky's drumming. Counterpart to that, Peter Tork was a versatile studio player and Nesmith a competent guitarist.

 By some accounts, a better musical lineup for the group would have been Davy (drums) Peter (lead guitar) Mike (bass) Micky (rhythm guitar or percussion).

No way, though, were they going to hide the cute Monkee behind the drums. That would be like having Paul McCartney being the drummer for the Beatles.

Or having Dennis Wilson as the drummer for the Beach Boys.

You mean Mike isn't the cute one?

[Moon Dawg]

  If The Monkees had combined the best new cuts off Instant Replay and Present they would have had one excellent studio LP for 1969 instead of two that were so-so. I think the first four studio albums were the best.

[Moon Dawg]

Headquarters is a very good debut album for The Monkees as a real rock band generating their own music. Some of the instrumentation is definitely rudimentary, particularly Micky's drumming. Counterpart to that, Peter Tork was a versatile studio player and Nesmith a competent guitarist.

 By some accounts, a better musical lineup for the group would have been Davy (drums) Peter (lead guitar) Mike (bass) Micky (rhythm guitar or percussion).

No way, though, were they going to hide the cute Monkee behind the drums. That would be like having Paul McCartney being the drummer for the Beatles.

  Correct, they didn't want to put Davy behind the drums but I have heard his stickwork was better than Micky's.

[Jim Rockford]

The first four albums were the best in my opinion. The later ones had good songs also, but they were not as consistent. I'm one of the few that enjoys Changes more than The Monkees Present , but they are both important.  You might as well get them all, but save Pool It until last. 

[alf wiedersehen]

Since first making this thread, I've done some more listening and stuff.

I've listened to the first album a few times, which is an average record. There's some good songs, but a lot of it seems to be standard or filler tracks. One track that stands out particularly to me is "Papa Gene's Blues." I'm a big fan of country-rock and the sort from around this time period. I've listened to the song fifteen times already and I continue to keep coming back to it. That (slide?) guitar intro is a wonderful thing and really throws a curve ball in the flow of the album. I love the melody, the lyrics, the harmony (especially the note they hit on "need"), and I love the rhythm. Really cool instrumentation, nice arrangement, and I am in love with the "Play, magic fingers!" moment.  The other highlights that come to mind would be "Sweet Young Thing," which is another fabulous, inventive song, and "Last Train to Clarksville," which is a well-known classic. I would also say that "Take a Giant Step" is a pretty good song, too, but it may just be growing on me because it follows "Papa Gene's Blues."
I've also been listening to some of the bonus tracks on the deluxe version, as well. Gosh, "Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)" is an astounding song. What an incredible talent Mike is.

I also watched Head along with fellow board member, Judd. Really great movie, I was surprised. I was just expecting it to be an entertainingly strange film, but it was actually quite a well-made film. That's not to say it isn't strange or entertaining, which it is in spades. I loved the movie and hope to watch it again sometime soon.
My attention was also immediately grabbed by the live "Circle Sky," which is really kind of astonishing when you consider the band that's playing the song. 

I've become acquainted with a few other things along the way, like "Naked Persimmon" and the "St. Matthew" demo. "Naked Persimmon," to me, seems like the struggle between Mike's two styles. On one side, you have his more rock-oriented guy ("Salesman," "Circle Sky") and on the other side, you have his more country-oriented personality ("Papa Gene's Blues," "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"). The "St. Matthew" demo is also an incredible song - this guy just seemed to ooze greatness. It's too bad he's pigeon-holed into an unfortunate image (which I was probably guilty of doing at some point, to be honest).

I've really become a big Mike fan over the past few days. Anybody know where I can buy a Nudie suit?